Fisher German Farm Business Consultants were asked by a national land owner to assist and advise on historic Single Farm Payment penalties which were applied following a Rural Payment Agency Inspection for an apparent over declaration and Cross Compliance breach their land.

The RPA inspection took place in 2013 and the Inspector reported that some of the land, which was reclaimed but was being farmed, was not eligible and breached GAEC 12 ‘Agricultural Land that is not in Production’ as per the requirements of the Single Farm Payment Scheme.

Some of the disputed land had previously been a landfill site and an open cast mine. The land had been restored, as per the planning requirements, to a species rich grassland and had been drained. The landscaping had been partially completed and as the site had not yet been fenced the grass was being cut for silage and hay rather than used for grazing livestock. At the time of inspection there were silage bales still stacked in the field.

Based on the Inspector’s report, the RPA removed the land in question from the 2013 claim which immediately triggered an over declaration for that year. In addition to this they removed the land from the previous year’s claim and applied penalties back to 2010.

The resultant overpayment and penalties generated a fine in excess of &80,000. This was disputed at the time but the RPA were adamant that the land was not eligible and the penalty would apply. Fisher German were then instructed to handle the negotiations and entered long and protracted discussions with the RPA over the interpretation of ‘eligible land’ and use of the land in question.   The RPA withheld the 2013 and 2014 Single Farm Payment and part of the 2015 Basic Payment as part of the recovery process.

In 2016, Fisher German were successful in challenging the detail of the penalty by providing evidence to prove that the land had been farmed in accordance with Single Farm Payment requirements and was eligible.   The challenge against the Cross Compliance breach relating to GAEC12 was partially successfully but the RPA still upheld their earlier ruling on some of the land which resulted in the overall fine and recovery from the RPA being reduced from &80,000 to &15,000.

As a result of the previous inspection outlined above, the Claimant was regarded as being a ‘Risk’ by the RPA and was then subject to a further inspection in June 2016. The Inspector again reported that some of the land was not eligible and when challenged on this the alleged breaches and non-conformities were found to be spurious and the 2016 BPS was paid in full.

For further information or help with matters relating to the Basic Payment Scheme please contact Tom Heathcote on 07918 628983 or email here