Rural Payments and Services

It’s hard to believe it’s this time of year again - when the annual Single Application Form (SAF) is due. This allows the Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) to administer Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support.

This year the SAF 2017 application window opens on Wednesday, 15 March and closes on Monday, 15 May.

We provide full guidance on how to complete your SAF.

The Single Application Form (SAF) 2017 is the form required to claim payments under the following schemes:

• Basic Payment Scheme (including Greening and Young Farmer payments)
• Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (Mainland and Islands)
• Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme
• Less Favoured Area Support Scheme
• Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) – annual recurrent options
• Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) – annual maintenance and management grants
• Beef Efficiency Scheme (BES) – new tick box on SAF 2017
• Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities annual recurrent options
• Land Managers Options – continuing commitments

Farmers across Scotland will soon receive either a paper copy of the SAF 2017 application form in the post, or a letter telling them that the form is now available to complete online through the Rural Payments and Services (RP&S) system.

Monday, 15 May is the latest date that you can submit your SAF 2017 application without incurring late penalties.

Changes to be aware of this year

In order to offer consistency to customers, in 2017 we have tried to ensure that changes made to the paper and online application forms are both minimal and uniform.

These changes include:

• the contract reference will now appear against annual recurrent options when completing claims for Rural Priorities, the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme contract and the Forestry Grant Scheme. This is online only
• progressive turnaround of TGRS (Rotational Grass) land uses. For example a land use declared as TGRS-1 (Rotational Grass Year 1) in 2016 will be turned around as TGRS-2 (Rotational Grass Year 2) in 2017
• an application containing a seasonal Common Grazing share will trigger a supporting documentation requirement for the applicant to provide a seasonal Common Grazing form with their application
• applicants with a Beef Efficiency Scheme (BES) contract must complete the tick box in section 5 to claim their commitments under the scheme in addition to claiming enough BPS eligible land
• all continuing commitments for the Land Managers Options Animal Welfare Management Programme (LMOAWMP) will come to an end in May 2017, and therefore no application will be required on SAF 2017, and
• when adding land to an application, applicants need to provide a location code to enter an alternative reference (previously unmapped land). The system determines if added land is seasonal or permanent. This is online only

The benefits of applying online

Over three quarters of our customers now submit their SAFs electronically through Rural Payments and Services. We would encourage everyone to sign up to our online service to allow 24-hour access to your application and an instant receipt.

There are big benefits to being registered and applying for your Single Application Form online. By doing so you can:

• choose who is going to act as your business representative
• have touch-of-a-button access to your information
• easily maintain your business and land details
• view land maps, ineligible features, aerial photography and tools to allow you to draw on screen and prepare EFA maps
• keep all communications in one secure place
• receive notifications of updates to your account

And the Rural Payments and Services system automatically allows you to check your application for errors before you submit your form, thus reducing the risk of financial penalties.

To register and use the online system, simply go to www.ruralpayments.org

Register now

You can register and complete your online Single Application Form yourself, or your local Area Office can help you navigate your way through the application. Over 2,000 of our customers have already made use of our appointment booking system, and it couldn't be easier.

Area Offices also have self-service laptops available if your own broadband is unreliable.

For further advice about submitting your SAF 2017 application or to make an appointment please contact your local Area Office or go to https://www.ruralpayments.org