This steerage is normal recommendation for any farmer and land supervisor whose land has been flooded. It isn’t particular to any particular person flooding occasion.
The steerage beneath covers the next schemes and companies.
- Primary Cost Scheme (BPS)
- Countryside Stewardship (CS)
- Environmental Stewardship (ES)
- Farm Woodland Premium/English Woodland Grant Scheme
- Reporting animal actions
- Cross compliance
When you assume the flooding will have an effect on your capacity to satisfy your settlement necessities or change the realm eligible for a scheme in place you need to contact us, utilizing the small print beneath, on the earliest alternative.
Short-term adjustments and minor change requests
Flooded agricultural land continues to be eligible for BPS, and should not have an effect on land in a CS and/or ES settlement, if the flooding is short-term and the land would in any other case nonetheless be accessible for agricultural exercise.
It is best to return the land to agricultural use as quickly as virtually potential, and proceed to satisfy the scheme guidelines or necessities of settlement choices on the affected land parcels.
The place flooding signifies that briefly you can’t handle your settlement based on the CS or ES possibility necessities, you possibly can request a minor and short-term adjustment to these necessities.
Learn extra details about this for Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship.
After you have stuffed within the kind, you possibly can both put up the shape to us or you possibly can scan it then e mail it to us utilizing the topic title ‘Adjustment Request’, the scheme that you must request an adjustment for and your Settlement Quantity.
Everlasting adjustments and pressure majeure requests
The place the influence of flooding is extra severe and everlasting, you need to notify us and contemplate requesting pressure majeure. That is the place you’re unable to satisfy scheme necessities or settlement obligations resulting from distinctive and unforeseeable circumstances exterior your management.
For BPS, the influence may very well be considered extra severe and everlasting if the land can not be thought of as ‘eligible’ for BPS and not meets the land eligibility standards. For instance, if a stretch of river financial institution and a part of the land parcel has been washed away and the boundary of the sector subsequently moved, then the realm washed away can be a everlasting change. One other instance can be the place stone or particles is protecting eligible land and making that land ineligible.
For ES and CS, the influence could lead to a everlasting change to the settlement land and/or land options that means that you could not handle the land based on the necessities of the choices in your settlement. For instance, a hedgerow or newly created woodland that’s a part of your CS or ES settlement has been destroyed, or as above, a part of a land parcel could have been washed away.
The place flooding adjustments your land completely, you need to verify whether or not that you must make corresponding adjustments to your digital maps (see our steerage on tips on how to make such adjustments) and it’s important you tell us if this may change the areas capable of be managed beneath ES, CS or a Woodland scheme, or change the BPS eligible space.
Tips on how to request pressure majeure
For BPS 2021 purposes and CS agreements ranging from 1 January 2021, you could e mail or write to us utilizing the topic title ‘Flooding 2021’, your SBI and for CS your settlement numbers. You have to ship your e mail or letter inside 8 weeks of being able to take action. This implies inside 8 weeks of the time you realise that you simply can not meet any of the scheme necessities or settlement obligations. It isn’t essentially 8 weeks from the pressure majeure occasion itself.
For requests regarding ES agreements, and CS agreements beginning earlier than 1 January 2021, you could ship your e mail or letter inside 15 working days of being able to take action.
You’ll need to show that, regardless of taking each care that might have been anticipated of you, the distinctive circumstances prevented you from assembly your obligations.
Your proof ought to embody particulars of the actions taken with an evidence of the occasions and the dates they occurred.
SSSI land
If SSSI land is affected and that you must perform remedial work/boundary repairs, chances are you’ll want consent from Pure England earlier than you begin any work. Use a Discover kind that yow will discover on GOV.UK.
The place that you must perform emergency works you are able to do this with out Pure England’s consent. Nevertheless, you could notify Pure England and embody particulars of the emergency as quickly as you possibly can.
Reporting animal actions
The place livestock are in danger from rising flood waters, as an animal keeper you could transfer them to a secure location as quickly as potential, offering it’s secure to take action.
For cattle keepers, chances are you’ll not be capable to report cattle births, actions to a different holding and deaths inside regulatory deadlines and this will likely have an effect on cross compliance. It is best to replace your farm data and report your animal births, actions, and deaths as quickly as potential. If in case you have any issues, keepers in England ought to contact BCMS on 0345 050 1234, keepers in Wales ought to name 0345 050 3456, and keepers in Scotland ought to contact ScotEID on 01466 794323.
For sheep, goat and pig keepers, the place it has been crucial so that you can transfer the animals to land on one other holding, chances are you’ll not be capable to full the motion paperwork usually required earlier than transferring the animals. It is best to replace your data with particulars of the motion and full the motion paperwork as quickly as potential.
If in case you have already moved or nonetheless want to maneuver your livestock contained in the 6 day standstill interval, the Animal and Plant Well being Company (APHA) will licence these strikes. It is best to contact APHA on 03000 200 301.
