The Scottish Government has laid on additional area office staff to support the final push towards next week’s Single Application Form (SAF) deadline.
With just five days remaining until the application window closes at midnight, on Monday, June 15, farmers and crofters that have not already started or sent in their SAF are being urged to “crack on as soon as possible”.
“We know that the days leading up to the closure of the SAF window are traditionally the busiest – with almost half of last year’s SAFs submitted in the final week before the deadline,” said Farm Minister Richard Lochhead during a visit to the local RPID area office in Elgin this week. As a result, he said area offices will be providing additional telephone support for farmers and crofters between 10am and 3pm this Saturday and Sunday (June 13 and 14), in addition to the assistance they will provide within “normal working hours” between now and the SAF deadline.
As of Tuesday, a total of 14,726 forms had been received by the government – around two thirds of the total number anticipated. This compares favourably to just 53% at the same point during last year’s countdown.
“Although we are ahead of that tally this year, farmers and crofters should not leave it until the last minute to get their forms in,” Mr Lochhead said. “I appreciate the forbearance of farmers and agents who have been experiencing issues with the Rural Payments and Services online application system, which the Scottish Government has been working flat out to sort.
“Under EU rules, it is the applicant’s responsibility to follow the scheme requirements but there are provisions to ensure they are not disadvantaged by issues outwith their control and where they are not at fault – including failures in a paying agency’s systems.
“These provisions have been used in Scotland before and I fully intend to use them again this year, where appropriate.”
NFU Scotland chief executive Scott Walker welcomed the provision of additional support from area staff. According to the union, feedback from members that have utilised the online facility for SAF applications has suggested many did call upon the support of local SGRPID offices for much-needed assistance with their form-filling. “The additional phone support at local offices will be a key factor in getting the final tranche of potential applicants successfully signed up,” he added.
The deadline for making agri-environment (AECS) applications to Scotland’s Rural Development Scheme remains tomorrow. He said NFU Scotland will continue to monitor AECS applications – and if uptake proves to be poor, it will urge the Scottish Government to consider an application extension.