Scottish Government

Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAP) 2004: NOTES FOR GUIDANCE

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INTRODUCTION

These Notes cover the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS) 2004. Please read them carefully to make sure that you understand the scheme requirements.

• For more information please contact your SEERAD Area Office. SEERAD Area Office staff can only provide you with information, not advice. If in doubt, you may wish to get help from a professional adviser.

Electronic Submission of the SAP 2004 claim

CAP Reform

• The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy agreed on 26 June 2003 marks a significant shift in the nature of agricultural support across the European Union, including Scotland. The agreement contains a number of elements and a range of options for implementation. As part of the public consultation exercise being run by the Scottish Executive, SEERAD issued an information leaflet to farmers summarising the key features of the agreement. The consultation period ends on 6 January 2004 and only then will decisions be taken on the options for implementation.

How Can I Avoid Penalties?

The following pointers show some of the steps you can take to avoid some of the most common mistakes which can lead to penalties. It is not a complete list of all requirements but covers the main points:

Application period and retention period dates

1 The application period will open on 4 December 2003 and close on 4 February 2004; and

The retention period will run from midnight on 4 February 2004 and end at midnight on 14 May 2004.

The claim form is designed to cover all categories of claimants, i.e. a sole producer, a Scottish Partnership, a Limited Company, a Sheep Stock Club or a former Producer Group.

Payment Rates

2 For 2004 the payment is 21 Euros per eligible sheep. For 2004 the Less Favoured Area (LFA) Supplement is 7 Euros per eligible sheep. The Sterling equivalent is calculated based on the exchange rate in December 2003.

Sheepmeat National Envelope: Quality Assured Producers' Scheme (QAPS)

3 The Quality Assured Producers' Scheme will again provide additional support to sheep producers engaged in farming activity that responds to the needs of the market.

To qualify, sheep producers will have to qualify for SAP and be a member of one of the following bodies and engaged in sheep farming:

• Specially Selected Scotch Farm Assurance Scheme for Beef and Lamb.*
• Freedom Foods.
• Farm Assured British Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance Scheme.*
• Genesis Quality Assurance Scheme.
• Scottish Organic Producers' Association.
• Soil Association Farm Assurance Scheme.

*For these Schemes you must have sheep membership

The amount payable under QAPS to individual producers will depend on quality assurance scheme membership levels. On current levels, producers would receive around 89p for each eligible ewe, although the final rate will not be determined until the number of qualifying animals is known. Payment will be made alongside the SAP and LFA supplement.

Page 6 of the SAP 2004 claim form gives details of how to claim if you wish to claim for the first time as part of SAPS 2004. Please remember to acquire your scheme membership number before the deadline for the submission of your claim.

Deadline for receipt of claims

4. We will make full payment only on valid claims received on or before the closing date. If we receive claims in the period of 25 calendar days after this date we will accept them but payment will be reduced by 1% for each working day late, unless you can give valid reasons of force majeure.

5. Claims received after 29 February 2004 are invalid and will not be accepted unless you can give valid reasons of force majeure. ( see Annex B)

6. You are advised to send in your claim form early. This allows time for the Department to return any incomplete claims to producers thus giving enough time to return a completed claim to the Department.

Force majeure - late claims

7. If you think your claim was late for reasons of force majeure, you must notify your local SEERAD Area Office in writing. Your letter should include details of the incident and why you could not submit your claim before the closing date. Your letter, together with any relevant evidence, must reach your SEERAD Area Office within 10 w orking days of your being able to tell them the facts. If it does not reach the SEERAD Area Office within this deadline, we will not consider the incident as a case of force majeure.

Who can claim

8. You can claim if you are an eligible producer. ( See explanation of this term at Annex B.) As from the 2000 Scheme, partnerships which are recognised as such under Scots Law are treated as sole producers under the SAP scheme. Scottish partnerships should complete the claim form on this basis. The submission of a 2004 AAA is not a requirement for SAPS except for a claimant who wishes to qualify for the LFA supplement.

9. The situation may exist where, within a single IACS business, one or more legal businesses may exist which previously had to submit separate SAP claims. One claim should now be submitted per business.

