CAAV Note 240207 Co-Op - Beef Sustainability Pilot
The Co-operative Group, in partnership with it supplier Dunbia, is piloting a programme to incentivise actions for sustainability in its supply chain. This note has a brief overview.
This What's New section is a quick one-stop shop to show you the most recent additions to the Members Area (log-in required) and News items.
The Co-operative Group, in partnership with it supplier Dunbia, is piloting a programme to incentivise actions for sustainability in its supply chain. This note has a brief overview.
This note provides a recent example of conveyancing or payment diversion fraud, and contains some tips for avoiding these scams.
The 2024 edition of the CAAV Model Grazing and Mowing Licence for Wales is attached. The adaptation of this agreement to practical circumstances is a matter for the professional judgement of members for which the CAAV can accept no liability.
The Northern Ireland Assembly met on Saturday 3rd February, forming a new Executive and electing Edwin Poots, the DUP former Agriculture Minister as Speaker. This note provides a summary.
AECS 2024 is now opening to offer support to land managers in Scotland. This note provides a brief overview.
This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 1st February 2024 Many very large things are being asked of us and our land. We are being asked to answer climate change and adapt to increasingly volatile weather, reducing emissions, sequestering carbon and managing water, improving nature and eco-systems, providing housing and other development including infrastructure – and still provide food. All that is to come from the finite area of our islands at a time of growing...
The draft Code of Behaviour for all parties, whether landlords, tenants, agents and advisers (see Note below) will be considered by the CAAV Council on 15th February. Members wishing to have views considered, either e-mail them to Jeremy Moody at the Secretariat (jeremy@caav.org.uk) or contact their Local Association Council member(s) so that those views can be available for the Council discussion.
The Bank of England has held its base rate at 5.25% with the Governor noting that geopolitical risks had intensified. Six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for a standstill, two for an increase and one for a cut.
For rental properties in Scotland, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s. 14 imposes on landlords the duty to meet a repairing standard. Items are to be in reasonable repair and working order. Section 13(7) lists what is covered, including: wind and water tightness; structure and exterior, including drains, gutters and external pipes; installations for the supply of water, gas electricity, sanitation, space and water heating; fixtures, fittings and appliances; and furnishings. A new version of The...
On their blog, the RPA has reminded BPS claimants of the new deadlines for payment queries and appeals. The 60 day deadline starts on the ‘date of notification’. This is the date the RPA emails or writes to a claimant, giving notification of a payment decision. This can be:a payment remittancea payment querya response to a payment query, when the original payment query was received by the RPA within 60 days of sending a payment remittanceFor any BPS payment decisions notified before 1...
A package was announced on 30th January for revision of the regulatory and other arrangements for trade with Northern Ireland. The Government has now published the Command paper, Safeguarding the Union, and the first legislation to implement parts of it are expected to be debated tomorrow. This note provides an overview of issues related to agriculture.
After publication of a draft last year (see CAAV Note 20th November 2023), the Home Office has published its Code of practice on right to rent, which will be applicable to residential landlords and their agents in England with effect from 13th February 2024....
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities has launched a consultation for greater transparency regarding contractual controls over land (option agreements), with proposals to create a dataset comprising the “what”, “where”, “who” and “when” of contractual control agreements. The consultation closes 20th March 2024. There is a similar consultation regarding greater transparency where land ownership involves trusts (closing 21st February 2024 - see CAAV 11th January...
The Statutory Rule for the Farming for the Generations Scheme in Northern Ireland has now been made, to take effect on 1st March. This note provides more information on the scheme.
The Valuation Office Agency has launched new standards to encourage good practice from agents when representing customers on business rates and Council Tax. The VOA Agent Standards set out how agents must act in: their behaviourtheir professional practice They also set out the level of service agents should provide to their customers, such as providing clear communications and responding in a timely manner....
Following the Defra secretary’s headline speech at the Oxford Farming Conference in early January – after which an update to the agricultural transition plan was published – Richard Sanders takes a timely look at the latest information on these schemes. Agricultural Transition Plan update January 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Technical annex: The combined environmental land management offer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) New and improved actions for upland farmers - Farming (blog.gov.uk)...
Updated guidance 'Understanding the possession action process' has been published for private residential landlords in England, with the associated guidance for tenants similarly updated. Changes to the guidance clarify that form 6A (or a document setting out the same information as required on that form), must be provided to serve a Section 21 notice. There is also inclusion of a new link in the private landlord guidance to provide further information about the Housing Loss Prevention Advice...
The Geospatial Commission is continuing its work on rolling out a digital map, generally known as the 'National Underground Asset Register' (NUAR), showing underground cables and pipes. Ultimately providing information on buried services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and intended to reduce accidental asset strikes. The platform is to be fully operational by the end of 2025 but is currently restricted to asset owners, such as utility companies, transport and local authorities. A...
This note reviews LJ Fairburn & Son Ltd & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs [2024] EWHC 65 (Admin). The High Court has now herd cases from several poultry farmers on the compensation provisions for avian influenza (AI) both before and after the change of policy in October 2022.
