NBA pleased to see arrival of many Single Farm Payments throughout the UK

NBA pleased to see arrival of many Single Farm Payments throughout the UK

Following years of problems with the Single Payment Scheme, the National Beef Association (NBA) says it is reassuring to see so many payments begin making their way to farmers from yesterday (December 1st).
 
Many Scottish and Welsh members received notification on Thursday, the first possible day for this to happen, with money following quickly behind. Things are also positive for English farmers, with a promise of 86% of payments to be made by the end of the month. And our Northern Irish members are expecting their notifications from December 9th (next Friday) with payments from December 12th, although delays are expected for farmers with any query or a farm inspection due.
 
Hamish McBean, NBA Chairman, says this week’s ruling in favour of nine English farmers who suffered maladministration under the scheme in 2005 and 2006 serves as a reminder that errors and delays can be hugely detrimental to farming businesses and must be avoided in the future.

He says: “It is a great pleasure to hear from so many of our members who have received notification of their payment. They have been relieved from the pressure of worrying about when the money will appear and will be able to enjoy Christmas with their families without a financial cloud hanging over their businesses.

“But let us not forget the proposed CAP reforms currently on the table and the chaos this could plunge the system into post 2014. It really is essential that we secure a positive deal on CAP that is simple to administer. While it is vital that CAP is in the best interests of farmers, it also needs to be something Defra and the devolved Governments can deal with. The current proposals would be so bureaucratically burdensome that no computer system or payment scheme could cope.

“At the same time as the Government and stakeholder groups battle in Europe, the NBA would also like to see the RPA and others anticipate the changes coming and be as prepared as possible. We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in 2005 and 2006.”

For more information contact:-

Hamish McBean NBA Chairman*  01309 651206 07729 357880
Joanne Pugh  NBA Assistant Director 01772 734707 07579 009648

*Hamish is currently chairing the NBA Board and Review Committee, charged with taking the NBA forward for the future.