Payment timings for Mid/Higher Tier

Wolds Beef

Member

• Feb 2, 2018

• #81

@Guy Smith This smacks of incompetence among other things, HLS/ELS is a crop and you should be able to rely on the income! They have moved the goal posts twice in the last year as regards payment timing(with no consultation). I was surposed to have a payment in December!! . I think they also rely on the threat of an inspection so that you do not complain. That is not on!!
WB

 

Guy Smith

Member

✓

Location

Essex

• Feb 3, 2018

• #82

Couldn't agree more. We've been complaining about failure to pay on time or in accordance with agreements for some time.
Mr.Gove agrees with us that the delivery of the envirionment schemes is not good enough.
We are told extra resource and manpower has been given to NE in order to try to resolve some of these issues. We have yet to see the results.

 

A

Ashman

Member

• Feb 3, 2018

• #83

@Guy Smith Mr Gove should be concerned about the performance of the RPA. In the last four years payment error made to my BPS.Still waiting for 2016 part payments. No countryside payment yet but had two inspection.
Ask Mr Gove as the RPA performance is so poor will late payments be attract 10% interest on out standing balance. This I am sure would focus minds. Would Mr Gove commit to applying to the EU to opening the payment window starting November 2018. North Ireland have done this for the last few years maybe this would ease the pressure and put some good will from the farmers back with the RPA

 

Guy Smith

Member

✓

Location

Essex

• Feb 4, 2018

• #84

We've got concerns about the performance of the RPA as well.
As per

http://www.fwi.co.uk/business/rpa-boss-blasted-over-payment-delays-and-mapping.htm

 

Wolds Beef

Member

• Feb 7, 2018

• #85

@Guy Smith Do you meet the head of Natural England? Does he realise how bad things are? I can not get through to my local advisor, I suspect this is because she has so many farmers moaning at her !! I have just taken delivery of my annual load of N. Just over £6,000 pounds worth and was hoping my ELS/HLS payment would help towards this!
WB

 

Wolds Beef

Member

• Feb 9, 2018

• #86

I received a letter from Natural England Yesterday!! It told me my claim was now being handled by the Worcester Office of NE. It also said that it could be June before I get my December payment!!. If the boot was on the other foot!!
WB

 

Guy Smith

Member

✓

Location

Essex

• Feb 9, 2018

• #87

Wolds Beef said:

@Guy Smith Do you meet the head of Natural England? Does he realise how bad things are? I can not get through to my local advisor, I suspect this is because she has so many farmers moaning at her !! I have just taken delivery of my annual load of N. Just over £6,000 pounds worth and was hoping my ELS/HLS payment would help towards this!
WB

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Last autumn I raised the poor performance of NE with Mr. Gove in person on the rare occasions I meet him with a chance to raise some detailed issues.

Interestingly the following month he said this in public

Natural England does many many good things but I have to say that Natural England and Defra scarcely deserve medals for the operation and administration of the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

That is why I have asked Andrew Sells, Natural England’s brilliant Chairman, and James Cross, The Natural England Chief Executive, working with the Rural Payments Agency, to overhaul delivery of the scheme.

We have been assured NE are being given extra delivery staff. I'll admit I've yet to see much benefit - I'm waiting for a payment myself. You can only hope that if the bloke at the top admits there's a problem then something's being done. But. as said, I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Wolds Beef

Member

• Feb 19, 2018

• #88

@Guy Smith I surpose it would be the ideal time to ask Mr Gove what is being done to NE. If he wants his new nature friendly payments to keep us afloat, he needs an organisation we can trust! If I sign a contract, I stick to it, niavily I signed a contract with NE who could not care less.
By the by, Good luck with the election. If I had a drct vote it would come your way!!
WB

 

New Puritan

Member

Location

East Sussex

• Feb 19, 2018

• #89

Still nothing. Was meant to get the first payment in December, then after a lot of chasing it was meant to be in by the end of January. I have been told it has been 'escalated' twice within NE, but nothing has materialised so far.

