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6 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
ETHOS
6.1 With a view to minimising the number of errors made by claimants of aid and, therefore, the number of appeals against disallowances or penalties we recommend
- reinstatement of a positive and constructive relationship between SGRPID Area Offices and their local farming or crofting communities so that local officers are able to offer more positive assistance to claimants in relation to the various scheme rules, always consistent with their responsibilities to administer these schemes and carry out their regulatory functions under them properly
- dialogue between government and bodies such as the NFUS, SCF and SRPBA (Scottish Rural Property and Business Association) with a view to agreeing the terms of an understanding similar to the Charter of Rights for Farmers produced by the government of the Republic of Ireland in conjunction with the IFA
- the creation of a Farm Liaison Team or teams with a view to improving awareness of the various aid scheme requirements among the farming and crofting communities and helping, in appropriate ways, individual farmers who have particular difficulties
- liaison between SGRPID Area Offices and said Farm Liaison Team for the purposes of identifying claimants in need of assistance with things such as understanding of regulations and completion of claim forms and delivering such assistance to them
- the creation of a forum comprising SGRPID officials and representatives of the farming and crofting communities and chaired by an independent chairman for discussion of, and if possible agreement on, matters of mutual concern
- promotion, to a greater extent than is currently the case, of the realisation that there are no dangers, in terms of EU sanction, in a government helping its claimants get things right and consequent relaxation of the climate of fear (of EU sanction) which presently inhibits such an approach
APPLICATION FORMS AND GUIDANCE
6.2 With a view to minimising errors in claim form filling we recommend that
- guidance material should highlight points of potential difficulty, such as a change in the rules or an unusual definition of an agricultural term, by the use of imaginative design and, in particular, variation of colour, print size and font
- greater efforts be made to produce forms which are easy to follow and which are conducive to errors being identified as such when checked by SGRPID staff
- where necessary use should be made of skilled, independent advice in the matter of form design
- greater use should be made of the information obtained from "S" check data capture in order to improve form design
- submission of claim forms by electronic means should be encouraged so that more people obtain the advantage of a computer check of their forms at the outset
- claimants, for their part, acknowledge their responsibility for the correct completion of their claims by reading guidance material thoroughly, completing their forms carefully including taking advice if necessary, and, having done all of that, submitting their claims sufficiently far ahead of the deadline to allow Area Office officials to check the same and identify errors in time for corrective action to be taken in accordance with scheme rules
STRUCTURAL AND PROCEDURAL REFORM
6.3 With a view to creating an appeals mechanism capable of processing appeals expeditiously but with appropriate care and scrutiny and which is seen to be - because it is - independent of Scottish Ministers and robust in its structures and procedures, we recommend
- abolition of the present system
- its replacement with an independent Appeals Agency, created by statute, chaired by a legally qualified Director and with (a) access to a panel of experienced lay members to assist in appropriate cases and (b) a staff wholly independent of Scottish Ministers whose job it would be to process appeals with due care and attention and on reasonable timescales having regard to the complexity of individual cases
- retention of a right of appeal to the Scottish Land Court but only on a question of law
- in addition to such a right of appeal, provision for fast tracking cases involving only questions of law to the Scottish Land Court
SCOPE OF NEW SYSTEM
6.4 With a view to the provision of a unified appeal system we recommend that
- all appeals relating to agricultural or environmental aid schemes, including appeals from the new Rural Development Programmes, should be handled by the new Appeals Agency and in accordance with the scheme set out in this report
SUBSTANTIVE LAW REFORM
6.5 Substantive law reform is not part of our remit (and could not be given that the relevant law is handed down from the EU) and we mention it here only as an opportunity to reiterate that grievances arising from the correct application of the law as it presently stands can only be addressed elsewhere. In this context that means Brussels. An appeal system, however good, can only work with the law it is given.
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