Avoid SPS errors in rush to get forms in
Farmers have just 10 days to submit their 2010 Single Farm Payment applications to the Rural Payments Agency.
Completed SPS 2010 forms must be with the RPA no later than 17 May after the Agency last week confirmed it would not extend the deadline (News, 30 April). After that penalties will apply until 11 June 2010 and applications received after 11 June will be rejected. Certain amendments to a previously submitted 2010 SPS application can be sent in writing to the RPA before 1 June without penalty.
After the problems arising from re-mapping earlier this year, those with forms to complete will have to be extra careful in the rush to get applications in on time, Strutt & Parker’s Richard Means warned.
“Making sure you complete a lot of the SPS application details correctly is now fairly standard practice, but the biggest issue this year is reconciling the information on the forms with the new RLR maps. Problems here could easily result in delayed payments.
“You really need to take time to check exactly what data have been used and make sure the area you’re claiming on isn’t higher than the eligible area. If you do need to change the eligible area, this has to be done on a separate form.”
Mr Means advised farmers to provide as much information as possible with their application, especially where changes had been made. “It might seem like common sense, but put yourself in the RPA’s shoes. The only information they have is what’s on your application form and in the guidance booklet, so you really need to clearly show where all your data has come from.”
Where forms have been completed close to the deadline he said that for extra peace of mind it was worth delivering them to the RPA in person, rather than posting them.
NFUS calls for amnsesty on penaltiesMeanwhile, NFU Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to introduce an immediate amnesty on penalties associated with eligibility of land for support schemes. It follows ongoing uncertainty over what ground is deemed eligible and ineligible, such as grazing land within bracken. NFUS says Scottish farmers have not been given proper guidance on the subject. The Union wants the Scottish Government to give producers the option of recalculating their SFP entitlements, removing ineligible land from their base area. Or, it says they should be able to have their eligible area calculated taking the land’s slope into consideration rather than the flat-mapping system. This would free up land and allow producers to make full use of their SFP entitlements. |