Environmental Stewardship - Important Information for Applicants
New Rural Development Programme from 2007
Environmental Stewardship formed part of the England Rural Development Programme which ends on 31 December 2006. The scheme (which comprises ELS, OELS and HLS) will also form part of the new Rural Development Programme for England which will run from 2007 to 2013. Unfortunately, the European Union (EU) will not have approved the details of the new Programme by 1 January 2007, and until it does we will only be able to offer provisional agreements. What this means for you is explained below.
David Miliband, Secretary of State for Defra, announced to Parliament on 1 November why the next Programme will not start on 1 January 2007. Briefly, whilst the Government's preparations for the new programme are well advanced, until a new European Regulation governing voluntary modulation is agreed we cannot submit our Programme to the EU for approval. The Programme is unlikely to be submitted before the Spring 2007 and once submitted the approval process can take up to six months. For David Miliband's full statement please go to http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ministers/statements/dm061101.htm or contact your regional Natural England office.
The result of the delay is that any agreements we enter into after 1 January 2007 will be provisional until the Programme has been approved by the EU. These agreements will be legally binding and you will be entitled to payment under them for complying with the scheme rules in the normal way. However, we reserve the right to amend your provisional agreement if it contains an option which the EU requires us to alter (or remove from the scheme altogether) in order to secure its approval for the Programme.
If you have a provisional ELS or OELS agreement which is affected in this way, you will be entitled to either select new options to replace those which have been altered or removed from the scheme (this will enable you to continue to carry out sufficient options to meet your points target), or you may cancel your agreement.
If you have a HLS agreement which is affected, we will amend it to exclude any options changed or removed by the EU approval process and adjust your annual payment accordingly.
Since Environmental Stewardship was approved by the EU in 2005 as part of the England Rural Development Programme we do not foresee the EU requiring us to make any major changes to the scheme for the new Programme.
We believe this approach presents the best balance between maintaining 'business as usual' and closing the scheme to new applicants until the Programme has been approved. Once the Programme has been approved provisional agreements will be formally converted into 'full' agreements.
Cross compliance requirements from 1 January 2007
Cross compliance, which already applies to those claiming under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), will also apply to all Environmental Stewardship agreements entered into on or after 1 January 2007. This means that you will have to be able to demonstrate that you are keeping your land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) and complying with a number of specified legal requirements known as Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs). If you are found to be in breach of these standards or requirements then appropriate and proportionate penalties will be applied to your Environmental Stewardship payment and your SPS payment (if you claim it).
Full details of cross compliance can be found in the 'Single Payment Scheme Cross Compliance Handbook for England' and the 'Supplement for 2007' or via the Defra cross compliance advice programme. This has a dedicated helpline, email address and website, details as follows:
Cross compliance helpline: 0845 345 1302
http://www.crosscompliance.org.uk
email: info@crosscompliance.org.uk
If you require further information on any of the details set out above please check the Q&A![[Click to download Adobe Acrobat Reader]](/graphics/buttons/pdf.gif){kind=small}
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Page last modified:
14 December, 2006
Page published: 12 December, 2006