From 19th August, we will commence the first round of RPAC meetings around the country to consider an initial set of committed Proposals. There will be a further round of RPAC meetings in mid to late October this year. For those applicants who receive agreement to undertake annually recurrent Options at either of these RPAC rounds, the commitment to these agreed activities will commence from 1 January 2009 with payments due in Autumn 2009.
The commitment to annually recurrent Options from approvals arising from the 2009 round of RPAC meetings will not commence until 1 January 2010 with payments due in Autumn 2010. As a result, we would encourage any applicants wishing to undertake annually recurrent Options to ensure they have completed and committed their Proposals in good time to allow proper consideration by their Case Officer in advance of the RPAC meetings in 2008. Consideration of an applicant's proposals may take several weeks depending on the complexity of the proposal.
Please consult the online guidance at www.scotland.gov.uk/srdp for more details about the process for completing and committing your Proposals.