The Scottish Government

Updates which have been made to the guidance published online for Rural Priorities can be viewed by clicking on Guidance Updates from the left hand menu.

All significant updates and additions to the online guidance are also listed below:

Tuesday 26 August 2008

• The first combined Regional Proposal Assessment Committee (RPAC) round for Rural Priorities is being held on Tuesday 26 August.
• Guidance for the Value Added Processing Package has now been published.

Tuesday 12 August 2008

• Staff guidance on assessing, scoring and approving Proposals is now available.
• Two new dates for agents' training have been added to the list; 9 September, Dumfries and 26 September, Perth. Please see the August newsletter for more details.

Tuesday 5 August 2008

• The August SRDP newsletter contains a section titled Call for Proposals, which has information about submitting Rural Priorities Proposals for consideration by the RPACs due to meet before the end of 2008.

Thursday 24 July 2008

• The generic guidance for Mapping is now published.

Friday 18 July 2008

• Guidance for Consents and Licences has now been published.

Monday 14 July 2008

• Internal Desk Instructions for Submitted Proposal has now been published in the Forms and Futher Guidance section.

Monday 14 July 2008

• Online Proposal Desk Instructions has now been published in the Forms and Futher Guidance section.

Monday 14 July 2008

• Guidance for Contracts now published

Thursday 10 July 2008

• Guidance for making Claims has now been published.

Monday 7 July 2008

You can now complete and submit a full Proposal for Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities using the Rural Payments Online application system.

If you wish to submit a Proposal, you should go to the Scottish Government website, at Rural Payments Online then follow the link to Rural Development Contracts, Rural Priorities, Proposal.

Once you have completed your Proposal, you can submit it to your Case Officer who will carry out an initial assessment, initiate any consultation required and provide you with feedback. You can then revise your Proposal and resubmit it.

Guidance on how to complete your Proposal is available to read and download from the "Guidance" list at the left hand side of the Rural Priorities page.

Please Note: The system will not allow you to finally "commit" your Proposal for formal assessment and scoring until the end of July 2008.

Information for Applicants wishing to apply for a Woodland Creation Option

Applicants applying for the Woodland Creation option will not be able to enter further details relating to this specific Option into the online Proposal screens until the end of July 2008.

Any applicant wishing to progress a Proposal which includes a Woodland Creation Option should contact their Case Officer for further information about how their Proposal can be progressed. They should also complete the Woodland Creation Outcome Plan template (shown in the list of "Forms" below left. This will allow the Case Officer to provide feedback on these options in advance of the end of July 2008.

Alternatively, you may choose to proceed with completing the details of any other options in your Proposal and add in the Woodland Creation option once you are able to do so online.

Please contact your Case Officer to confirm your intentions with regard to the Woodland Creation Option before submitting your Proposal.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by our continuing system development.

Thursday 3 July 2008

• Guidance on assessing the need for Specialist Advice as part of the Outcome Plan is now available.

Friday 27 June 2008

• Guidance on the Supporting Biodiversity package has now been published.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

• Guidance is now available to help applicants who have more than one agent. The guidance demonstrates how agents can create multiple agent assistants, to submit applications on their behalf.

Friday 13 June 2008

• A video demonstrating how to complete an online Statement of Intent can now be viewed.
• Guidance on the criteria used by Case Officers to assess your Proposal is now available.

Monday 9 June 2008

• You can now view information on the funding available for completing your Outcome Plan.

Friday 30 May 2008

• The guidance available to help you complete your Statement of Intent has now been updated.
• Guidance on completing your Proposal Outcome Plan is now available.

Tuesday 27 May 2008

• You can now complete a Proposal Outcome Plan in Word (360kb). The form is also available in pdf format (156kb). You will need to download the pdf version if you do not have Microsoft Word.

Friday 25 April 2008

• Guidance on Customer Care and Complaints has now been published on the website. This provides details of our commitment to our customers and the process for submitting complaints.