Guidance

Notice To Traders 87/21 - Private Storage Aid (PSA) Pigmeat

Updated 14 January 2022

Applies to England

Introduction

The Government is very aware of the challenges that the pig industry has faced in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of the Chinese export market for some processors, and access to labour issues including a shortage of skilled butchers impacting the capacity of processors to slaughter and process pigs.

Defra is also very conscious of the impact the current situation is having on individual pig farmers and has been working closely with pig producers and the processing sector to understand how we can support them through this challenging time.

On 14 October 2021, the Government announced a package of measures to support the pig industry. These measures come in recognition of the unique temporary circumstances the sector is facing, brought about by the global economic impact of COVID-19 and the pressures facing supply chains worldwide.

These measures include, up to 800 visas for pork butchers, a Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme, and additional support for pig processors.

Furthermore, in England and Scotland, the two meat levy bodies will introduce a pork levy holiday during November 2021 – suspending payments of the levy pig farmers and producers are required to pay. This will amount to savings for the sector of just under £1 million.

Defra is also working closely with other Government Departments, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the UK Export Certification Partnership (UKECP) and industry to resolve the issue of relisting three UK pork processing plants that have been unable to export to China.

We are also working closely with British Embassy colleagues with the aim to open new markets and expand existing market access.

The Private Storage Aid proposals include the opening of a Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme for pigmeat for England only.

The application period opens on the day that the Private Storage Aid for Pigmeat (England) Regulations 2021 come into force and closes 2 February 2022 or sooner if the maximum tonnage of 14,000 available tonnes has been met.

The scheme will operate on a first come, first served basis which means that once the available quantities are exhausted, the scheme will close. We will update www.gov.uk accordingly if this happens. Applications received after the scheme has closed will be rejected.

Scheme rules

To be eligible to claim private storage aid:

• You must be registered with RPA and be registered in England.
• If you are a new applicant, you will need to register. To do this, call our Customer Helpline on 03000 200 301 and then select options 2, 1 and finally 3. This is for Rural Payments registration, please state that you are a Trader and not a farmer to ensure you get the correct registration with us.
• You must be VAT registered in the United Kingdom and submit a copy of your VAT registration certificate with your application.
• Your application must be submitted to RPA from an approved email address as this forms part of an important check to maintain the security of your application.
• The products must not have been subject to a previous PSA storage contract.
• To be eligible for the aid, the meat should be of sound, fair and marketable quality and of UK origin and have been raised in the UK for a minimum period of the last 2 months prior to entering into the scheme.
• Animals should be slaughtered not more than 10 days before being placed in storage.
• The cold store must have been pre-approved by inspectors authorised by the RPA.
• You must keep all commercial documents relating to contracts issued under this scheme for at least 3 years. This includes any third parties into which you enter into contract with to act on your behalf. These documents may be used to verify scheme, product and claim eligibility

Applying for this scheme

• The application period opens on Tuesday 16 November and closes 12 noon on 2 February 2022. However, if the maximum tonnage available has been used prior to this date, the scheme will close at that point.
• You must submit a ‘PSA application form PSP1 and assign a unique contract number in the following format: PSP / trader number / four digits (starting 0001).
• Your contract numbers should run sequentially.
• When you return your completed form use “PSA Pigmeat Contract application” in the subject of your email.
• Applications must be made per single CN code (one application can only cover a single CN code or category) and subject to minimum contract quantities; see tables 1 and 2.
• You must indicate which storage period you wish to use up front – only a single storage period is permitted per contract.
• Rates of aid and storage periods are found in tables 1 and 2.
• Security required to support your application is calculated at 20% of the aid payment due per contract.
• The quantities under each contract must be entered into and removed from store by whole contract.
• Applications cannot usually be amended / or withdrawn once submitted unless in exceptional circumstances – please discuss with us first.

Complete the Pigmeat Private Storage Aid Application for contract for aid form.

Security

Security must be in place at the same time as your application for it to be accepted. This must be in the form of a cash security or a guarantee provided by a bank or insurance company incorporated in the UK and approved by RPA. All direct transfer payments for securities should be made to the RPA’s current account.

