27 June 2016
The 2016 CAAV AGM, held at the Alton Towers Resort Hotel in Staffordshire, saw the election of a new Presidential Team for 2016/17. The new President is Nick Millard from Somerset, who works with Michelmore Hughes and lectures at Reading University. The Senior Vice-President, James Dick, is based in Aberdeen, where his runs his own consultancy business. Geoff Coster, of the Valuation Office Agency in Shropshire, was elected as Junior Vice-President.
09 June 2016
The Welsh Government has confirmed that the first year of BPS 'online-only' applications has been a success with 16,252 applications received by 16th May 2016 deadline. Further information is available on the Welsh Government website.
18 May 2016
The National Trust is looking for a farming tenant to take on a 10 year Farm Business Tenancy at Parc Farm, Great Orme in North Wales. The rent will be £1 per annum as the farm has to be managed with a specific focus on conservation. Further information about applying for the tenancy is available on the National Trust website. A shortlist will be drawn up during mid-June with interviews being held on 5th July 2016.
18 May 2016
The Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, has resigned from the Cabinet and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has appointed Fergus Ewing as Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity and Roseanna Cunningham as Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform. . A full list of the new Scottish Cabinet can be found on the Scottish Government website.
13 May 2016
CAAV Secretary and Adviser Jeremy Moody met the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, in Brussels yesterday and presented him with a copy of the CAAV text 'Tenancies, Conacre and Licences: Arrangements for Occupying Agricultural Land in Northern Ireland'. Jeremy had travelled to Brussels from Belfast where he had been meeting representatives of the accountancy profession to discuss the taxation implications for landowners of longer term tenancies for farms and land.
Jeremy Moody was in Brussels with James Dick, CAAV Junior Vice President and Andrew Coney, Chairman of the CAAV Valuation, Compensation and Taxation Committee for the Spring Assembly of The European Group of Valuers' Associations (TEGoVA).
07 March 2016
The RPA has confirmed that, as at 29th February 2016, more than 71,700 BPS 2015 claimants (over 82% of the total 87,095 claimants). The total amount paid by then was £1.13 billion out of the total estimated fund of £1.43 billion. Payments have started to be made to those with common land as well as some inspection cases. The RPA has again stated that: "Almost all" farmers due a payment should be paid by the end of March 2016, but that "a few thousand of the more complex cases" will take "slightly longer, as they did under SPS". Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
07 March 2016
The Rural Payments service has been made available for farmers and agents to start online BPS 2016 applications. It is now possible to view and transfer land and entitlements, as well as check personal and business details and give permission for someone else to submit the BPS 2016 claim. It will not be possible to submit completed claims until around mid-March. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website.
23 February 2016
The RPA has issued a further news release this afternoon confirming that "almost all" BPS 2015 claimants should have received a payment by the end of March 2016. As of today, 70,880 claimants had been paid £1.11 billion. The news release can be viewed on the GOV.UK website.
23 February 2016
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Elizabeth Truss, has delivered a speech at the National Farmers' Union (NFU) conference earlier today. Her speech is available on the GOV.UK website.
16 February 2016
The Scottish Government has awarded £2 million to fund farming projects under the Rural Development Programme's Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF). Grants have been awarded to:
- QMS and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds for the establishment of 9 innovative Monitor Farms in Scotland
- SAC Commercial for a project looking at improbving lamb survival and farm profitability
- SAOS for a pilot of an innovative and interative farm-focused lean management approach
- AHDB Potatoes to develop a Strategic Potato Farm
- Wholesome Pigs Scotland Ltd to develop innovative uses of emerging technologies to improve pig production.
Further information is available on the Scottish Government website.
15 February 2016
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is urging farmers to carefully monitor stock for any symptoms of Bluetongue. This follows an increased risk of the UK experiencing an outbreak this spring/summer as a result of midges being blown across from France where the disease is present. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
14 February 2016
Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, has announced the provision of a Farming Hardship scheme to assist farmers and crofters with accessing loans whilst awaiting their BPS 2015 payment. Whilst speaking at the National Farmers Union of Scotland annual conference last week, he confirmed that over 7,300 BPS 2015 claimants had been paid (out of a total of over 18,000 claims). Details of the Farming Hardship scheme are awaited. Please see the Rural Payments and Services website for further information.
12 February 2016
The RPA has issued a further update about progress with making BPS 2015 payments. 68,572 (78.7%) farmers have now been paid a total of £1.043 billion (out of an estimated total fund of £1.43 billion). Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
03 February 2016
The RPA has issued another update on progress with making BPS 2015 payments. As at 31st January 2016, 66,800 claimants (77% of the total claimant population) have received a payment. The amount paid is just over £1 billion of the estimated total BPS fund of £1.43 billion. RPA Chief Executive, Mark Grimshaw, has said that the aim is "to have paid almost all eligible farmers by the end of March with a few thousand of the more complex cases taking slightly longer". Further details can be found on the GOV.UK website.
01 February 2016
From 1st February 2016, landlords of let residential property in England will have to establish that new tenants (and all other adults who will be living in the property) have an immigration status which allows them the right to rent in the UK. Government guidance on how to make the necessary checks is available on the GOV.UK website and CAAV members can find more detail in the Members Documents section of this website, under England / Property Management (Residential and Commercial) / Residential Lettings.
30 January 2016
The Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, has confirmed that over 5,000 claimants should now have received a first instalment of their BPS 2015 payment (75% Basic Payment and 90% Greening). This represents almost 30 per cent of the total claimant population in Scotland (approximately18,000). Further information is available on the Scottish Government website. Where there are hardship cases, the customer helpline should be contacted on 0300 300 2222.
27 January 2016
The RPA has given a further update this afternoon on its progress with making BPS 2015 payments. 61,172 claimants have been paid which represents over 70% of the total claimant population of 87,095 (this was just over 57,700 as at 19th January 2016). The total value of payments made now stands at over £845 million out of an estimated total fund of £1.43 billion (this was £779 million as at 19th January 2016). Therefore an additional 3,472 claimants have been paid £66 million since 19th January 2016. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website.
19 January 2016
The RPA has advised that it has paid another 11,300 claimants so far in January. Some 57,700 claimants (approximately 66% of the total claimant population) have been paid to date. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
06 January 2016
Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, has given a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference today. The speech can be viewed on the GOV.UK website.