I'm led to believe that there are still around 9000 peope waiting for their sfp. Are you one of them and do you know what is holding it up?

Yes we are still waiting. We have no outstanding problems with our claim, it has been validated, but still no one can tell me when we will receive our money.

 

Would you class yourself as a small or large claim?

Large

Makes you wonder whether they have cleared the smaller ones first to get the numbers up.

Although according to the RPA's website they still have to pay £195m out - which shared among the 9000 left equates to £20k odd each.

 

 

I believe they have cleared the smaller ones first. All of my smaller neighbours have been paid.

They always say they don't do it like that - but you do wonder sometimes. I suppose, however, that a smaller farm is likely to have a more simplistc claim than a larger unit - fewer maps, strips, contracts so they are more likely to go through the system smoothly.

My calculations show that the RPA is now approving just 41 claims a day (based on 1488 payments made between 31 March and 6 May).

Looked at another way, the proportion of the total SPS fund for England to have gone out so far has increased from 83.4% to 86.5% over the same period - up 3.1% over 36 days. With just 24 days left to go this month, it seems certain the RPA will fail to meet its 90% payment target!

It remains to be seen if 100% of payments will be made by the end of June. If not, then interest will have to be paid on outstanding payments (as in 2005 and 2006) and there is the prospect of fines by the EU.

As for explanation, I understand that it is the RPA's efforts to finalise corrections to 2005 and 2006 payments, so that these "errors" do not run into future scheme years, that is slowing the processing of 2007 claims. The fact that 90 temporary staff at the Workington office did not have their contracts renewed earlier this year may also account for particular problems in the north-west. 

Phil Clarke, Farmers Weekly

 

"The fact that 90 temporary staff at the Workington office did not have their contracts renewed earlier this year may also account for particular problems in the north-west."

  Thanks for that explanation - still waiting - claim could not be more straight-forward as it is just the same as the previous year (about £10k).

We have this years. Shame we are still waiting for corrections from the last two years worth about £10k in total.

Well we have over £140,000 outstanding. I've telephoned once a month since Xmas to enquire but unfortunately you are generally dealing with people who are polite but don't give a s**t. Hence a different excuse every time - none of the excuses being that anything is actually wrong with the claim. In this country the government & its useless departments (eg DEFRA, RPA, Environment Agency, Natural England etc etc) are farmings implacable enemies & its time someone said so.

 Thats appaling. Is that over the whole few years, or just one years claim?

Its just one years claim. A lot of money I grant you, but I didn't make the rules! The NFU have been helpful but as the bailiffs are not yet at my door they (rightly) have much more urgent cases to pursue.

We have recieved about half ours,but it has cost close to £1000 in consultants fees making endless phone calls and writing letters. Some of my neighbours  still have nothing and have been told by RPA that they have untril end of june to pay.

We have 3 separate farming claims: mine, the other half's and a large one for a company. The other half's has been paid for 2007 (after a lot of problems in 2006). Mine for 2005 and 2006 was very straightforward and prompt - which made it a bit odd when other farmers in the village were paid this year, (including the other half) and not me. "We have no record of your claim" they said. "Oh yes you have" said I "I have TWO receipts - one from Worcester and one from Newcastle - to say you have". Needless to say they had LOST it. This then resulted in me having to send in a copy of my claim and a copy of the receipts. A chase up call tells me that it is "being worked on" and will be paid "within the payment envelope". (Sounds familiar, having read the above postings!)

The Company claim is more serious - we are waiting for part of 2006 and all of 2007 - although they have by some error paid half of the 2006 claim. The problem stems back to some transfers we did in time for 2006. When I chased up the second half of the claim last August, I was told it had to be "reworked" - their fault, not mine. Then the "hardware needed updating" Fine - but for 6 months?! Come on - I thought computers were supposed to ease work loads! Now they tell me it is being "redefined" in Exeter but no-one seems to be able to speak to anyone in Exeter.

The fall guys on the front line are very apologetic and I do not have it in my heart to shout at them - what good would it do anyway? However, I am at screaming point with the stupidity of the system. One worker did admit that it all could have been done quicker by hand and would have been finished by now.

My private opinion is that they have run out of cash! 

 

We found it a great improvement once we were given a proper case worker and their direct dial. She was a star and sorted things very quickly. Trouble is that she left the RPA to work elsewhere. It is well known that they have a problem in retaining these front-line staff, especially the ones that are any good. This years case worker left after 3 months. It goes with the civil service mentality that quantity = quality, rather than the private sector view that it is better to find someone who can do twice the workload and pay them one and a half times the salary.