Unregistered calves and cattle beneath restrictions
You might want to maneuver cattle when some or all of them are very younger unregistered calves that don’t have a passport, or are beneath one of many following restrictions:
- an Particular person Motion Restriction (CPP 27)
- a Complete Herd Motion Restriction (CPP 28)
- a Discover to Establish (CPP 30)
- a Discover of Registration (CPP 35)
When you’re transferring them to a secure location that’s a part of the identical holding, you don’t want to inform BCMS or ScotEID as a result of no motion has taken place.
If the secure location is on a unique holding, you need to ask for a motion licence, which shall be backdated to the motion date, as quickly as potential after the animals have been moved. To do that, keepers in England ought to contact BCMS on 0345 050 1234, keepers in Wales ought to name 0345 050 3456, and keepers in Scotland ought to contact ScotEID on 01466 794323.
If the animals with out passports are very younger calves and ear tags haven’t but been fitted, you don’t want to suit ear tags earlier than the calves are moved.
It is best to preserve motion licences along with your on-farm herd data and replace these data with motion particulars as quickly as potential.
As soon as the flooding has subsided and you’ll return animals to the unique holding, you will have to request an extra motion licence by calling BCMS, or ScotEID – you will have to offer the reference variety of the unique motion licence. This second licence will solely permit you to transfer the animals again to the holding they got here from.
TB testing delays
It is best to inform APHA that you haven’t or can not full your TB take a look at resulting from flooding. No cross compliance motion shall be taken.
Inspections
We are going to postpone any scheduled inspections in affected areas till the scenario eases.
Different cross compliance necessities
For there to be a breach of cross compliance, you should be instantly accountable for any motion or inaction that induced the breach.
Due to this fact, any cross-compliance breaches attributable to flooding is not going to be thought of as breaches as they don’t seem to be the results of any motion or inaction you might have taken. For instance, the place panorama options protected by Good Agricultural and Environmental Circumstances (GAECs) corresponding to stone partitions or hedgerows are washed away or Public Rights of Approach have develop into obstructed.
You’re additionally exempt from the principles the place any motion is carried out by a statutory physique performing beneath its statutory authority. For instance, utility corporations finishing up electrical energy, water, gasoline or freeway works.
Most of the GAECs already embody exemptions that enable works to be carried out in emergency conditions. For instance, reducing or trimming timber the place they’re broken and are a danger to folks.
You’re additionally exempt from a GAEC rule within the following circumstances.
- There’s a danger to human or animal well being or security
- It’s crucial to manage or deal with severe causes of hurt to plant well being
- It’s crucial to forestall or deal with severe pest or weed infestations
You do not want to jot down to us to ask for an exemption.
We are able to grant derogations the place work is to be carried out for the next causes.
- It could improve the setting
- It pertains to livestock or crop manufacturing
- It could enhance public or agricultural entry
You have to apply to us in writing for a derogation. You have to look forward to written permission earlier than finishing up any works.
If you’re involved a couple of breach of the cross compliance guidelines that’s out of your management, you need to preserve a file of it. Use images and/or a written file of the problems. You may present these if you’re inspected at a later date, so we will see the way you had been affected.
If any of the above-mentioned ‘instantly attributable’ provisions, exemptions and derogations don’t apply within the case of a cross compliance breach, we will contemplate circumstances the place ‘pressure majeure’ or distinctive circumstances prevented you from assembly cross compliance guidelines.
Farm Woodland Premium/English Woodland Grant Scheme
If you’re unable to finish or preserve the work set out in your Farm Woodland Premium or English Woodland Grant Scheme contract resulting from flooding, you could contact the Forestry Fee.
You have to present an outline of the incident, together with a timeline of the occasions which have taken place, inside 15 days of being able to take action. The Forestry Fee will then focus on and agree with you what motion could be taken with respect to your settlement. This might embody:
- supplying you with an extended interval during which to finish the work
- agreeing a reinstatement plan the place that is potential
- agreeing to simply accept a decrease commonplace of labor than would in any other case be anticipated of you
- reviewing your plan with a view to modifying or eradicating operations which can be not applicable.
You’ll not be requested to repay grants for work that you’ve carried out, however that are subsequently affected by flooding, so long as you tried to minimise the influence or make good the harm. The place we’re unable to pay grants resulting from flooding, we could reschedule the years during which grants could be claimed.
To request pressure majeure, e mail fs.compliance@forestrycommission.gov.uk and embody your case (settlement) reference quantity.
Fallen timber and felling licence
You do not want a felling licence to fell a harmful tree or take away a fallen tree.
It is best to collect proof that helps your determination that the tree was an imminent hazard. If potential, you need to take images (close to scale) that present the tree setting and situation earlier than and after felling or if fallen. Different types of proof may embody maps, website surveys or experiences and, importantly, a file that confirms when tree felling befell.
For data on the felling licence course of, please see Felling licence: getting permission.
E-mail ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or write to us at:
Rural Funds Company
PO Field 352
Worksop
S80 9FG
Name us on 03000 200 301