This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 25th January 2024 It can be worth remembering in today’s rapidly changing circumstances and new environmental offers that, where law or taxation make special provisions for farming, their benefit can be limited to where farming is being done. They are not entitlements, but conditional. Where agricultural activity ceases, the benefit of those special provisions can be lost. The provisions are to assist those who are farmers,...
From 12th February 2024, Biodiversity Net Gain becomes a condition of planning consent for major development in England. It will then be a requirement for small sites – as defined in the regulations – from April 2024 and for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) from November 2025. Ahead of the policy becoming a planning requirement, the CAAV has briefed members on the development of BNG over the past few years with a range of notes, resources and briefing documents...
Applications have now opened for the 2nd round of the Improving Farm Productivity Grant. For more detail on the grant, see our website note of 14th December. Since the initial publication of the scheme guidance, DEFRA has increased the proportion of the costs that the grant will cover from 40% to 50% for robotic and automated equipment....
DAERA has opened the online system for submitting applications for a Nutrient Action Programme (NAP) derogation in 2024, and for the submission of 2023 fertilisation accounts for derogated farms. This note has more detail.
Two major energy projects have reached milestones in their consenting. Sizewell C has announced that it has satisfied the commitments made in its Deed of Obligation. These were preliminary tasks required under the Development Consent Order (DCO) and preconditions for the start of the formal construction phase. The start of construction is not conditional on the final investment decision (FID) which is expected to be taken later in 2024. The Drax Bioenergy carbon capture and storage project was...
The Government have announced the formal lifting of safeguarding directions for the Phase 2a route between the West Midlands and Crewe. Safeguarding will remain in place for land close to Handsacre, as this is still required to connect HS2 Phase 1 to the West Coast Main Line.
This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 18th January 2024 The encouragement of private capital with and alongside public money has been a recurrent theme in government statements on environmental policy. DEFRA has set out very round figures as targets for this, calling for £500 million of private investment in “nature recovery” by 2027 and £1 billion by 2030 (perhaps 40 per cent of England’s legacy CAP money but not all necessarily agricultural or even...
DEFRA has confirmed the start dates for biodiversity net gain in England:From 12 February 2024, BNG will be mandatory for new planning applications for major development made under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990, subject to the confirmed exemptions.BNG for small sites will have an extended transition period and will apply from 2 April 2024....
Please find attached an updated version of the CAAV Model Grazing and Mowing Licence for England 2024 and accompanying guidance notes.
This Order amends the Units of Production figures in England with effect from 22nd February 2024, as summarised in CAAV Note 16th January 2024.
The following notes set out the Units of Production figures, taking effect from 22nd February 2024 in England, with a separate Order for Wales, taking effect from 7th February 2024.
This Order amends the Units of Production figures in Wales with effect from 7th February 2024, as summarised in CAAV Note 16th January 2024.
Following the start-of-the-year announcement by the DEFRA Secretary on schemes and coming farming policy, DEFRA is hosting several webinars to brief advisers and farmers. The Farming and Countryside Programme (FCP) will be holding an adviser specific webinar on Monday 22nd January: Advisor Webinar - the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI24) Tickets, Mon 22 Jan 2024 at 15:00 | Eventbrite. DEFRA are hosting a webinar on 26th January. Janet Hughes and others from the RPA will be providing an...
With the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 on the statute book, the Government is now consulting on the use of “street votes” as a new means to achieve planning permission for development in England. Responses are due by 2nd February. The note below provides further information.
The National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agency Team has now issued enlarged guidance as to what is “material information” for property sales and lettings in the context of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, essentially focussed on residential sales and leases and applying across the United Kingdom. The note below provides further information.
Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant will close for applications on Wednesday 17th January. In addition to the scheme guidance, DEFRA has posted a blog item providing a recap of the grant and the information needed to get started.
This article by Jeremy Moody first appeared in the CAAV e-Briefing of 11th January 2024 Recent weeks have seen a mood that interest rates may be on the way down. However, UK 10 year gilts are nudging back up to 4 per cent and there seems reason for rates to remain higher for longer and also be more volatile. The strange period was the 15 years of unprecedented ultra-low interest rates from 2008 to 2023, not the last few months in which we have returned to a world of significant interest rates....
The Government issued this consultation between Christmas and the New Year seeking views on greater transparency of land ownership where it involves trusts. Responses are requested by 21st February. This note sets out more detail.
DAERA has announced that the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) is providing free, face-to-face Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) training sessions for farmers in the County Down area.
Scottish Government has made an announcement on the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) 2024, the application window is now open, and will close on Tuesday 31st December 2024.
Defra has reviewed and updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payment rates based on current costs. Where the 2024 rate has increased, the higher payment rate will be paid for: existing SFI Pilot and 2023 agreements, backdated to the start of their current agreement year.new applications received in 2024 SFI 22 payment rates are not changing as the scheme is closing....