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.

It is being reported that the Government has lost its case on Feed-in Tariffs in the Supreme Court. This means that all solar pv installations completed by 3rd March 2012 will be paid at the old FiT rate of 43p/kWh. More details to follow in the Members' Documents section of the website.

The Welsh Government has published its strategy for the eradication of bovine TB. Further details are available on the Welsh Government website.

The 9th CAAV Young Valuers' Conference will be held at Royal Holloway, University of London on Friday 13th April 2012. Please go to the events page of the website for brochure and booking form. The close date for bookings is 23rd March 2012.

The Badger Trust has confirmed that it will be lodging a claim with the High Court seeking a Judicial Review, on the basis of three grounds, of DEFRA's decision of 14th December 2011 to carry out a pilot badger cull in relation to bovine TB. Please see the Badger Trust website for further information.

The Government has lodged a request for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court over changes to Feed-in Tariffs for solar pv schemes.

51m, an alliance of local authorities, and the HS2 Action Alliance have both have formally notified the Secretary of State for Transport that they may challenge the decision to proceed with HS2 through judicial review.

Following two successful Disputes Days earlier in the year, we are holding the final day on 21st March at Hazlewood Castle A1/A64 south of York. The day is assisted by members of Rural Arbrix with talks by senior valuers and an experienced barrister. Please visit the events page of the website for flier and booking form.

Ed Davey has been made Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change after Chris Huhne stood down to defend himself against criminal charges.

The CAAV will be holding two one day briefings (Friday 24th February - Belton Woods, Lincs and Thursday 8th March - The Gables Hotel, Falfield, S. Glos) where Jeremy Moody, Alice De Soer and Kate Russell will give an update on current professional matters of relevance including CAP reform post-2013 proposals, renewables, Inheritance Tax, agricultural and business tenancy agreements and disagreements. Early booking is advisable and booking forms are available in the Events section of this...

The Government has lost its appeal against the High Court ruling on the reduction of Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for solar pv installations, but it is seeking leave to take the case to the Supreme Court. DECC has already put in place a revised reference date of 3rd March 2012. Further information is available on the DECC website.

The AHVLA has confirmed the presence of Schmallenberg Virus on four sheep farms in Norfolk, Suffolk and East Sussex. Further information is available on the AHVLA website.

DEFRA has confirmed the two pilot badger cull areas - one in West Gloucestershire and the other in West Somerset. Natural England will now assess their licence applications against the criteria set. If successful, badger culling will take place in the pilot areas over a six week period which is likely to start this autumn. Further information is available on the DEFRA website.

The Secretary of State for Transport has announced that the proposed HS2 high speed rail link between London and Birmingham will go ahead. The official statement can be downloaded from the Department of Transport website and further detail will be added to the Members' Documents section shortly.

DEFRA is seeking to appoint new members to five National Park Authorities (NPAs) and the Broads Authority as follows:- - 2 members in the New Forest, North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales NPAs - 1 member in the Peak District and South Downs NPAs and the Broads Authority The appointments are to be for an initial period of up to 4 years and will commence from May 2012. The deadline for receipt of applications is 13th February 2012. Further information and application forms may be found on the...

The Government has lodged grounds of appeal against the High Court's ruling that its decision to amend FiT rates before a consultation had closed may have been illegal. A formal statement is available on the DECC website.

The High Court has held that the Government's actions in setting a cut-off date for new Feed-in Tariff rates before a consultation on the proposals had closed were potentially illegal, thus clearing the way for a potential judicial review of the process. The Government has indicated that it will appeal against the decision. The new, reduced FiT rates were due to come into effect from 12th December 2011.