News

Sir Harry Studholme has been appointed as the interim Chair of the Forestry Commission. This role is to continue until 30th June 2013. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The RPA has made 2012 SPS Entitlements Statements available via SPS Online. They may be viewed even if the 2012 SPS claim was submitted on a paper SP5 form, although there are a "small number of cases" where the Entitlements Statements may not as yet be available due to ongoing work. Further information is available on the RPA website.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed that the Government has reached a Coalition Agreement which will see the introduction of the Energy Bill next week. Further information is available on the DECC website.

The TFA has launched a dedicated service for tenant farmers in Wales. TFA Cymru will focus on representation and policy work in Wales. A TFA Cymru Recommended Professionals panel has also been established. Further information is available on the TFA website.

If you have not yet completed the 2012 CAAV Fees Survey, please send your responses in now! We will accept responses until Friday 9th November.

DEFRA has confirmed that the proposed badger culls in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset are to be postponed until summer 2013. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

From 17th October, a new Government website GOV.UK will replace the Directgov and Business Link websites. This should not affect the use of services such as SPS Online or CTS Online which can be accessed via either the new GOV.UK website or the former Business Link webpage addresses. Further information is available on the RPA website.

Dr Emyr Roberts has been appointed as Chief Executive of the Welsh Government's new natural resources body. His appointment takes effect from 1st November 2012. Further information is available on the Welsh Government website.

The RPA has confirmed that the Euro exchange rate to be used for the calculation of 2012 SPS payments will be €1 = £0.79805 (SPS 2011 saw €1 = £0.86665). The rate is the last one set by the European Central Bank in September. Further information is available on the RPA website.

It has been reported in the press that the Badger Trust has lost its appeal against the badger cull in England. The rejection was unanimous at yesterday afternoon's Court of Appeal hearing. Further information is available on the BBC and Farmers Guardian websites....

Further to our news report yesterday, it now seems to be confirmed that David Heath MP was appointed yesterday as Minister for State for DEFRA, replacing Jim Paice MP. His ministerial portfolio is yet to be made available. Please see the DEFRA website for further information.

The Welsh Government has announced that Professor Peter Matthews will chair the new Single Environmental Body in Wales. This Body is to bring together the Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Wales and Forestry Commission for Wales as a single organisation from 1st April 2013. Further information is available on the Welsh Government website.

The new CAAV Model Farm Business Tenancy agreement, plus a Commentary text and Check List, are now available to CAAV members to download from the website.

The RPA has confirmed that following the issues being experienced with CTS Online last week and the shutdown of the system over the weekend, it is now fully functional. Further information is available on the RPA website.

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.

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 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.