10. If you are a single business for the purpose of IACS the information entered at page 1 of the claim form should therefore be the same as on your 2004 AAA. If you do not submit an AAA the details entered at page 1 should relate to your sheep business and we will write to you to seek further information.

11. Completion and submission of claim forms in compliance with this guidance and scheme rules, is without prejudice to the Department's consideration of 'separate business status' in accordance with the IACS regulations.

12. The executor or administrator of the late producer's estate may be able to claim premium on sheep which form part of the estate. Executors or administrators should advise the area office of the change in circumstances as soon as possible.

Completion of forms

13. We advise you to keep a copy of your form after you have completed it. Agents may submit and sign a claim if the SEERAD Area Office has received a written declaration from the producer authorising the agent to act on their behalf. A form AA1 is available from your local area office.

14. We are unable to accept claims if certain questions have not been answered or are incomplete. An invalid claim will be returned to you with a covering letter. If it is
re-submitted after the closing date it will be subject to late claim penalties.

Submission of claims

15. You are strongly advised to use the 'Recorded Signed For' service or deliver by hand to make sure that the claim arrives safely. If you deliver the claim in person, make sure that you receive a receipt. Faxed copies can be accepted only if the hard copy follows immediately.This must be posted before the closing date. Photocopies of claim forms can be accepted only if they contain an original signature (not photocopied).

Acknowledgement of claims

16. We will acknowledge your claim form as soon as possible after we receive it. Keep this acknowledgement letter until you have received full payment in case you need to show that we have received a claim form from you. If your claim is not acknowledged within fourteen days of posting contact the SEERAD Area Office to which you have sent your form. Do this in time to obtain and deliver another form before the closing date if necessary.

Amendment or withdrawal of claims

17. Producers are permitted to withdraw whole claims or reduce claims at any time subject to the following provisos;

• the request must be made in writing;
• agreement to an application to withdraw a claim in whole or in part is only possible where the Department has not told the claimant about irregularities affecting that part of the claim he/she wishes to withdraw;
• agreement to an application to withdraw a claim in whole or in part may be deferred once a stock inspection has been notified or when an inspection is ongoing.

A producer may however withdraw any non-discrepant sheep following an inspection. When a claim is totally withdrawn and a producer submits a new claim it will be subject to the normal deadlines and late penalties.

Producers should also be aware that the withdrawal of a claim (either in whole or in part) could result in a contravention of the quota usage rules. Producers are required to use at least 70% of their quota each year. If the reduction or the withdrawal of a claim results in the usage rule being breached and it cannot be shown that the reason was due to exceptional circumstances, the unused quota units will be withdrawn.

Eligible sheep

18. It is the producer's responsibility to prove the age and therefore the eligibility of the sheep claimed. ( see Annex B for definition of "eligible sheep".)

19. If you arrange to take onto your land, sheep belonging to someone else and you look after them, the owner(s) of the sheep may claim SAP. You must not include such sheep in any claim which you make.

Leasing of sheep

20. You may include in your claim sheep which you are leasing in from another producer. Under SAPS you must hold sufficient eligible sheep to meet the definition of a producer at Annex B. You may be asked to produce documentary evidence that leased sheep included in your claim were actually leased by you. If you are leasing sheep out to another producer you must not include in your claim any of the sheep you have leased out.

The retention period

21. The scheme requires you to keep a number of eligible sheep throughout the retention period of 100 days. You must keep a number equal to the number on which you claimed or for which you hold quota if less. The dates of the retention period are set out in paragraph 1. There will be checks on-farm to make sure the retention period is observed.

Notification of movements

22. We must know where the sheep on which you have claimed will be at any time during the retention period. If you intend to move your sheep to a place other than that given on your claim form - even for a short period, for example to graze stubble turnips belonging to another farmer - you must notify your SEERAD Area Officein writing before you move them. You must ensure that this requirement is met even if someone else is looking after your sheep during the retention period. Please note that Identification and Traceability legislation also requires keepers to notify certain types of sheep movements to SAMU. The 'Dear Keeper' letter dated 14 July 2003 has the latest guidance on movement notification. Copies of this letter are available from SAMU.

