PART 4: COMPLIANCE INSPECTIONS
1. Background
1.1 Under Article 61 of the EC Implementing Regulation 817/2004 it is a requirement that a number of on-the-spot checks are carried out each year covering all the different types of undertaking in the plan - particularly the scheme general environmental conditions, management requirements and the standard of good farming practice.
1.2 To meet the requirements of this Regulation, at least 5% of beneficiaries under the agri-environment schemes, FWPS, FWS, SFGS:FP, LMC (Menu Scheme) and LFASS will require to be selected for compliance check each year. These 'on-the-spot' checks should be unannounced and cover all the agricultural parcels and obligations covered by the agreements and claims. In exceptional circumstances advance warning limited to the strict minimum necessary may be given, although as a general rule this should not exceed 48 hours. Reasons for any advance warning should be recorded on the IT System (SERGS).
1.3 The inspection system has to be designed so as to reduce the number of visits to any individual beneficiary by the selection of a single inspection sample for the various aid schemes listed at paragraph 1.2. An inspection will involve checking compliance with any of the listed scheme undertakings of which the farmer is a beneficiary.
2. Timing of inspection
2.1 Compliance checks should be carried out at a time of year which will cover the most representative commitments and obligations of the measures to be checked. For example, in a number of RSS plans, the Extensive Management of Mown Grassland for Birds option requires applicants to delay cutting hay or silage until 1 July. It may be considered of over-riding importance to time the visit to this beneficiary for the end of June to check compliance with this particular undertaking. Equally where participants are required to exclude livestock from various habitats, it may be that this requirement determines the timing of the 'cover all' inspection.
2.2 Compliance check inspection lists should be available in early spring each year - viewable from within the IT System (SERGS). All selected compliance inspections must be completed before 16 October each year.
2.3 Capital works should be inspected (including those completed) at the compliance check visit.
3. Selection of the Inspecting Officer
3.1 There should be clear separation of duties between the officer who carried out the appraisal leading to approval of the plan/application and the officer who later carries out the compliance check. This is to satisfy auditors that there could be no collusion between farmer and official.
3.2 PAOs should decide on a local basis which grade of officer should undertake the inspections. Where the plan is straightforward and there are significant amounts of capital works to inspect, this may be carried out by Agricultural Officers. Where there is a greater emphasis on management payments inspection by the SAO or HAO may be more appropriate.
4. Selection of compliance check inspection cases
4.1 The plans to be selected for compliance checking in each year are chosen at random and by applying risk analysis criteria annually to agreements in force at the beginning of the EC year, i.e. 16 October.
5. On-farm inspection procedures
5.1 On-farm inspection procedures
These general procedures should be followed for all inspections carried out by SEERAD staff.
5.1.1 Explanation/Introduction - The inspecting officer will provide the scheme(s) participant with a clear explanation of why he/she is there, the format of the inspection, what undertakings are to be checked and what supporting documentation will be required.
5.1.2 Timing - The inspecting officer will give an indication of how long the inspection will take, although this will to some degree be dependent on his/her findings.
5.1.3 When the inspection has been completed the scheme(s) participant will be given a summary of the main inspection findings and any potential implications for subsidy or grant payments. He/she will also be given the opportunity to provide written comments on the inspection report form.
5.1.4 If a problem is identified, it may not always be possible on the day of the inspection to work out the precise implications of all findings and, in such cases, the scheme(s) participant must be sent a detailed explanation in writing as soon as it is possible to do so - following the relevant breach procedures.
5.1.5 There may also be a need to inform other enforcement agencies, e.g. SEPA, SNH, of issues relating to their area of responsibility. This should be done via the PAO. In such cases care is needed to ensure that SEERAD's actions do not prejudice any action that the other enforcement agency may wish to take.
5.1.6 The facility is available on SERGS for generating inspection report forms and recording inspection results. An inspection is not considered complete until the results are captured.
Follow-up action must be taken where there is evidence of non-compliance, but the extent and severity of the action will vary according to the gravity of the offence.
6. Area remeasurements
If a managed area is re-measured using precision equipment, e.g. GPS, and/or during FIS mapping and is found to be greater or less than the area declared in the RSS agreement, that agreement must be re-scheduled to record the true area of the site so that management payments from then on are calculated using the correct area figure. No retrospective action is to be taken. Any management option width or area limits must still be applied. Any claim submitted in the year the remeasurement and correction is made or in following years must use the re-measured area figure. Over-declaration penalties will apply where the area claimed is greater than the re-measured area. Any management option width or area limits must still be applied.
7. Breaches
7.1 Standard of Good Farming Practice and General Environmental Conditions
The verifiable standards of Good Farming Practice are ones which are complementary to existing legislative requirements and are capable of verification by SEERAD staff to EU audit standards as part of our existing checks on agri-environment scheme participants and LFA farmers. These items make up the minimum environmental standards for the purpose of other articles of the RDR. (SEERAD) staff do not have the authority to enforce this legislation in detail. However, when conducting their regular on-the-spot inspections of compliance with the schemes, they will carry out a basic check on these items and if they see evidence of any breaches of the legislation they will:
- Capture inspection results and record breach on SERGS and SIACS
- Notify farmer in writing of potential problem and that payment of the claim may be delayed pending consideration of the breach;
- Copy letter to the relevant Authority (where that is not SEERAD) for information;
- Copy letter, with a report, to the ACAO for decision on category of penalty (to ensure consistency across the country).
- Withold payment or part payment awaiting outcome of breach processing.
A list of the verifiable Standards of Good Farming Practice and the complementary Environmental Regulations current at the time of printing is to be found at Appendix VIII. Further guidance, including inspection report questionnaires, is to be found at:
7.2 Management of Permanent Grassland (Pasture)
At Section IV of the EA, the applicant is asked to state the total area of permanent grassland on the farm/croft covered by the agreement, the average annual number of livestock units maintained on the farm or croft and the average annual number of livestock units apportioned to the permanent grassland and thus calculate the overall annual stocking density on the permanent grassland. The maximum annual stocking density on the permanent pasture during the course of the agreement must not exceed this calculated figure. At inspection, it is the participant's responsibility to demonstrate compliance with this undertaking. Failure to demonstrate compliance will be regarded as a breach of scheme rules. Details of the permanent grassland on the farm or croft can be obtained from a combination of the SIACS Single Application Form (SAF)/AAA record (captured from the IACS Field Data Sheets) where such exists and the field register.
7.3 Scheme management option requirements
As part of the inspection, an Inspection Form (generated from the 'Print Inspection Report' program) should be completed by the inspecting officer. Information on the management requirements for each management option, the Management of Permanent Grassland (Pasture) requirement and specifications for capital items can be obtained from the RSS Explanatory Booklet and in the relevant sections of this Technical Guidance. Where a breach of any RSS management option requirement is discovered at inspection, the breach procedures will be invoked. Appendix XVIII contains guidance on procedures to be adopted by Area Offices for breaches of Rural Stewardship Scheme management requirements. This includes non-compliance with scheme rules and conditions, requests to withdraw from schemes and wrongful claims. In all cases, the action taken by Area Offices should be proportionate and effective and act as a disincentive to farmers and crofters to breach agri-environment scheme rules in future.
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