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.

Natural England is encouraging some 15,000 "classic" scheme agreement holders (Countryside Stewardship and ESA) to consider Environmental Stewardship when their current agreement expires. Please see the Natural England website for further information.

Caroline Spelman has announced a package of measures aimed at reducing the incidence of bovine TB in England which includes a statement that the Government is "strongly minded to allow a science-led cull of badgers" in the worst affected areas. The full statement can be read on the DEFRA website.

With effect from 5th July, Great Britain has been declared as officially free from Bluetongue. Further information on the implications for livestock keepers is available on the DEFRA website.

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has today updated Parliament on progress with 2010 SPS payments following the end of the regulatory payment window on 30th June 2011. Details are available on the DEFRA website.

A new 3-tier HLS application process is being launched by Natural England from tomorrow (1st July) which will see HLS applications being classed as either "Fast-track", "Standard" or "Complex", with "Fast-track" applications being done wholly in-house by Natural England advisers. Further information is available on the Natural England website.

Welsh Environment Minister John Griffiths has today announced that the implementation of the proposed badger cull in Wales as part of their TB Eradication Programme is to be delayed whilst a review is carried out of the scientific evidence base regarding the eradication of bovine TB in Wales. Further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website....

HMRC's SDLT online filing system will be shut down between 25th June and 4th July and online SDLT returns cannot be made during this time. For more information, see the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/sdlt/filing-sdlt-returns.htm.

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has announced the lifting of export restrictions on sheep and cattle which were put in place as result of bluetongue. The Bluetongue Free Status will come into effect from 5th July 2011 and will mean that farmers can no longer vaccinate livestock. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

DEFRA and the the Environment Agency have announced that parts of the Anglian region are now in an official state of drought. Other parts of South-west England, the South-east, Midlands and Wales are also causing concern. A meeting is being held today between DEFRA and water abstraction representatives to discuss how to better conserve and use the water available. The situation will continue to be monitored. Further information is available on the DEFRA website....

DEFRA has launched the Natural Environment White Paper which sets out the Government's vision for the natural environment over the coming 50 years. More information is available on the DEFRA website and a briefing note for CAAV members is available in Members' Documents (please see What's New).

As a result of the current dry weather affecting farmers, Natural England has issued advice for Environmental Stewardship agreement holders with regard to derogations which will be made available in particular with regard to grassland management affected by the dry weather. Further guidance is available from the Natural England website.

Natural England (NE) is urging farmers who have been offered HLS agreements which should have a 1st June 2011 start date but are yet to return the signed declaration to NE should do so before 31st May. If they do not they will find that their agreement will be given a post 1st June start date which will then affect the timing of their payments as a result of the EU audit of agri-environment schemes in England which would see them having to wait for a further 16 months until their first payment....

The RPA has confirmed that by 16th May SPS deadline, they had received 30,850 claims via SPS Online compared with 16,054 in 2010. The total number of claims received in 2011 has remained at around 105,000. Further information is available on the RPA website.

The final report of the independent Farming Regulation Task Force, led by Richard Macdonald, was published today. Further information and a copy of the report are available in the CAAV Members Documents section.

The RPA has paid 95% of farmers who claimed the Uplands Transitional Payment (UTP) for the first time on the 2010 SP5 form. UTP was introduced last year as a result of the end of the Hill Farm Allowance and the introduction of Uplands Entry Level Stewardship. Further information is available on the RPA website.

The farming press reports that animal health officials are investigating a TB outbreak in a closed dairy herd near Penrith, in a part of Cumbria previously largely unaffected by the disease.

It seems that the Badger Trust is preparing for further legal proceedings against the Welsh Assembly Government in relation to the recently approved Order which would allow the culling of badgers in the Intensive Action Area (IAA). The Trust has formally written to the Welsh Assembly Government setting out why they believe the Order should be revoked. The letter can be viewed on the Badger Trust website....

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has today made a statement to Parliament to confirm that manual 2010 SPS payments will be made to over 2000 farmers over the next couple of months where it would not have been possible to make a system payment by the close of the payment window on 30th June 2011. The Minister's statement can be viewed by clicking here.

Welsh Assembly Government Members yesterday voted in support of the badger cull in Intensive Action Area (IAA) under the Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011. Further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

The RPA has today made the blank RLE1 form available on their website to print off and use. Please see the RPA website for further information.

Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has announced that Animal Health budgets will be devolved from 1st April 2011. The budgets have been shared on the basis of historic spending and animal numbers. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The draft model clauses covering CAP Reform issues for FBT agreements are now available on the CAAV website in a Word document for members to download and amend for their own use. The clauses are in the Members' Documents section under Professional Matters / Model Clauses and Agreements.

The RPA has begun making payments for the Uplands Transitional Payment scheme which was applied for on the 2010 SP5 form. Further information is available on the RPA website.

Brownyn Hill is to be the new Permanent Secretary for DEFRA with effect from 28th March 2011. She will take over from Peter Unwin who has been acting Permanent Secretary. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The Welsh Assembly Government has made 95% of Tir Mynydd 2011 payments as of yesterday (1st March). Further information, including confirmation of the rates, is available on the Welsh Assembly Goverment website.

A consultation has been launched on proposals for a High Speed Rail Link between London and Birmingham. The new consultation website contains all the documents and the consultation closes on 29th July 2011.

The sales of Forestry Commission property in England which were announced as part of the Spending Review have been suspended pending a review of the criteria used to select sites for sale. This is unconnected to the ongoing consultation about the future of the remainder of the Forestry Commission estate which is open until 21st April 2011. Further information about this suspension is available on the DEFRA website....

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has announced that a review of Feed-in Tariffs will begin today. Rates for large scale solar schemes will be under particular scrutiny. Further information is available in the Members Documents section.

Professor David Hill has been appointed as the new Deputy Chair of Natural England, as post that has been vacant since December 2009 when Poul Christensen, the previous Deputy Chair, was appointed Chair. The appointment will run until 30th September 2012. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The recently published monthly TB stats have shown a decrease in the number of cattle slaughtered relating to bovine TB in 2010 with 6,587 slaughtered in the period January to October 2010 compared with 9,146 during the same period in 2009. Wales' Rural Affairs Minister has welcomed this improvement and further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website....

The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to DEFRA setting out their views in terms of the forthcoming negotiations for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2013. Further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

Elin Jones has made a statement to the National Assembly for Wales laying down her views with regard to the proposals made available thus far relating to the reform of Common Agricultural Policy post 2013. Further information is available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

It is with great sadness that we have to report the passing away of Graham Martyn yesterday. In addition to his practice, he had devoted much time to the profession and the CAAV having been national President in 2007-8 and previously Chairman of the CAAV Livestock and Auctions Committee. We send our sincere condolences to his family.

DEFRA has confirmed that H1N1 has been found in turkeys on a Cheshire farm. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

This one-day conference has been organised bythe Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) and the South Wales Society of Chartered Accountants and is essential for all rural economy practitioners and advisers. Please go to the events section of the website for further information and booking form.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman, has appointed the first Chief Executive for the new Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) which has been created as part of the Government's shake-up of arm's length bodies and agencies. The Chief Executive position is being taken up by Catherine Brown who is the current Chief Executive of Animal Health. The AHVLA has come about as a result of a merger of Animal Health and the Veterinary...