I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Stewardship to be suspended
NATURAL England is set to suspended applications for Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) until late January 2010.
The suspension will take effect from December 4 and will see Natural England’s ELS Online system taken offline while application packs for ELS will not be issued.
Farmers will still be able to join ELS by returning a valid paper application to Natural England before Christmas, and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements will not be affected.
The decision to suspend applications was made so Natural England could make changes to its ELS options and also because of the timing of the Rural Land Register (RLR) mapping update which is currently ongoing.
The new RLR maps will be used as the basis of the re-worked ELS options and Natural England will need to wait until they are ready before it can proceed.
Robin Tucker, Natural England’s executive director for national delivery, said: “We do not undertake such major changes lightly, and we have taken steps to minimise the impact on farmers.
“We will keep farmers and advisers well informed and supported through this period of change. We’re keen to maintain our excellent reputation for delivery, with 100 per cent of applications processed within target times and 96 per cent of payments made within a month.”
New handbooks detailing the new options under the revamped ELS will be made available online from early December and can be viewed at www.naturalengland.org.uk/es.
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