We have remaining issues regarding beet and protein payments, but as the historic part of the claim is going to be worth so little, it is less of a prioriy than you guys mamoth claims.  

we are a cross border farm, so we are still waiting for our payment. You  think you have problems try filling out english forms and welsh forms! which is double the work and very confusing as they are different systems.  We only lost one field in England this year ( we lost 5 last year) but gained 2 parcels of land in wales!  

It is small consolation for those still waiting for money. But one of our reader has penned a poem about the RPA and delays:

 

Come on Mr Benn get your offices sorted out,

Build one of straw this time; build one that's not so stout,

Environmentally friendly, insulation without compare,

Can be fed into its own boiler, when refurbishment is there,

 

Do it Mr Benn, do it for mankind,

Renewable renewals grown on our own land you can find,

Help us to help you, cooperation to cut back,

All those overheads you inherit, give some of them the sack.

 

A dedicated person to deal with our own claim form,

Except when they're on holiday or off sick n' can't perform,

Trust us Mr Benn trust us with your cheque book,

Get the money where it belongs, mistake you later look

 

 Could do without all these forms, that were filling in,

One a mistake and it goes, bottom of the bin,

Ring to find out information, five options listen to,

Then they ask for ya SBI, nine digits read back to you,

 

Could do without printouts, that are misleading and all wrong,

Whole lines that are missing, a field it does belong,

Bar codes to stick on every paper, that you have to send,

Sketch maps for part fields, got to sign and amend.

 

There's numbers for every thing, for this that and tuther,

Field numbers map numbers, farm references to cover,

SBI and there's IACS, vendor as well,

PI and a Trader, and Stewardship numbers to tell,

 

A blend of every complication, regularly emits,

Consistency is very rare, though updating it exists,

So come on Mr Benn get your office sorted out,

Try to give us confidence, n' see what your about,

 

Clear your desk of backlogs, pay us up to date,

Let us get on with work, which is inside our own gate,

Food and fuel getting short, let us fill the empty plate,

Be proud of what were doing, before more of us vacate.

 

Fred Waterfall,

Yews Farm, Seighford, Stafford

 

Yes we are still waiting. Whenever I ring the RPA all I am told is that there is no problem with our claim but it is still being validated and they have until the end of June 2008 to pay us ! We have made no changes to our claim from the previous year and therefore cannot understand the problem. 

Hi Carol - sorry to hear that you are one of the people caught up in the latest lots of delays. It looks like you are new to the forums - welcome.

 

Yes I'm still waiting for RPA to sort my claims out from 2005. I'm in 2nd stage appeal with them where they are supposed to reply to me in 90 days . They gave me 60 days to put in an appeal , they cannot reply after 120 days and have not aknowledged my recent registered letter for a response some 20 days ago. This is all over common land which I have deeds for but not on the 1965 register.

I'm still waiting for money owed in 2005 and 2006, yet I have been paid all my 2007 payment!

 

'Not fit for purpose' would be my opinion of the RPA. They make what was once an enjoyable occupation nearly impossible with their rules and regulations.

Going back many decades to my time at nursery school, I remember a tale about a little boy and a tiger. The title of the tale I also remember but cannot mention it here because it would not be politically correct. (But those of you of certain years will know what I mean). Basically the little boy managed to persuade the tiger (who wanted to eat the boy) to chase his own tail around a palm tree. The tiger went faster an faster and turned into a lump of butter which melted in the heat. That, I fear, will be trhe fate of the RPA - effectively disaappearing up its own tubes. Heaven knows what will happen to our payments however!

 

Phoned them again today got the same reply as last time a fortnight ago "That it was being dealt with and should have a reply in the next week or so "

How long is a piece of String ? As long  as the RPA can stretch it !

We are still waiting. I rang up ten days ago and spoke to our dedicated caseworker who told me that all checks had been carried out and he had passed our claim on for paying on 1st May.He then added 'payments are made on a Monday so as the last one was a Bank Holiday they may not make any this week'. On Wednesday this week he rang to say that we would not be paid as we had been overpaid by just under £2000 in 2006 and therefore until we agreed to pay it back we would not receive 2007s payment. I asked how we could have been overpaid in 2006 he didn't know - he was assigned to our claim then - and \I commented that I didn't appear to have any option but to repay. 'Sorry'  came the reply 'you will have to wait for it to reach you in writing before we can do anything. So why bother ringing me to tell me - on my mobile too? As of today I still haven't received the letter. He was charming but not terribly helpful with why we had been overpaid. He said that the RPA have pulled people off working on 2007 claims in the past few weeks. Surely they should carry on with at least the same number so they can start to process 2008 claims? As for modulation the amount farmers are paying back coupled with the increased difficulties in Entry Level Stewardship schemes means we should be getting a better service. When will this government accept that with food shortages around the world we could be more self-sufficient than we are but the incentive to do so is becoming less and less. i suppose the RPA will blame the Post office for my delay in payment.