Creaking IT system heralds start of new scheme
So here we are. The new Basic Payment Scheme system is upon us, writes Phil Blackman-Howard.
Registration to the new scheme is the current starting point with, I would suggest, 75 per cent of claimants now registered – or about to be – to the new data base.
This alone has proved to be more contentious and demanding than most people thought it would be. The crux of the problem being the computer software provided by the Rural Payments Agency has not been up to the job.
Agents across the country started registering clients some six weeks ago. The system was not rolled out to the farming community until about 10 days ago.
The demand on the system of verification proved too demanding and the system had to be shut down on several occasions(losing valuable time).
With the majority of registrations being completed the next stage of application is the online mapping, confirming crop codes and descriptions as at May 15.
Once again the system has failed and the website is being closed down for several days for more improvements to be made.
With the deadline of May 15 looming the pressure is on and farmers and landowners together with their agents to complete this onerous task.
With regard to entitlements and trading, this process should commence soon.
We have been told that entitlements can be transferred up to the May 15 deadline. Trading values are more difficult to determine but the general feeling is that anything from £50 to £100 per hectare is likely.
There is an abundance of entitlements on the market mainly due to all those claimants with under five eligible hectares. At the end of the day it's better to have £50 per hectare than nothing. Remember, if not used they will be taken away by the RPAgency.
It is also vitally important that those landowners renting out ground have created a temporary grazing/mowing or cropping licence for each yearly period. It is a requirement made quite clear by the RPA.
Here at McCartney's we have a dedicated team of rural professional people who have a huge knowledge of this topic who are ready to help. The Basic Payment still forms a vital part of most farms' income for the year and without it many would struggle to survive.
By Phil Blackman-Howard, ANAVA, McCartneys LLP
