WIREDGOV

Update after SAF deadline.

An estimated 20,711 Single Application Forms (SAF) have been received by the Scottish Government ahead of the midnight deadline.

A total of 13,534 applications were submitted online using the new Rural Payments and Services website since the SAF window opened on March 16, 2015.

A further 7,177 are estimated to have been submitted on paper, with those handed into local area offices overnight currently being logged and counted.

Late applications will be accepted until July 10, although penalties will apply in line with EU rules.

Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said:

“This year’s extended SAF window has now closed, with the Scottish Government receiving an estimated 20,711 applications before the midnight deadline.

“We have seen a steady stream of applications come in over the last few days of the SAF window, with around 2,000 on the final day.

“I am pleased that the Rural Payment and Services website has generally held up well over this busy period - although I appreciate the earlier frustrations that farmers, crofters and agents have experienced with the system and thank them for their patience.

“This is the first year of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has different eligibility criteria for funding. This includes tough new minimum activity rules that industry agreed should be brought in to prevent an additional million hectares entering the system and diluting producers’ payments. As expected, this has resulted in slightly fewer direct funding applications compared to last year. The fact that payments are now based on an area basis rather than historic activity will also have been a factor influencing the number of applications.

“The priority now for the Scottish Government is to begin processing the applications and carrying out the necessary checks so we can make payments as early as possible in the payment window, which is set in legislation by Europe.”

Scotland’s Chief Agricultural Officer David Barnes added:

“Throughout the extended SAF window, support has been available from RPID area offices across Scotland, which received about 140 calls a day over the weekend when additional phone support was offered.

“Now the SAF window has closed, the real work for RPID is only just beginning. My team is already hard at work entering all of the paper application data onto the Rural Payments and Services system and getting on with the inspections that are required by EU rules before payments can be made.”

Notes To Editors

The SAF window in Scotland was extended by one month and closed at midnight on June 15, 2015.

Applications will continue to be accepted until July 10, 2015, although EU regulations specify the penalty for late applications is four per cent – one per cent for late SAFs and three per cent for late allocation of entitlements applications.

A total of 20,711 SAFs are estimated to have been submitted, 13,534 (65 per cent) online and 7,177 (35 per cent) on paper. These are provisional figures and are subject to change as routine checks are carried out, for example if duplicate applications are discovered.

A total of 22,377 farmers and crofters have registered to use Rural Payments and Services, which is required to receive CAP payments.

The Scottish Government received a total of 21,730 SAFs between March 15, 2014 and May 15, 2014. Of those, 13,559 (62 per cent) were online and 8,171 (38 per cent) were on paper.

The payment window (the period allowed within which to make direct farm funding payments) is set by Europe, in legislation, and goes from December 1 to June 30 the following year.

The Scottish Government has also received more than 890 Agri Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications through Rural Payments and Services by the deadline of June 12, 2015. This is in addition to 350 land managers with priority areas who have had their contracts extended.

If customers were unable to meet the AECS deadline or wish to make changes due to issues beyond their control they should contact their local RPID area office. Where applicants wish to make changes to an AECS application or to have a late submission accepted they will need to make their case in writing.