We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.Eligibility checks cause delays to mapping update
THE Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has run into further problems with its mapping update programme.
The agency is set to fall some way short of its target of sending out new maps to every SPS and rural development scheme claimant in England by the end of October.
RPA chief executive, Tony Cooper, told NFU council earlier this month the agency was ‘well placed’ to achieve this.
However, on Wednesday, an RPA spokesman admitted only 97,000 map packs had been distributed so far, with the remainder ‘being issued during the next couple of weeks’.
The agency refused to state how many maps were still to be sent out, but with 116,000 registered SPS claimants in England, it appeared to be in the region of 15,000 to 20,000.
One unforeseen problem has arisen from spot checks the RPA is undertaking to comply with EU rules on SPS payment accuracy.
A sample of 5 per cent of SPS claimants is being subjected to a physical or ‘remote sensing’ (via aerial photographs) inspection of the land they are claiming on to check their eligibility. This causes additional delays as farmers selected for an inspection will not receive updated maps until results have been incorporated by RPA.
NFU SPS adviser, Richard Wordsworth, said the failure of the RPA to meet its end of October deadline was ‘concerning’ in light of the timetable for 2010 SPS.
Application forms are due out next March, but he predicted the process of finalising some maps would continue into the New Year.
“This could eat into the time farmers have available to fill out SPS forms and check the data is correct,” he said.
NFU head of policy services Andrew Clark expressed concern the mapping problem could undermine the industry-led Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), due to be launched next week.
The campaign’s targets include increasing uptake of agri-environment schemes, but Mr Clark said: “People can’t go into these schemes unless they have set of maps which they can use.
“We need clarity on what is going to happen urgently because this is potentially another reason for not going into ELS.”
A Natural England spokesman said the agency was ‘supporting the RPA in its efforts to resolve any problems’.
“New agri-environment scheme agreements will be processed using the latest data and we currently have no reason to believe the data will not be available for our renewal process,” he said.
