Following the High Court ruling on 12th July in favour of DEFRA carrying out the proposed pilot cull of badgers as part of their bovine TB Eradiction Programme, the Badger Trust yesterday lodged an appeal against this decision. They are seeking permission to appeal on three grounds which are detailed in the Badger Trust News Release.
The Judicial Review in the High Court has upheld DEFRA's position on the proposed badger cull for bovine TB control purposes. At the time of writing, nothing has been posted on DEFRA's website, but more detail is available on the Badger Trust website.
The 68th CAAV AGM and Conference is taking place in North Devon today (Friday 29th June). Having enjoyed an excellent dinner of local West Country produce on Thursday evening, members and guests are assembled at the Saunton Sands Hotel to hear a range of speakers on topical issues from planning reform to super-dairies. A more detailed report will follow in the next edition of the CAAV News Letter.
A private members' bill which makes provision for the resolution of boundary disputes was laid before the House of Commons on 25th June by Dover MP, Charlie Elphicke. The Bill is due to be published before its second reading on 30th November.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that the proposed increase in fuel duty which was due to take effect in August will not now go ahead.
The RPA iwas having intermittent issues with both the BCMS and RPA helpline numbers where some calls were getting cut off. This has now been resolved.
The changes to the Feed-in Tariff rates for solar pv which were due to be introduced on 1st July will now come into effect on 1st August. Further information is available on the DECC website.
The Environment Agency has confirmed that drought status has been lifted from large parts of the Midlands and south west England. Areas which remain in drought include Lincolnshire, the eastern counties, the south east and much of central southern England. Further detail is available on the Environment Agency website.
The Public and Commercial Services Union is planning industrial action on Thursday 10th May which will affect the RPA. This is likely to cause disruption to normal services but in particular the RPA Customer Service Centre (CSC). It is hoped that the CSC will still be offering a limited service. Further information is available on the RPA website.
Arla, Dairy Crest and Robert Wiseman have all cut their milk price by 2p per litre. The Dairy Crest cut takes effect from 1st May; the other cuts from 1st June.
DEFRA has appointed Professor Ian Boyd to be its new Chief Scientific Adviser. He replaces Sir Bob Watson who has been in the role for the past five years. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.
Channel 4 is looking to speak to farmers who are undergoing a dispersal sale, for an observational documentary series about those who work and live in the countryside. The series will look at all aspects of country life, discovering what it means to work in agriculture and the issues and challenges that people face in their day to day lives. If you have a client who might be interested in speaking to us, or have any suggestions as to people we should contact, we would love to hear from you. We...
The farming press is reporting that the courts have given permission for a Judicial Review of DEFRA's decision to permit a badger cull in two pilot areas of England. The application for the Review was made by the Badger Trust. More detail to follow in the Members' Documents section of the website in due course.
The RPA has confirmed that the temporary issue that was being experienced with SPS Online and 2012 submissions earlier this week has now been resolved. Please see the RPA website for further information.
The RPA is opening their Customer Service Centre at weekends from this Saturday (21st April) to answer queries about SPS 2012. The RPA helpline will be available from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays until 12th May as well as Bank Holiday Monday (7th May) and Sunday 13th May. Further information is available on the RPA website.
The RPA is experiencing a temporary issue with SPS Online today (17th April). This means that anyone trying to submit an application will get an error message. The RPA is recommending that applications are not submitted until they have provided a further update. Please see the RPA website for further information.
The Welsh Government has confirmed that the Glastir All-Wales Element (AWE) application deadline has been extended to Monday 23rd April 2012. Further information is available on the Welsh Government website.
DEFRA has approved approximately 1000 Farming and Forestry Improvement Grant Scheme applications submitted during the first application round earlier this year. Successful applicants should be receiving letters over the next few weeks. Further information is available on the DEFRA website. The next application round is expected to open early May 2012.
A consultation draft of the CAAV model Farm Business Tenancy plus a Commentary text, has now been put in the Members' Documents section of the website, under Professional Matters / Model Clauses and Agreements. Members' feedback on these documents is welcome.
The Government has published the National Planning Policy Framework for England, which can be downloaded from the Department of Communities and Local Governmentwebsite.