23. If sheep on which you have claimed are found on inspection or during administrative checks not to be at the location(s) which you have given at either Question 1 or Question 3(a) of the claim form or subsequently notified in writing, your payment will be reduced in accordance with the penalties in the Booklet "Livestock Subsidy Schemes: Penalties from 2002", a copy of which was sent to each known producer. Additional copies may be obtained from your area office.

Losses before start of the retention period

24. If you lose or sell sheep on which you have claimed you must either:

• replace the missing sheep with eligible replacements before the start of the retention period, ( see Annex B "Replacements") or
• amend your claim.

If between submission of your claim and the start of the retention period the number of sheep on which you are claiming is reduced you must notify your SEERAD Area Office in writing immediately. You risk losing some or all of your payment if you fail to do so. You must enter the retention period with the same number of eligible sheep on which you are claiming premium.

Losses during the retention period

25. If there is a reduction in the number of sheep kept during the retention period below the number claimed, it will be the result of either:

• force majeure losses; or
• natural circumstances losses; or
• other losses or disposals (for example sales).

These are described below. Read paragraphs 27 to 31 carefully, decide which type of loss you think applies to your case and follow the recommended course of action.

26. The scheme is concerned with the number of eligible sheep kept during the retention period and not with individual sheep. There is no need to replace or notify losses until the number of eligible sheep in the flock falls below the number you are required to keep.

Force majeure losses

27. We are required by the EC to apply the force majeure criteria strictly. If you think the losses result from force majeure you must notify your SEERAD Area Office in writing. Your letter should include details of the incident and any relevant evidence, and must reach your SEERAD Area Office within 10 working days of your being able to tell them the facts. If it does not reach your SEERAD Area Office within this deadline, we will not consider the incident as force majeure.

28. If we consider that the reduction in your sheep numbers was the result of force majeure, we will pay on the number of eligible sheep present when the force majeure incident occurred.

Losses due to natural circumstances

29. If you think that your loss is the result of natural circumstances, you must either replace the lost sheep or notify the loss to your SEERAD Area Office in writing. To make sure that your claim is not reduced, you should replace any natural circumstance losses with eligible replacements within seven days of the discovery of the loss or before the end of the retention period,whichever is the sooner.

30. If you cannot replace losses due to natural circumstance or if you choose not to
do so, notify your SEERAD Area Office in writing. Your letter must explain how and when the loss occurred and must reach the SEERAD Area Office within 10 working days of your discovery of the loss. If we accept your case, we will pay on the reduced number of sheep which you keep to the end of the retention period (But see also paragraph 17).

Other losses or disposals

31. If you lose or dispose of sheep covered by your claim during the retention period for reasons other than force majeure or natural circumstance for example voluntary sales, you must replace them with eligible replacements. The replacements must be on the holding before the sheep being replaced leave. If you do not have eligible r eplacements, we will apply penalties. If you intend to dispose of any sheep during the retention period without replacing them, you should limit your claim to the number of sheep that you intend to keep throughout the retention period. (But see also paragraph 17).

Disposal of the holding

32. If you give up your holding during the retention period, you may be able to retain your entitlement to SAP if you make arrangements to retain ownership of the sheep until the end of the period. If you are thinking of disposing of your holding during the r etention period, contact your SEERAD Area Office for guidance as soon as possible to avoid losing your entitlement to SAP. Your quota position could also be affected by a move during the year.

33. If you give up the holding and fail to keep the ownership of the sheep for the retention period, you will not qualify for any SAP unless you give up the holding for reasons of force majeure.

Penalties

34. If you do not observe all the conditions you will lose some or all of your payment, including the LFA supplement. If you have already been paid, you will have to repay SEERAD. Interest will be charged from the date of notification of the repayment obligation until the date you repay the SEERAD.

Serious negligence and fraud

35. If you intentionally make a false declaration, you will not receive any premium claimed. In addition, if the percentage difference between the number found is more than 20%, the amount equal to the lost entitlement will be off-set against any payable SAPS claims made in the next 3 calendar years (unless it is possible to off-set the amount completely before three calendar years have elapsed).