RPA bank details:

Bank: RBS (NatWest)

Sort code: 60-70-80

Account number: 10018433

Your security will be released immediately where contracts are not accepted, or when the obligations of the contract have been fulfilled. Equally, if a coefficient is applied to reduce your application and you do not wish to proceed with a smaller quantity, your security will be released in full.

Your security is at risk of being forfeited if you fail to meet and comply with the regulatory requirements of the scheme (see ‘Regulatory Background’ later).

Complete the Private Storage Aid Application for a contract for aid form.

Successful award of contract

If an application is accepted, the storage period will start on the day following all of the contracted quantity being placed into store. A number of conditions must be adhered to.

• You must give us at least 2 clear working days’ notice in writing by email, of all slaughter, cutting, boning and storage operations, and provide approximate times of each activity.
• Products must be frozen on site at the cold store of your choice
• Products must be stored so that they are easily accessible, individually identifiable and marked with the product name and weight
• The product/packaging must be indelibly marked to clearly indicate the place and date of processing, contract number/weight/date/batch number and the cut
• The date of entry into storage must be recorded on the product/packaging or in a register maintained by the storekeeper for full traceability
• You must mark contract numbers on each individual unit or record this information in a store register
• If pallet containers/ octabins are used to store product, the enclosed cuts must be wrapped sufficiently to avoid freezer burn and the container must be shrouded
• All tare weights must be accurate and clearly identified on arrival at cold store - this includes wrapping / container / pallet weights. Also, should any pallets be changed when consolidating in store, the weights mut be accurately recorded
• We will inspect products at intake, during PSA storage and at outtake (at the end of the storage period). We will notify you of any issues immediately
• The pallets / containers / boxes which we check will be sealed with RPA tape
• Your product must remain in store for the period agreed in your contract – any removals prior to this date will result in loss of security and may no longer be eligible for storage payment

Removal of product from the scheme

• Contractual storage will end on the day before that of removal from the scheme or store.
• If you fail to respect the end of the contractual storage period, the aid for the contract in question will be reduced by 10% for each calendar day of non-compliance.
• Removal of products from store must be per contract. Note - you cannot remove part of a contract.
• You can remove product from the scheme and leave it in store. However, you will then be liable for storage costs from the store owner.
• If you intend to export the product after removing from the scheme / store, an official veterinarian will need to be onsite when box opening inspections take place.

Applying for Payments

Once your product has been removed from store, you must make an application to RPA to claim the storage payment due to you – this must be done within 3 months of the product being removed from the scheme. You can do this by completing form PSP4. Email trader@rpa.gov.uk to request a form.

We will aim to make payments promptly. Your Bank details must be current to allow us to pay you without delay. If you have changed your bank account details since we last paid you, please call us on 03000 200 301 and select the bank account option.

All Private Storage Aid payments must comply with the applicable retained EU legislation and SI requirements to qualify for aid. Payments are discretionary and there is no automatic entitlement to any payment. All payment requests will be subject to check and receipt of acceptable outtake inspection reports. If any discrepancies are found, you may be asked to provide further information to verify your claim(s) and may be subject to additional inspection.

Regulatory Background

The applicable regulations are:

• Retained EU Legislation Regulation1308/2013, 2016/1238 and 2016/1240 as amended by SIs 2019 821, 2019 823, 2019 831 and 2020 1445.
• Statutory Instrument: SI UKSA 2021-1269.

Next Steps

For queries about the Private Storage Aid (PSA), please contact the Trader team by emailing trader@rpa.gov.uk or phone 03300 416 500, option 3 and tell us that you have a PSA query.

Data Protection

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the data controller for personal data you give to RPA. For information on how we handle personal data go to www.gov.uk and search ‘Rural Payments Agency personal information charter’.

RPA’s Privacy Statement can be found by searching for RPA Privacy Notices on GOV.UK.

Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint, please email us at trader@rpa.gov.uk, or you can call us 020 776 43836. When you contact us, please tell us:

• your full name, address and telephone number
• details of what happened and when
• how your business was affected
• who you dealt with at RPA
• how you’d like us to settle this matter

any reference(s) you may have, for example your Single Business Identifier (SBI), County Parish Holding (CPH) number, Trader, Vendor, Claim or Agreement number or a Project Reference.