Annoyingly, I think the Mid Tier is also holding up the BPS. Without wanting to turn this into a subsidy moan-up, given I am a very small farmer and a new entrant, the money would come in very handy. I got an email update from the RPA saying that the BPS has not been paid yet as they are "checking a claim against applications for other schemes". Has anyone else found this? It's not great for cashflow.

Cheers,
NP.

 

M

Mixedupfarmer

Member

Location

Norfolk

• Feb 19, 2018

• #90

we have just been paid our "advanced" payment for 2016 mid tier, well over a year late, but at least we are now seeing signs that things are progressing. Hopefully our second payment for 2016 and 2017 advance will follow soon. Hopefully everyone else due money will start to see it arrive too.

 

marshbarn

Member

Location

shropshire

• Feb 19, 2018

• #91

Mixedupfarmer said:

we have just been paid our "advanced" payment for 2016 mid tier, well over a year late, but at least we are now seeing signs that things are progressing. Hopefully our second payment for 2016 and 2017 advance will follow soon. Hopefully everyone else due money will start to see it arrive too.

Click to expand...

Advanced payment 2 years late, the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Unbelievable but true
Still nothing here for 2017

 

Feldspar

Member

Location

Essex, Cambs and Suffolk

• Feb 19, 2018

• #92

We have still not had any payment for a January 2017 start. I have read through the terms and conditions of the contract we accept. Like all contracts that are provided by one party for the other to sign, the protection stands squarely with the side who wrote the contract. I can actually find no particular provision in the contract that would allow a farmer to take the authority to court for late payment. It even says that they do not have to pay you if they don't have the money! I must remember to include that in all my future business transactions.

All of this is a crying shame because I really like my Mid Tier scheme and would like to do more. These payment problems are the biggest risk to signing up to another scheme and I do not see any signs on the ground that matters have improved.

 

bankrupt

Member

Location

EX17/20

• Feb 19, 2018

• #93

Feldspar said:

I must remember to include that in all my future business transactions.

Click to expand...

 

bankrupt

Member

Location

EX17/20

• Feb 20, 2018

• #94

8.2

The Grant will be paid directly to the Agreement Holder’s nominated business bank
account via BACS transfer by the Paying Agency, subject to the necessary funds
being available when the payment falls due. The Agreement Holder agrees and accepts
that payment of the Grant can only be made to the extent that the funds are available.

bankrupt, Feb 28, 2017

 

Feldspar

Member

Location

Essex, Cambs and Suffolk

• Feb 20, 2018

• #95

bankrupt said:

8.2

The Grant will be paid directly to the Agreement Holder’s nominated business bank
account via BACS transfer by the Paying Agency, subject to the necessary funds
being available when the payment falls due. The Agreement Holder agrees and accepts
that payment of the Grant can only be made to the extent that the funds are available.

bankrupt, Feb 28, 2017

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That's the one.

 

Flat 10

Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Fen Edge

• Feb 20, 2018

• #96

I took this to mean that NE were allowing wiggle room for the Treasury not to pay them post Brexit. However since this is guaranteed I don't think this will be a problem imminently anyway.

 

Feldspar

Member

Location

Essex, Cambs and Suffolk

• Feb 20, 2018

• #97

Flat 10 said:

I took this to mean that NE were allowing wiggle room for the Treasury not to pay them post Brexit. However since this is guaranteed I don't think this will be a problem imminently anyway.

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The current problem is that they have the money, but they just aren't organised enough to dole it out.

 

Flat 10

Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Fen Edge

• Feb 20, 2018

• #98

Feldspar said:

The current problem is that they have the money, but they just aren't organised enough to dole it out.

Click to expand...

Exactly.

 

bankrupt

Member

Location

EX17/20

• Feb 21, 2018

• #99

Flat 10 said:

Exactly.

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Quite.

But if things are allowed to go on as they are, eventually 6-18 months of payments due may never be made owing to the upcoming EU/Defra cash flow crisis at the point of Brexit.

 

Fergieman

Member

Mixed Farmer

Location

Northumberland

• Feb 21, 2018

• #100

Still nothing for 2017 and letter in the post to say they are trying to make payments asap. Year 8 of our agreement and this is the worst its been