Overgrazing

36. If your land (including common land) is considered to be overgrazed, we will discuss with you the measures which are necessary to prevent that overgrazing continuing. Your payment will not be affected until you have been notified in writing by your SEERAD Area Office of the number of sheep which we consider the land can support without overgrazing, and any conditions (for example changes in management practice) which are attached to our decision. Payment for the scheme year after notification, in respect of the overgrazed land, will then be restricted to the number notified to you.

37. If you do not take action to restrict the number of sheep actually grazing overgrazed land or to comply with any conditions notified to you during the Scheme year, your payment for that year may be withheld altogether.

Unsuitable supplementary feeding

38. If your supplementary feeding is considered to be unsuitable your SEERAD Area Office will contact you and discuss changes to your flock management which are required to prevent further damage. Please note that if you claim that weather conditions were abnormal you will be asked to demonstrate that your usual feeding practice was not adequate to maintain your sheep during the abnormal conditions.

39. Unless you take steps to change your feeding practice, your payment will be reduced by 10% in the first year, 20% in the following year and 100% thereafter.

On-farm checks

40. On-farm checks will be carried out to establish that you are complying with the conditions of the scheme. To permit these checks you must allow inspection of your flock, land and records at any reasonable time. You may be required to gather your sheep for counting and inspection.

41. Visits for inspection purposes may occur without notice and more than once in the Scheme year. The inspector will examine your flock records and may also wish to examine the available forage area. Refusal to allow an inspection will result in rejection of your claim and may also affect claims for other IACS related subsidies.

Gathering

42. We aim to carry out on-farm checks with the minimum of disruption. We recognise that gathering sheep is a problem for some producers particularly those grazing sheep over large areas. At Part 2 question 3(b) of the claim form we are asking p roducers to give dates when they intend to gather their sheep.

Notifying errors

43. After submitting your claim form, you may realise you have made a mistake that could result in a penalty being applied; for example the inclusion of an ineligible sheep. You may avoid the penalty if you notify your Area Office of the error and the following conditions are met: you make the notification in writing without delay and in any case no later than 10 working days after discovering the error; and your notification is received before we inform you of the error or of our intention to carry out a field inspection.

Please note that once the application period has closed claims cannot be amended unless the amendment falls within the notified error provisions.

Record keeping

44. The Sheep and Goats Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2000 as amended includes specific provision for the scheme's record keeping requirements. Please note that the flock record must now be retained for a period of 6 years. If another producer is grazing sheep on your holding you should ensure that your sheep are separately identifiable.

45. Flock record

Your flock record must include details of all sheep within the flock, not just those animals upon which you have claimed subsidy, and all changes in flock composition. Your flock record will be examined if you are selected for a SAP inspection and if you do not keep accurate, up-to-date and complete records, you will not be paid subsidy. If, during the normal course of work (dipping or shearing, for example), you find that animals are missing, remember to record the loss and the reason for it (if known) in your flock record.

Problems with record-keeping can effect not just the current year. Under Article 38 of European Commission Regulation 2419/2001, if a situation arises where more than 50% of the animals claimed cannot be determined from the records as meeting all the eligibility conditions of the scheme, a Level 4 Penalty will apply. This penalty is described on page 26 of the booklet 'Livestock Subsidy Schemes: Penalties from 2002" (a copy of which was sent to all known sheep producers in 2002) and involves loss of the current year's claim AND an equivalent amount being set against support in the next year. SEERAD is obliged to apply these penalties so it is in each producer's own best interests to ensure that their record-keeping is satisfactory.

A copy of SEERAD's Flock Record has been sent to every known sheep producer so that they can ensure their records meet the required legal standards. A spreadsheet version (Microsoft Excel Version 5) is also available. ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/sheep/)

Even if you do not claim SAP, you are still required to maintain records to satisfy animal identification purposes etc. If your flock records are unsatisfactory, you may be prosecuted.

46. Other Documents

You should keep all sales receipts and purchase documents (including those relating to private transactions), veterinary certificates, movement records etc. which support entries in your Continuous Flock Record. You should keep all these documents until at least the end of the year 2010. If you do not keep these documents or do not allow officials to inspect them then you will lose all of the payment s.

Minimum size of claim

47. The claim must be for at least 10 eligible sheep. This also applies to a producer who holds less than 10 units of quota.

