The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed a Welsh Government decision to accept its calls for a ‘simplified’ stage 1 appeals process for alleged over-declarations on this year’s Single Application Form.
Following the release of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) part payments from December 1, and the issuing of accompanying payment statements, many farmers had noticed large deductions had been made to their eligible areas, in some cases triggering penalties.
“In many cases these seem to make no sense, and the fact that maps showing how government staff have mapped areas are not available, makes appealing very difficult,” said FUW Gwent county executive officer Glyn Davies.
“We have therefore been in constant talks with Rural Payments Wales (RPW) to simplify the appeals process, and welcome the proposals – although we remain frustrated that we are in this situation,” he added.
Under the simplified appeals system those who wish to appeal against deductions can submit CRNs and the relevant field numbers via RPW Online, along with contact details, at which point Welsh Government officials will check their maps. If queries are not acknowledged by RPW within seven days farmers should contact the Welsh Government’s Customer Contact Centre.
“If Welsh Government only partially accepts or rejects the appeal, farmers will be given confirmation of the area deducted and a screen shot of Welsh Government mapping to show where deductions have been made. There will then be a second opportunity to query the figures before moving to a stage 2 appeal,” added Glyn Davies.
“Farmers are suffering financially this year due to poor farmgate prices, so it is extremely frustrating to be confronted with reductions or penalties without any clear information about why these may have been applied.
“The complexity of the new CAP rules and the requirement to provide sketch maps has been a nightmare for farmers and all those assisting them this year.
“FUW staff worked tirelessly in the run up to May 15, dealing with the new regulations, so I have every sympathy with Welsh Government staff who are now under the same pressures.
“However, it is extremely frustrating to see cases where farmers’ figures have been changed by miniscule amounts and these add up to large areas, despite mapping measurements being by definition extremely subjective.”