Map: River Thames Investment programme 2018 to 2019 Map

Map of River Thames 2018 to 2019 investment programme to help you plan your cruising over the winter.



Press release: FCO statement on the release of Ilgar Mammadov in Azerbaijan

In 2014, Mr Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the Azerbaijan opposition political party ‘REAL’, was convicted and sentenced to a lengthy prison term, which the European Court of Human Rights ruled was politically motivated. Mr Mammadov has now been released by the Azerbaijani authorities, and is to be placed under probation.

An FCO spokesperson said:

The release of Ilgar Mammadov on 13 August represents a positive step forward. However, we are concerned that some conditions have been attached to Mr Mammadov’s release by the Azerbaijani authorities. The UK urges Azerbaijan to abide by the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the unconditional release of Mr Mammadov, as repeatedly demanded by the Council of Europe.

We encourage Azerbaijan’s modernisation efforts which are vital if Azerbaijan is to make progress as a prosperous, tolerant and democratic society. This includes taking positive steps on other cases of human rights concern. We will continue to support Azerbaijan in fulfilling their international obligations.

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Guidance: Commons eligibility checks

Updated: Additional commons data added to the 2018 table

RPA regularly checks and updates its digital maps. This includes common land.

How commons eligibility checks differ from other land eligibility checks

Land cover eligibility on common land is checked using the latest enhanced satellite images and a limited number of supplementary physical land checks. These checks are different from RPA’s usual land eligibility checks. The main differences are:

  • RPA is checking the eligibility of the land cover on commons and not land boundaries which RPA cannot change because they are legally defined

  • RPA is surveying the eligible area of a common separately to the enclosed land farmed by the common land graziers who declared rights on the common for BPS

  • Graziers claim for a common by declaring their grazing rights rather than applying directly for an area of land. This means that there will be no penalties for over-declaring if RPA discovers the eligible area is less than previously used

When and where to check for changes

RPA needs to make sure that all land data on their systems is up to date. Therefore the eligibility checks are carried out on an ongoing basis.

After a common is checked, if the eligible area has changed, RPA will write to those customers who declare rights on it as part of their BPS application. Natural England and the Forestry Commission will also contact agreement holders if their schemes are affected. RPA will publish the new eligible area value on GOV.UK, the ‘Commons eligibility checks updated areas’ at the top of this page.

The changes might affect the value of customers’ claims and payments for:

  • BPS 2018

  • stewardship schemes

  • forestry schemes

This is because the ‘notional area’ used to calculate a customer’s 2018 BPS payment may be less than last year. Therefore, their 2018 BPS payment may be lower than they are expecting.
Read more information about how the ‘notional area’ of the common is calculated on page 25 of the Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2018. The example calculation shows how the value of the common land part of the BPS payment is calculated.

What to do if you do not agree with the updated eligible area values

Customers who want to query the revised eligible area value need to discuss their query with the other commoners, and relevant Commons Association or equivalent organisation, to reach an agreed view.
It is important that individual customers do not make any changes to the land cover on the common, such as removing scrub, without discussing it with the other graziers/commoners. This is because it might affect the scheme agreements in place with other commoners.

Once customers have reviewed and discussed the revised eligible area values with the other commoners, if they still want to query or disagree with RPA’s findings, they can call RPA on 03000 200 301. There is no deadline to call RPA but if customers want to query or disagree with the findings, they should call RPA within 6 weeks of RPA writing to them. This will give RPA the best possible chance to consider mapping update requests before they start to make BPS 2018 payments.
Depending on the customer’s query, RPA may email a digital map (PDF) to the customer. This is so that the customer can see the land cover changes.

It’s important that customers check their contact details are up to date in the Rural Payments service. In particular, RPA needs their up to date email address.

If RPA cannot email a digital map to the customer, they may send the map on a disc by letter. If the customer will be unable to view the PDF maps sent by email or letter they must tell RPA this when they call to discuss their query. If RPA then send these customers a map, they will make sure that the customer will be able to view it.
When customers receive these maps (PDF or another format), they must check them carefully. If they agree with the updated eligible area shown on these maps they need take no further action.

What to do if you do not agree with the updated eligible areas shown on the maps RPA send you

Customers will need to discuss this with the other commoners, and relevant Commons Association or equivalent organisation to reach an agreed view.
If they disagree with the information on the maps they will need to take action as a group. They will need to fill in and send an RLE1 form and sketch maps to RPA. They must send only one set of forms/maps for the common from their group. This is so that RPA does not receive conflicting information.
Customers need to show all amendments on their sketch maps with as much detail as possible, including measurement or area size.
Information on how to mark changes on sketch maps and how to fill in an RLE1 form is given in the RLE1 guidance.

Requests for changes to your maps and land parcel details could affect your future payments. Only tell RPA about changes if you are sure they need to be made.

