News

Please note that the CAAV office is closed from lunchtime on Thursday 22nd December 2011 and will reopen on Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

The High Court has given permission for a Judicial Review of the Government's plans to cut the Feed-in Tariff rates for solar pv. The review, which will take place next week (20th and 21st December) will consider whether the decision to cut the tariffs with effect from 12th December, before the consultation on the proposal closes, was lawful. The action is brought by Friends of the Earth with two solar pv companies.

Caroline Spelman has announced that a controlled cull of badgers will go ahead as part of a package of measures to control bovine TB. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The Chief Executive of Natural England, Dr Helen Philips, is to take up a new role as Executive Director of Yorkshire Water from 1st March 2012. Further information is available on the Natural England website.

The National Assembly for Wales has approved the Welsh Government Budget 2012-13. A response from Jane Hutt, Wales' Finance Minister, is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has said that 75% of Single Farm Payments will be made within 15 days of the opening of the payment window on 1st December. See the Scottish Government website for more details.

Alun Davies, Wales' Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes, has announced that 88 per cent of farmers (14,596 claims) in Wales will receive their Single Payment Scheme (SPS) 2011 payment when the payment window opens later this week on 1st December. Further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

DEFRA has announced that £20 million funding is to be made available via a new Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS). Grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 will be available for qualifying capital items. Further information is available on the DEFRA website. A guidance booklet on the FFIS is also available on the DEFRA website. The application form for applications under the first round should be available to download from 16th November 2011 when the application period opens. It...

As part of the commitments laid out under the Natural Environment White Paper (NEWP) published earlier this year, DEFRA has offered funding to twenty-two Local Nature Partnerships (LNPs). Further information and a list of the areas that have been awarded funding may be found on the DEFRA website.

DEFRA has announced the first new members of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England, the formation of which was announced on 26th April 2011. The Board is chaired by Michael Seals who was appointed in August. The new members are Stewart Houston, Stuart Roberts, Mark Tufnell and Tim Morris. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

Please note that this CAAV briefing is now FULLY BOOKED. CAP reform post-2013 will however form part of the 2012 CAAV Spring Briefings:- - Friday 24th February - Belton Woods, Lincolnshire - Thursday 8th March - The Gables Hotel, Falfield, Near Bristol Further details and booking forms for the 2012 CAAV Spring Briefings will be available in due course.

European Commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, has this morning presented the CAP reform post-2013 legislative proposals to a meeting of the European Parliament Agriculture Committee. A Press Release is available on the Europa website. There is also a more extended summary available on the Europa website. Further briefing and analysis will be given on this website later today....

Natural England's Board has agreed to recommend an expansion to both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. Further information is available on the Natural England website.

DECC has announced that the loophole which allows developers of solar pv sites to claim FiTs at the original rates for extensions to the site will be closed with effect from 18th October 2011, when a new Feed-in Tariffs Order will come into effect. More detail is available in the Members' Documents section.

Following the introduction of the new HLS 3-tier process from 1st July 2011, Natural England is now inviting agents to attend HLS Farm Environment Plan (FEP) clinics during September to discuss holdings which may be suitable for a HLS agreement in the 2012/13 year. Agents will need to complete a HLS authorisation form signed by their client and a Holdings Detail Form which is available on the Natural England website. Further information is available on the Natural England website....

11 new Enterprise Zones in England have been announced. The sites will have simplified planning rules, tax breaks for new businesses and superfast broadband connections. The full list can be found on the DCLG website.