Agri-Environment Schemes Post-2013

Thu, Sep 1, 2011
Natural England has clarified the position with regards to agri-environment schemes which run into the next Rural Development Programme. Agreements running beyond 2013 (the end of the current RDPE) would have been required to come into line with any new funding rules under the next Rural Development Programme. This would have led to a lot of uncertainty for existing agreement holders and also increased admin for Natural England.

However, a change in the EU legislation means there will now be far less impact on existing agri-environmental scheme agreements. The new rules are as follows;
  • All ELS, OELS, UELS, HLS, CSS or ESA agreements which started before 1st January 2012 will not be affected by the new requirements.
  • The new requirements will only apply to 5-7 year agreements; HLS agreements (which are for 10 years) even if signed after 1st January 2012 will not be affected.
  • ELS, OELS and Uplands ELS starting after 1st January 2012 will include a clause which will enable the agreement to be amended if necessary to meet any new requirements under the next Rural Development Programme. Agreement holders will be able to accept the new requirements or end their agreement without penalties or any recovery of payment.
On the face of it, this appears to ensure that those who sign up to ES before the end of this year will be protected from changes in their agreements. However, it is not that simple. Firstly, all agreements already have a clause incorporated which allows them to be brought into line with any ‘changes to the legislative baseline’. This effectively means cross-compliance. Stewardship agreements would have to be altered if cross-compliance rules were changed to cover something currently paid for under ES.

The other uncertainty is the ‘greening measures’. Although not cross-compliance the same rules apply – Stewardship agreements would not be able to fund management practices required by greening (for example field margins). Therefore changes could still be required as a result of CAP reform. More information is available at -
Agri-Environment Schemes Post-2013 - Click to make an enquiry