Payment and Bank Account Details

48. Payments under all schemes are made to a producer's nominated bank account. If you want to change your bank information, you should obtain, complete and submit a BACS1 form to your SEERAD Area Office. The payment window, which is set in European Legislation opens on 16 October 2004.

Ownership of animals

49. You may claim premium only on sheep which you own except where:

• you hold the flock on a livestock lease; or
• you farm under a share farming agreement and receive the greatest share of profits from the sale of lambs produced. In this case your claim should cover the whole flock, including sheep owned by the other party or parties to the agreement.

In situations where your sheep are grazing in conjunction with sheep belonging to others, SEERAD must be able to clearly identify the animals which you own/lease. If your sheep cannot be clearly identified your claim will be subject to penalties.

Less Favoured Area (LFA) Producers

50. If you wish to obtain LFA supplement, all the land comprising your holding must be declared on your AAA. To qualify for the LFA supplement on your eligible sheep, at least 50% of the total agriculture area of your holding must be situated in the LFA but, there is now no longer a requirement that the LFA land is used for sheep production. You must submit a valid 2004 AAA by 17 May 2004.

If at least 50% of your holding is in the LFA but you do not use your LFA land for sheep production, you still require LFA quota.

51. If you apply for the LFA supplement and we discover that less than 50% of the total agricultural area of your holding is situated within the LFA, the supplement will not be paid. In addition, your premium entitlement will be reduced by half of the LFA supplement, see page 26 of the booklet entitled "Livestock Subsidy Schemes: Penalties From 2002". However if this results in a difference between quota held and the designation of the holding see paragraph 54 below.

Milk flocks

52. If you market any milk produced by your flock (or any products made from this milk) SAP will be paid at 80% of the full rate. The rate applicable to milk producers is 16 Euros for 2004. You must indicate by ticking "yes" at Question 2(d) of the claim form. You will still be eligible for 100% of the LFA supplement on all of the sheep claimed if you are entitled to it. If it is discovered that you are a milk producer but have not declared this on your SAP claim form, the premium to which you are entitled will be reduced to 60% of the full rate. This penalty is in accordance with Article 22(2) of commission Regulation 2550/2001 amending Article 40 of Commission Regulation 2419/2001.

Quotas

53. Your SAP payment will be limited to the number of eligible sheep claimed for which you also hold quota. Your quota must also correspond to the ring-fence area in which your holding is situated ( see Annex B "ring-fence").

53a. The day on which details of the land comprising your holding will be used to determine its ring-fence designation for the 2004 Scheme year will normally be the 14 May 2004.

53b. If however changes to your land are made or occur after 4 February 2004 but before 15 May 2004 and if the overall ring-fence designation of your holding changes as a result, the ring fence designation of your holding for your 2004 Scheme year claim will be determined on the basis of the land you hold on 4 February 2004.

54. It is essential that the ring-fence designation of the quota you hold matches the designation of your holding on the appropriate date. If it does not, your quota cannot be used to support your SAPS claim and you will not receive any premium payments.

55. If the designation for the 2004 Scheme year of the quota you hold will not match the designation of your holding as it will be on 14 May or 4 February (as appropriate) you should therefore dispose of the wrong quota and acquire quota of the correct designation during the 2004 SAPS quota trading period. Full details of the quota rules can be found in SEERAD's SAPS Quotas Explanatory Guide, copies of which can be obtained from your local area office. You are strongly advised to read this Guide before submitting a SAP claim.

Modulation

56. EU legislation permits member states to recycle a proportion of farmers direct payments under CAP commodity regimes. In order to secure a significant increase in funds going into rural development measures, recycling at a flat rate of all direct payments to farmers under CAP commodity regimes was introduced in 2001. For 2004 the rate is unchanged at 3.5%.

