We have established that it is not acceptable for flat rate payments to be made for a basic Outcome Plan prepared by the applicant. Payments for basic outcome plans prepared by applicants must be made on 50% of actual costs basis up to a maximum payment of £150. We have made changes to the claim form and updated the guidance to reflect this. We will honour any flat rate payments already made and will accept the submission of any old style claim forms already issued to applicants that committed their proposals prior to the February/March round of RPACs. All other claims must be on the new form.
Also see Funding for Outcome Plans.
An Outcome Plan is submitted in conjunction with any Proposal that you submit and your Case Officer will assess whether or not the Outcome Plan contains enough information to show that the Proposal is feasible.
If you, the applicant, prepared the Outcome Plan, you must keep a record of the time spent - in hours - on that task and declare this on the Outcome Plan claim form for payment under Type "a" plans.
To allow us to process your claim for payment under Type "b" or "c" plans and pay you the correct rate, you will need to submit all receipted invoices relating to the preparation of your Outcome Plan.
It is not yet possible to submit your claim on-line. Once your Outcome Plan has been deemed by your Case Officer to be "fit for purpose" a paper claim form will be sent to you. This form and any related invoices which you haven't already submitted should be sent to your local RPID office, and a manual payment will then be made as quickly as possible.
There are four different types of plan as detailed below:
| Type of Plan | Relevant Axis/ Axes | By Whom | Funding |
a. | Basic Outcome Plan | 1, 2 and 3 | Prepared by applicant | 50% of actual costs up to max. payment of £150 * |
b. | Basic Outcome Plan | 1, 2 and 3 | Prepared by agent | 50% of actual costs up to max. payment of £200 * |
c. | Outcome Plan with specialist input | 1, 2 and 3 | Prepared by agent/ specialist | 50% of actual costs up to max. payment of £400 * |
d. | Outcome Plan with specialist input ** | Axis 2 (agri environment Options) | Prepared by agent/ specialist | £1.02 per hectare per annum for first 150 hectares and £0.20 per hectare for next 100 hectares up to a max. of £873.28 per plan over 5 years |
For a single application/case you can claim for either a Basic Outcome Plan (Type "a" or "b") or an Outcome Plan with specialist advice (Type "c" or "d") but not both.
* Payments under Type "a", "b" and "c" plans are limited to a total of £1,000 over the life of the Scotland Rural Development Programme. This includes any payments made for Nutrient Management Plans and Soil and Water Management Plans, as well as for LMO commitments for Nutrient Management Plans and Business Audits.
** Funding of Type "d" Plans will become available in summer 2010. Funding will be a 5-year annual payment, which can only be paid if approval is given for the relevant part of the Proposal.
When the Case Officer marks the proposal as "Fit for Purpose" at Stage 2 Assessment, this prompts the Case Officer to arrange for the issue of an Outcome Plan Claim along with instructions on receipting requirements for invoices. Separate claims are required for Business and Environmental Outcome Plans so you may receive two claim forms, depending on which type(s) of outcome plans you have submitted.
The Outcome Plan Claim Form will be pre-populated with RPAC Region Code, Case Reference Number and Type of Claim. Please check this information, complete the claim form and return it to your local RPID office. If claiming under a, complete the hours declaration section and if claiming under b or c enclose the properly receipted invoice/s.