Under new regulations all Environmental Stewardship Agreement Holders, whether that be ELS, OELS, ULS or HLS will need to submit an annual claim for 2015 in order to be paid for their agreement.
Carys Williams of Rostons comments that ”this is a new change as a result of the move to the Basic Payment Scheme and agreement holders must submit their claim form by the 15 May every year to ensure your agreement payment in full”.
Further rules state that if the claim is submitted up until the 9 June the payment will be reduced by 1% per working day the claim is late.
The biggest concern is that if a claim form is not submitted at all or after 9 June, the Stewardship Agreement Holder will not receive any payment for that year.
Carys, again comments that “it is extremely important that all claimants are aware of this and must submit their claim form before the 15 May”.
It is understood that Natural England will be writing to all Agreement Holders in the New Year to inform them of this change. If you require any assistance in completing this form then please do let the team at Rostons know on 01829 773000.