DAIRY RESPONSE FUND – ENGLAND
The Dairy Response Fund 2020 provides support to eligible dairy farmers in England who produce cows’ milk. They can apply for a one-off payment. The handbook was released 18 June 2020.
The Dairy Response Fund is now open for eligible farmers to apply for a single payment from the fund.
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY ADVISES ON RESTARTING PRIVATE SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS
The Environment Agency has provided guidance to a range of industry bodies covering hospitality businesses including pubs, restaurants, hotels, camping and caravan sites and theme parks confirming the need for private sewage treatment plants to be made ready to be used again following a period of shutdown or low flows.
It comes as many pubs and other hospitality businesses are making plans to re-open next month, subject to the easing of lockdown restrictions.
It is essential that environmental impacts must be minimised when operators restart their sewage treatment plants, and those who discharge poor quality effluent risk being in breach of their environmental permits or the General Binding Rules if their discharges cause pollution of surface water or groundwater.
The Environment Agency will therefore confirm the need for operators to take steps to ensure that their treatment plant is able to operate effectively as flows into it increase after their businesses reopen.
Those unaccustomed to restarting, should seek technical advice and support from: whoever normally maintains their sewage treatment plant, the manufacturer or supplier of their treatment plant, or a competent sewage treatment plant maintenance engineer.
Operators of premises served by their own sewage treatment plant wanting to dispose of waste beer should find other means of disposal. They should seek further guidance from the British Beer and Pub Association and refer to the waste hierarchy which is available on GOV.UK.
INFORMATION FOR FARMERS, LANDOWNERS AND RURAL BUSINESSES
The latest information for farmers, landowners and rural businesses during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Read this page for regular updates.
Fund to support dairy farmers opens for applications
The Dairy Response Fund is now open for eligible farmers to apply for a single payment from the fund.
Amendments to BPS applications using the Rural Payments service
If you have already submitted a BPS application online and you need to change it, you may be unable to do this after 23 June. In this case, you should create a new BPS application in the Rural Payments service and submit it to us.
Once you have done this, email them at ruralpayments@nulldefra.gov.uk ,using the subject title ‘Amendments to BPS 2020 application’, and explain that your new application is a change to your previously submitted application. For more information, read page 54 of the ‘How to apply for BPS in 2020’.
If you are unable to create or submit a new BPS application online, email RPA at ruralpayments@nulldefra.gov.uk ,using the subject title ‘Amendments to BPS 2020 application’, and explain the updates that you want to make to your application. Your email must include the field number, parcel size, land use, requested activated area and be signed by an empowered contact in the relevant business.
Please remember to include your SBI in any emails you send to RPA.
The final BPS application deadline, with penalties, is midnight on 10 July 2020.