Legal base

57. The Sheep Annual Premium Scheme is fully funded by the EU and operates under the following EU legislation:

• Commission Regulation (EC) 2550/2001
• Commission Regulation (EC) 2419/2001 as amended by 2550/2001
• Council Regulation (EC) 2529/2001

Addresses of SEERAD Area Office Annex A

AYR: Russell House, King Street, Ayr KA8 0BE. Tel. 01292 610188
BENBECULA: Balivanich, Isle of Benbecula PA88 5LA. Tel. 01870 602346
DUMFRIES: Government Buildings, 161 Brooms Road, Dumfries DG1 3ES. Tel 01387 255292
ELGIN: 32 Reidhaven Street, Elgin IV30 1VE. Tel. 01343 547514
GALASHIELS: Cotgreen Road, Tweedbank, Galashiels TD1 3SG. Tel. 01896 758333
HAMILTON: Cadzow Court, 3 Wellhall Road, Hamilton ML3 9BG. Tel. 01698 281166
INVERNESS: Longman House, 28 Longman Road, Inverness IV1 1SF. Tel. 01463 234141
INVERURIE: Thainstone Court, By Inverurie, Aberdeenshire AB51 5YA. Tel. 01467 626222
KIRKWALL: Tankerness Lane, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1AQ. Tel. 01856 875444
LAIRG: Ord Croft, Lairg, Sutherland IV27 4AZ. Tel. 01549 402167
LERWICK: Charlotte House, Commercial Road, Lerwick ZE1 0HZ. Tel. 01595 695054
OBAN: Cameron House, Albany Street, Oban PA34 4AE. Tel. 01631 563071
PERTH: Broxden Business Park, Lamberkine Drive, Perth PH1 1RZ. Tel. 01738 602000
PORTREE: Estates Office, Portree, Isle of Skye IV51 9DH. Tel. 01478 612516
STORNOWAY: 10 Keith Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS7 2QG. Tel. 01851 702392
THURSO: Strathbeg House, Clarence Street, Thurso KW14 7JS. Tel. 01847 893104

The code number of your holding should be quoted in any correspondence with the Department regarding your application for payment of premium.

Head Office Address:
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department
CAP Management Division
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
EDINBURGH EH14 1TY

If you are unsure or require any advice on sheep identification or movement notification, please contact SAMU staff using any of the following contact details:

By post:

Scottish Executive Environmental and Rural Affairs Department
SAMU
Room 211
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
EDINBURGH EH14 1TY
Phone: 0131 244 4202
Fax: 0131 244 1946
E-mail: samu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Explanation of terms Annex B

Application period

The period during which claims may be lodged with the Department in order to qualify for SAP is 4 December 2003 to 4 February 2004.

Area Aid Application

A declaration of arable and/or forage area required under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). The closing date for submission of 2004 Area Aid Applications will be 17 May 2004.

EURO

The Euro is the unit in which premium/ allowance is set by the EC.

EC

The European Community.

Eligible sheep

A female sheep which by the end of the retention period will have either given birth to a lamb or reached the age of 12 months. It is the producer's responsibility to prove the age and therefore eligibility of the animals claimed.

Forage area

The area of land available for feeding or grazing livestock, excluding certain areas. This is explained in detail in the 2003 IACS explanatory booklet.

Force majeure and exceptional circumstances

Abnormal or unforeseeable circumstances beyond your control, the consequences of which you could not avoid by reasonable action.

Holding

All the production units managed by or made available to the producer in the United Kingdom.

IACS

Integrated Administration and Control System - EC regulations which define common rules for the administration and control of EC support schemes.

LFA

Less Favoured Area.

LFA supplement

A supplement payable under SAPS to eligible LFA producers.

SEERAD Area Office

The SEERAD office responsible for the area in which the main production unit of your holding is situated. This will normally be the office to which you submit your IACS return (where appropriate). E

Milk flocks

A sheep farming enterprise that markets any milk produced by the flock or any products made from that milk. Sheep in such flocks normally qualify for only 80% of SAPS and 100% of the LFA supplement.

Natural circumstance losses

Loss of sheep due to the normal hazards and events of sheep farming (for example, disposal on veterinary advice or death in severe weather conditions). The voluntary sale of an animal is not regarded as a natural circumstance loss and may attract penalties.

Notification of unreplaced losses

To avoid penalties, unreplaced natural circumstance losses of sheep included in the claim during the retention period must be notified to the appropriate SEERAD Area Office in writing within 10 working days of discovery of the loss. All such losses must be entered in the continuous flock record.

