Correspondence

eAlert: 4 December 2019 - Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction dates

Published 4 December 2019

This month, don’t delay, complete your Woodland Carbon Guarantee application now. The public register period is being extended over the Christmas period and there is some important information about payments. We have started to pay our annual claims, there are changes to the RPA remittance advice and 2019 BPS payments have started this week.

1. Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction dates set

In order to take part in the first auction, you need to submit your application by no later than 10 January.

In November we launched the Woodland Carbon Guarantee and it has now been confirmed that the first auction will be held from 12 pm (midday) on Monday 20 January 2020 to 12 pm (midday) on Friday 31 January 2020.

In order to be considered for this first auction your application needs to be received by Friday 10 January 2020. Please ensure you include all of the information we request as part of your application as this will help us to process your application quicker and gives a better chance of you being accepted for the January auction. Please complete your application and return it to us now, your application for Woodland Carbon Guarantee can be made in advance of any other grant applications.

If you have any further questions about your application you can email us at wcag@forestrycommission.gov.uk or call our advice line: 0300 067 4822.

2. We are extending the public register period over the Christmas period

Extension to the 4 week (28 days) public register period to 5 weeks (35 days).

From 2 December 2019 all schemes and applications entered on to the public register will be given a 1 week extension to 5 weeks (35 days) allowing for the public holidays over Christmas and New Year.The final date in 2019 for entries onto the register will be 20 December.

3. We have started to pay our annual claims

Claims for 2019 annual payments are in progress.

We started to make 2019 annual payments for Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS) and Farm Woodland Payment (FWP) on 2 December 2019. We will work hard to complete all payments as soon as we can; 86% of claims that have been approved will be sent for payment this week. Payments for Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS) were completed in November 2019. You will receive remittance advice from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) confirming the amount you’ve been paid. If you have a query about the amount you receive please call the RPA on 03000 200 301.

4. Changes to the RPA remittance advice

It will be easier to interpret the details and agents will be able to link agreements to SBIs more easily.

RPA have improved the content of the remittance slip and the guidance on how to interpret the details.

Countryside Stewardship customers will notice that the agreement numbers will now be included within their remittance advice from 30 October 2019. This will enable agents to link agreement numbers to SBI numbers more easily. All customers will see the reference to GOV.UK on the bottom of the remittance advice, and be able to access the explanatory information on GOV.UK. This will describe the content of each of the sections of the remittance advice.

The GOV.UK page containing the information will be printed on the bottom of the remittance advice and reference to the changes will also be made in the Winter Mailer due to be issued to customers later in the year.

5. 2019 Basic Payment Scheme money being paid from Monday 2 December

2019 Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship agreement holders to receive one payment.

On Monday 2 December, Defra issued a press release to inform farmers and land managers that the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) started making payments to 2019 BPS claimants from that day, and that for 2019 all eligible Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship agreement holders will start receiving one full payment against their claim for the environmental work they do, rather than having this in two payments. You can read the press release on GOV.UK.