After several months of correspondence with the RPA explaining the difficulties their decision to close the drop-in centres will cause, we now have confirmation that they will not consider running their drop-in centres for RLE1 forms in the week leading up to the entitlement transfer deadline on the 2nd April. This now puts pressure on both farmers buying or selling entitlements and agents arranging transfers & completing the paperwork, to ensure that transfers are completed earlier, as the option of a last minute purchase/sale becomes more risky. It may still be possible for these last minute RLE1s to be submitted by hand, however where there were five centres spread across the country last year (Exeter, Newmarket, Worcester, Northallerton and Carlisle), all forms will now need to be taken to the RPA’s RLE1 processing facility in Sheffield. This could prove a challenge for agents not situated within a reasonable driving distance, and will likely impact on when their own trading deadlines would be. Post can of course be sent by recorded or special delivery, however even these safer options cannot completely guarantee that the forms will arrive in time.
The RPA has in recent years been trying to limit the number of paper forms submitted and to increase electronic submissions. Whilst SP5 online submissions are not a problem the RPA have not yet made arrangements to enable RLE1 forms to be submitted in this way. Therefore drop-in centres have provided an essential service for farmers and agents who need to submit ‘last minute’ RLE1s by hand in the few days before the deadline. In theory turning to an electronic system for submission and processing makes sense in reducing processing time; in practice however all the components would need to be in place for such a radical development to be implemented smoothly. With the rollout of high speed rural broadband reported to be running so far behind schedule, it would perhaps have been a wiser option to hold off closing down the traditional methods of submitting the RLE1s until the digitalisation of all RPA systems are in place, and it can be considered that the majority of farmers have access to a reasonable internet connection.
Having said this, Townsend Chartered Surveyors can confirm that we will continue to trade up to the transfer deadline on the 2nd April. We hope that this will ensure that anyone in need of a late deal, perhaps as a result of ending a tenancy or having purchased additional land, will still have an opportunity to source/sell entitlements before the transfer window closes.
Soil Protection Review & Cross Compliance
It is now more important than ever to ensure that you have an up to date Soil Protection Review on your farm, as a failure to do so constitutes a breach of Cross Compliance. Land owners in breach may face an initial financial penalty of 3% of their Single Farm Payment for a first time breach, with penalties increasing for multiple breaches. Failure to show an up to date Soil Protection Review on request is one of the most commonly breached Cross Compliance rules and should your farm be inspected for any reason it is likely that you will be asked to provide it.
Separate Business Questionnaires
A number of cases are coming to light where the RPA are requesting information to ‘regularise’ situations where farmers operate as two separate businesses. This tends to be an issue where two businesses operate out of the same or nearby holdings where the majority shareholders are the same people. If such cases come to light the RPA may seek to treat the two as a single business ‘in their eyes’, depending on how the businesses interrelate with each other. This does not usually mean the businesses will have to merge in reality, only from an RPA perspective. Complications could however arise if a dual use exists, which could lead to a ‘double funding’ scenario once the RPA consider the entities as one business. Professional advice should be sought when responding to RPA’s queries in these scenarios in order to mitigate chances of penalties, to Single Payment claims or other grants, due to the information provided.