The position is that my Department, in the context of delivering the Single Payment Scheme, is required to carry out on-the-spot inspections on a number of farms covering such issues as eligibility under the Scheme, compliance with EU legislation in the areas of the environment, food safety, animal health and welfare and plant health and ensuring that the farm is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC).
A minimum of 5% of Single Payment Scheme applicants are required to be inspected under the eligibility rule. Up to two-thirds of these inspections are carried out without a farm visit and using the technique of remote sensing.
The rate of on-farm inspection required for cross-compliance is 1% of those farmers to whom the Statutory Management Requirements (including the Nitrates Directive) or GAEC apply. However at least 5% of producers must be inspected under the Bovine Animal Identification and Registration requirements as this level is prescribed under the relevant Regulations.
The position is that under the Charter of Rights for Farmers, my Department is committed to ensuring the maximum level of integration of inspections across all areas including inspections under the Single Payment Scheme and the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. This integration means that control checks are carried out in relation to eligibility of land declared, identification and registration of animals on the holding, and compliance with the other 18 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) under cross-compliance in one farm visit. On this basis, the overall number of annual inspections associated with the Single Payment Scheme is unlikely to exceed 7,200. This is a very significant reduction from the 18,000 inspections annually under the old coupled regime.
This approach minimises the level of inconvenience to farmers. However, because of the integration of all inspections associated with the Single Payment Scheme, it is not possible to prescribe specific time limits for the completion of such inspections as the number of issues to be checked varies from farm to farm.