NFU: Compensate for late cash
13 February 2001
NFU: Compensate for late cash
By FWi staff
PRODUCERS must receive payments on time or be compensated by the Government, says the National Farmers Union.
This follows delays in Arable Aid Payments which the Ministry of Agriculture attributed to staffing problems.
The NFU pointed out that Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) legislation states that aid must have been received by 31 January, 2001.
NFU vice president Michael Paske says late payment has a huge impact on cashflows for farm businesses, many of which are struggling to make ends meet.
Both the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the High Court have ruled that MAFF should pay interest on late payments, says the NFU.
This is particularly valid in light of its own policy of recovering any aid overpayments with interest, says the union.
Meanwhile, NFU president Ben Gill has called on MAFF to revise its timetable for a new support scheme for hill farmers.
Confusion over the Hill Farm Allowance could mean genuine producers will slip through the net, warned Mr Gill in a letter to farm minister Nick Brown.
Producers who do not qualify under the stocking density requirements may be eligible if they receive support under the Extensification Payment Scheme.
But Mr Gill is concerned that MAFF does not intend to formally notify farmers of this.
And it is feared that because of the short time-scale producers may miss the deadline to inform MAFF of their possible eligibility.
MAFF has written to some farmers who seem to fall below the minimum stocking levels asking for additional information relevant to a possible HFA payment.
Replies should be sent to Regional Service Centres by 16 February.