We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.NFU outlines reasons for SPS delays
AROUND 17,000 claimants in England will spend Christmas without their Single Payments, with some unlikely to be paid until at least February.
The Rural Payments Agency made a rapid start when the EU payment window opened in early December, paying 86,500 farmers, 80 per cent of the 107,500 claimants, £1.31 billion in the first two days.
But the rate has slowed significantly since then as the more complex cases are dealt with. The NFU has compiled a summary of the main reasons for delays.
- Inspections/remote sensing: When anyone is inspected, the agency needs to consider the findings before a full SPS payment can be made, lengthening the process. The effects have been more pronounced this year because of the mapping process and the earlier payments for most farmers.
- Hill/upland farmers: About 3,000 claims are having to be reworked where the SDA/Moorland SDA boundary was tweaked in 2004/2005. The RPA estimates 30 per cent of these cases may experience delays.
- Historic entitlement issues: There are about 1,200 farmers currently with entitlement correction work, which must be completed before 2009 monies can be released.
- Overpayments: These will hold up 2009 payments. Of around 16,000 potential overpayment cases identified, the RPA recently still had about 100 to process from 2005-2007, which need to be resolved before it can turn to the 2008 cases.
The majority of farmers have now been sent their SPS 2010 Entitlement Statements.
The RPA said it would investigate all cases where farmers disagree with their allocation and supply details backing their case. But it has stressed that it is limited in the types of corrections it can make after December 31 due to Article 137 of the latest EU SPS Regulation.
This means that, with some exceptions, entitlement errors allocations prior to January 1, 2009 – resulting in under- and over-payments - can no longer be corrected from January 1, 2010.
Circumstances where the agency says it will continue to make entitlement corrections from January 1 include:
- Where we find the allocation of entitlements (either number or value) was too low, apart from certain cases, for example, of fraud, negligence or if the farmer had under declared the eligible area on their original application.
- Decreases to over-allocations where the farmer was at fault for factually incorrect information on the application (But apparently not where the RPA was at fault).
- Corrections which do not affect the allocation of entitlements, for example. changes to entitlement transfers, usages and expiry dates.