Overclaim

Where fewer sheep are kept during the retention period than claimed, yet the discrepancy is not explained by notified natural circumstance losses or force majeure losses.

Overgrazing

This is defined in Statute as grazing land with livestock in such numbers as adversely to affect the growth, quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) on that land to a significant degree. Normally this would mean that grazing should not significantly reduce the number of species present in natural or semi-natural pastures or the distribution of these species.

Penalties

Reduction in (or loss of) premium due to infringement of the scheme rules. These penalties are contained in various EC regulations which the Department has no discretion to waive or vary.

Premium

Sheep Annual Premium.

Producer (including Scottish partnerships)

For SAPS purposes, a producer is: an individual farmer, whether a natural or legal person or a group of natural or legal persons, irrespective of the legal status conferred by national law on such a group or its members, whose holding is located in Community territory who is engaged in rearing ovine animals. The minimum number of eligible sheep (10) must be kept within the retention period. One person can sign the claim form on behalf of a number of producers.

Quota

A quota unit is the right to SAP on an eligible sheep if all conditions of the Scheme are satisfied. The quota must be valid for the 2004 Scheme year, and must be of the correct ring fence type.

Replacements

Eligible sheep used to replace animals lost and sold during the retention period and thus retain entitlement to premium.

Retention period

The period in 2004 during which you have to retain eligible animals.

Ring-fence

Your holding and the quota you hold are classified as being within a particular ring-fence. If your h olding is in Scotland, your ring-fence will be either LFA within the HIE, LFA outwith the HIE or Non-LFA.

SAPS

Sheep Annual Premium Scheme.

SAMU

Scottish Animal Movement Unit is the contact point for sheep Identification and Traceability queries and also operates the database which records the batch movement of sheep involving Scottish locations.

SEERAD

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department.

Share farming

A business arrangement where, generally, one person provides the land, farm buildings and flock but takes no active part in running the enterprise; and another person assumes responsibility for rearing the sheep, and is effectively self employed. The profits or the proceeds from the sale of the lambs produced are divided in accordance with a previously agreed formula. The person who receives the greater share should normally apply under SAPS.

Working days

All days other than Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Appeals and Complaints Annex C

1. If you wish to appeal against our decision

2. If you are not sure why you have been penalised or do not fully understand the contents of a letter, first contact the area office that gave you the decision. They will provide a fuller explanation.

3. If you are not satisfied with this explanation, you can formally appeal against the decision we have taken on your subsidy claim, using the EU Agricultural Subsidy Schemes Appeals procedure. The procedure covers all IACS, agri-environment and afforestation schemes and quota decisions on Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium. You have 60 calendar days from the date of our decision letter to send us your appeal. You can get an information leaflet, AP(EL) June 2001 and application form, from your SEERAD area office or from:

The Appeals Secretariat
SEERAD
Room 028
Pentland House
47 Robb's Loan
Edinburgh
EH14 1TY.

Or, log onto www.scotland.gov.uk/about/agriculture

4. If you have a complaint about the standard of service which the Department provides, you should proceed as follows: -

• Contact the person in the Area Office who is dealing with your case. You can register a complaint by letter, by telephone or in person. If you want to have your complaint considered by a more senior officer, please write to the Principal Agricultural Officer at your Area Office. He will deal with the complaint if one of his staff is involved or forward it to the appropriate person. It will help us to investigate your complaint if you set out the facts as fully as possible, quoting your main farm code number. We will acknowledge your complaint by return, investigate it properly, and aim to reply within two weeks.
• If you are dissatisfied with the response, you may write to the Chief Agricultural Officer, The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, 47 Robb's Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TY, and ask him to investigate the matter further.
• You may ask your Member of the Scottish Parliament (or alternatively your Member of the UK Parliament) to take up your complaint with the Minister for Environment and Rural Development at The Scottish Executive, Pentland House, 47 Robb's Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TY
• You, or a representative authorised by you to complain on your behalf, may also ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for your complaint to be investigated. Your representative may be an MSP, local councillor or any person you consider suitable to represent your interests. Your complaint must be submitted to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 23 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HX within 12 months after the day on which you first had notice of the matter complained of.