Financial Details
Contents
Calculating your allowance
You have a maximum yearly allowance based on the total area of land you declared in your 2005 single application form.This is the total of boxes X and Y on your field data sheets and your estimated share of any common grazing land (which should be worked out by multiplying the area of common grazing land by your share of it as declared in section 6 of the single application form).
We will check these areas and adjust your allowance where necessary.
You can work out your own maximum allowance. It is:
- £75 a hectare for your first 10 hectares;
- £30 a hectare for your next 90 hectares;
- £1 a hectare for your next 900 hectares;
- 10p a hectare for any hectares over 1000.
Once you have worked out your allowance you can choose options on the menu up to that amount. We will only pay you for options you choose in the 2005 scheme year.
You will be able to work out your maximum allowance in 2006 based on the land you declare in your 2006 single application form. If you choose an option that runs for 5 years,we will take the cost of that option from your allowance for the year you chose the option and the next four years after that.
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Common grazings
Agri-environment,woodland and access options cannot be undertaken on the common grazings. However, as outlined above your share of the common grazing will be used in calculating your allowance.
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Financial limits
There are restrictions under EU regulations on the maximum annual funding available. The ceiling on your total claims across the Agri-environment options under the LMC Menu Scheme, with the RSS, CPS, OAS, ESA and the Habitats Scheme is E900 (around £630) per hectare for specialised perennial crops, E600 (around £420) per hectare for annual crops and E450 (around £315) per hectare per annum for other land uses.
This means you cannot receive a combined sum (for all the above schemes) greater than the above figures for each type of land use. For example 10 fields totalling 100 ha of cereals could have £42,000 funding per annum for agri-environment measures or 5 fields totalling 100 ha grassland would have a ceiling of £31,500 per annum.
If you already have commitments to this level you will only be eligible for payments under the Menu Scheme for options 1-5 and 15-17.You will not get further funding for agri-environment (options 6-14).
If the amount claimed in your Menu Scheme application exceeds the funding available to you because you have exceeded your allowance or breached the maximum funding ceiling for all agri-environment measures, there will be a facility to amend your application to reduce the funding sought. If it is found you have falsely declared land to increase your maximum allowance penalties may apply.
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Payments
Payment under the Menu Scheme will be made in arrears, after the relevant undertakings have been completed by you. One payment will be made per application from April 2006 providing the claim forms have been returned with all supporting documentation to allow final processing.
Payment method
The Menu Scheme claims will be paid using the Bankers Automated Clearing System (BACS). We will already have your bank details if you have previously received a payment for any other IACS scheme or agri-environment scheme (e.g. RSS or CPS).
If you have not previously supplied this information you should obtain and complete a BACS (1) form and return it to your local SEERAD area office as quickly as possible.This also applies if you need to change the details we hold.
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