Table 1 Bone in meat

Minimum quantities for bone in meat is 15 Tonnes per contract

CN Code	Description of product in respect of which aid may be granted	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 60 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 90 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 120 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 150 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 180 days
ex 0203 1211 ex 0203 1219 ex 0203 1915	Legs, bone in Shoulders, bone in Middles with loins, bone in	150 150 150	185 185 185	220 220 220	255 255 255	290 290 290

Table 2 Bone out meat

Minimum quantities for bone out meat is 10 Tonnes per contract

Category	CN Code	Description(s) of products in respect of which aid may be granted	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 60 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 90 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 120 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 150 days	Rate of aid (in £/tonne) for a storage period of 180 days
Category 3	ex 0203 1955 (a)	– legs, bone out; – shoulders, bone out; – fore-ends, bone out; – loins, with or without neck-ends, bone out; – neck-ends, bone out; – loins, with or without chump, bone out	145	180	215	250	285
Category 5	Ex 0203 1955	bellies, whole or trimmed by rectangular cut, without rind and ribs	145	180	215	250	285
Category 6	Ex 0203 1955 (b)	cuts corresponding to “middles”, with or without rind or fat, bone out	145	180	215	250	285

(a) Loins and neck-ends may be with or without rind, but the adherent layer of fat may not exceed 25mm in depth.

(b) Same presentation as for products falling within CN code 0210 1920.

Annex 1 – Contractual Obligations

The following conditions are obligatory. Failure to observe any of them may result in the partial or total forfeit of security and loss of entitlement to aid, depending on the individual circumstances.

Contractors/ Operators must:

1) Place the product in an approved store, ensuring the products adhere to the characteristics as set out in Article 3 of Regulation 2016/1238 (see below).

2) At their own risk and expense take the agreed quantity into storage within the time limits specified.

3) Store the agreed quantity for the stipulated period.

4) Not alter the stored products in any way during the storage period.

5) Not exchange them for other products.

6) Not transfer them from one store to another.

7) Give proper notice before putting the pigmeat into storage or withdrawing from storage.

8) Retain and submit supporting documents relating to the storage operations to RPA within the deadlines.

9) Ensure that a Storekeeper register/ record is maintained and can identify by contract the following:

• Product by lot
• Dates of intake and removal
• Quantity by lot
• Location of products in store

10) Store the products in easily identifiable and accessible lots (i.e. by contract and with the pallet lots marked with the date of entry into storage, contract No. and gross weight).

11) Label each package or pallet with:

• The fresh or chilled net weight
• The private storage contract number
• Description of the contents (where boxes or packaged).

12) Permit access for authorised officials of RPA and its agents to records and premises to ensure that obligations are being observed; and to open and inspect the contents of stored boxes for control purposes. The cost of opening and re-sealing of boxes will fall to the contractor.

Retained EU Regulation No 2016/1238 – Article 3

Eligibility of products

1) Products shall be of sound, fair and marketable quality and meet the requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

3) In the case of aid for private storage, products shall fulfil the requirements laid down in Annex VI to this Regulation:

Annex vi - quality requirements for aid for private storage:

Levels of radioactivity in the products eligible for aid for private storage may not exceed the maximum levels permitted, where applicable, under retained EU legislation. The level of radioactive contamination of the products shall be monitored only if the situation so requires, and during the requisite period.

III. Meat: Aid shall only be granted for:

(a) beef classified in accordance with the scale for the classification of carcasses laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2017/1182, and identified in accordance with Article 8(2)(a) of that Regulation;

(b) carcasses of lambs less than 12 months old and cuts thereof;

(c) meat from animals raised in the United Kingdom for a minimum period of the last three months in case of beef, two months in case of pigmeat and sheepmeat and goatmeat and slaughtered not more than 10 days before being placed in storage. In the case of pigs slaughtered younger than two months of age, the meat shall come from animals raised in the United Kingdom since their birth;

(d) meat from animals that have been slaughtered in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(e) meat from animals with no characteristics rendering them unfit for storage or subsequent use

(f) meat from animals not slaughtered as a result of emergency measures

(g) meat in the fresh state and stored in the frozen state.