Avoiding mistakes on your SPS form

We have reached that time of year again. The SPS claim forms have arrived and the May 17 deadline looms closer.

Over the past weeks the RPA has sent out more than 90,000 forms to farmers across England, with the remaining forms due to drop onto doorsteps in the coming days.

Some farmers will have already returned their forms but most are yet to begin.

Simon Lunniss, the policy manager for the RPA’s Rural Land Register, has teamed up with Farmers Guardian to highlight the important changes to note on this year’s form.

Your contact details have been added to the front of the form.

If you wish to change your contact details you can change them electronically by logging on to SPS Online or by telephoning the RPA on 0845 603 7777.

There is a new column C4 ‘maximum area eligible for SPS’.

This column shows the area after any permanent Single Payment Scheme ineligible features have been deducted (such as buildings and ponds). This is the maximum area you can activate entitlements on.

The Hill Farm Allowance has ended

The Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) has ended and has been succeeded by a new strand of Environmental Stewardship, Uplands Entry Level Stewardship.

If you farm in the Severely Disadvantaged Area you may not be able to join the UELS from the start if you have an existing Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) and/or Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) agreement.

If this is the case you may be able to claim the Uplands Transitional Payment (UTP) instead. You will need to apply for the UTP on the 2010 SP5 application form.

The new minimum claim size is one hectare

Changes in the CAP health check increased the minimum claim size from 0.3ha to 1ha.

Entitlements usage rules have changed.

Entitlements must now be used once every two years rather than once every three years.

Rural Land Register information

This year, the RPA is extracting land information from the Rural Land Register instead of using information from the previous year’s claim to pre-print the SPS 2010 application form.

This means that some information may not be pre-printed on the forms, as it is not available on the RLR.

Check your form carefully as it may not contain all your pre-printed information on the field data sheets.

Field data help

• You will need your new Rural Land Register (RLR) maps if you’ve got them. If you haven’t the RPA website contains some FAQs on its 2010 page.
• Check your pre-printed land parcel reference numbers (column C2) against your latest RLR maps.
• Make sure all SPS ineligible features are taken into account. Be careful not to deduct the same feature twice where the RPA has already deducted them to give the value in column C4 (you can see these permanent SPS ineligible features on your latest Rural Land Register maps).
• Make sure there is a land use code printed in green or entered in column C8.
• If you are claiming SPS on the land parcel you must check the correct area is printed in green or entered in column C9. You should deduct the area of any temporary ineligible features, eg. scrub, in this column.
• The area you are activating entitlements on in column C9 must not be bigger than the area in column C4.
• Where the RPA has left column C8 and/or column C9 blank it has marked column C7 with a note highlighting the missing information. If you want to claim SPS on this land parcel you should fill in the column(s) with the correct information.
• Each land parcel must contain the correct pre-printed information or handwritten information in Columns C2, C3, C4, C8 and C9.If these are incorrect or missing, the RPA will not be able to pay you the correct amount or pay you at all for the parcel.
• Check ALL lines to make sure they are correct and complete.
• A checklist is provided on the RPA website www.rpa.gov.uk/sps2010

Drop-in centres

The RPA drop-in centres have proved a great success with farmers.

More than 30,000 farmers used the drop-in centres to deliver their completed SPS forms last year and with more numbers expected this year, the RPA has commissioned two new centres.

Drop-in centres offer more detailed checks than forms received in the post and this year will give farmers access to computers to complete their online form.

Bear in mind an appointment must be made for online submissions and more than five claim forms per customer.

Drop-in centres are located in: Bristol, Carlisle, Crewe,

Exeter, Newcastle, Newmarket, Northallerton, Nottingham, Reading, Truro, Worcester, Workington, Wye.

The opening hours are 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, but closed on April 2 and 5, and May 3 and 31 (Bank holidays). They will also be open on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16 between 9.00am and 3.00pm.

Help

If you still have any questions, you can contact the RPA’s Customer Service Centre on 08456 037 777 (Open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday).

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