If customers need to send an RLE1 form and sketch map(s) to RPA they should check the email or letter they received with their digital map (PDF). It will advise them when they should send their RLE1 form and sketch map(s) to RPA. There is no deadline for sending the RLE1 form and sketch maps but depending on when you send them, RPA’s focus may be on making payments using the updated eligible areas they identified and published.

Example calculation:

How the value of the common land part of the BPS payment is calculated.

The common has:

  • an eligible area of 300ha; and

  • grazing rights being claimed under BPS for 200 sheep and 70 cattle.

RPA must calculate the livestock unit (LU) value of all the rights being claimed for the common:

  • Each sheep is equivalent to 0.15 LU, so the calculation for the sheep grazing rights being claimed is:
    200 sheep x 0.15 LU = 30 LU

  • Each adult cow is 1 LU, so the calculation for the cattle grazing rights being claimed is: 70 cattle x 1 LU = 70 LU

  • The total LU being claimed for the common is therefore:
    30 LU + 70 LU = 100 LU

  • The area to be allocated for each LU claimed for the common is calculated as: 300ha / 100 LU = 3.0ha/LU

  • If the farmer declared 40 LU of rights to activate entitlements on their BPS 2017 application they would be allocated 3.0ha/LU x 40 LU = 120ha of the total eligible area of the common.

  • This area will be used to activate entitlements in the same way as any other land declared by the farmer on their application. The examples shown above under ‘Main BPS payment’ and ‘Average entitlement value’ show how this is done.

The above examples are based on a single common and do not take account of any split rights.

Common land eligible area values and total area values

Find the calculation data for commons with an updated eligible area in the Commons eligibility checks updated area table at the top of this page. Find the calculation data for all other commons in the ‘Commons land grazing rights’ table. This table is published each year and includes the eligible area and number of rights claimed (in Livestock Units) for each common for that BPS scheme year. The data is taken from the Rural Payments service. The ‘Commons land grazing rights’ table for BPS 2017 is published on the BPS 2017 page. The eligible area of a common will alter as physical changes take place on the common and the information in this table may be updated to take account of information received from inspections or other sources.



Press release: Support the Heroes: Notice of intention to direct charity to wind up

The Commission is today giving [public notice] of its intention to issue an order to direct the winding up of Support the Heroes (registered charity number 1155853.

In November 2016 the Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity and appointed Brian Johnson of HW Fisher & Company as interim manager to take over the running of the charity.

Section 84B of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to issue an order to direct the winding up of a charity if it is satisfied that a charity does not operate, or its purposes can be promoted more effectively if it ceases to operate; and exercising the power is expedient in the public interest. The Commission’s summary of reasons is set out in the Public Notice of Intention to Exercise Powers: Support the Heroes (PDF, 154KB, 1 page) .

In accordance with section 84B(4) of the Act the Commission is inviting representations to be made in relation to its intention to make the Order. Representations must be made to the Commission within 30 days of the date of this notice.

Further information is available at http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/schemesdefault.aspx.

Representations can be emailed to IAEInvestigationsCRM@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk marking it ‘Representations to the Public Notice – Support the Heroes, registered number 1155853’.

The Commission will consider any representations received within 30 days of this notice. The Commission may (without further public notice) issue the order (with or without modifications) on 16 October 2018, 60 days after the 1st day of this notice.

Ends.



News story: Plans to cut harmful pollution from domestic burning set out

Proposals to promote cleaner domestic burning and cut harmful pollution by prohibiting the sale of the most polluting fuels have been laid out in a government consultation published today.

The burning of wood and coal in the home is the largest single contributor to particulate matter pollution – identified by the World Health Organization as the most damaging air pollutant.

Particulate matter is formed of tiny particles that can get into the body, lodging in major organs, causing short- and long-term health problems. Domestic burning contributes 38% of particulate matter pollution, compared with 16% from industrial combustion and only 12% from road transport.

The government therefore plans to ensure that, in future, only the cleanest fuels are available for sale. Delivering a commitment in the government’s Clean Air Strategy, the consultation proposes preventing 8,000 tonnes of harmful particulate matter from entering the atmosphere each year by:

  • Restricting the sale of wet wood for domestic burning
  • Applying sulphur standards and smoke emission limits to all solid fuels
  • Phasing out the sale of traditional house coal

At the same time, the government will ensure only the cleanest stoves are available for sale by 2022. Together this will bring benefits for consumers and householders as burning cleaner fuels and using these devices produces less smoke, soot, and more heat.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

Everyone has a role to play in improving the air we breathe, and reducing pollution from burning at home is a key area where we can all take action.

While we will never be able to eliminate all particulate matter, by switching to cleaner fuels, householders can reduce the amount of harmful pollution to which they unwittingly expose themselves, their families and the environment, while still enjoying the warmth and pleasure of a fire.

The government’s Clean Air Strategy – welcomed by the World Health Organization who said it was “appreciating actions taken by the United Kingdom government to protect its citizens from this silent killer” – also set out proposals to tackle air pollution from a range of other sources including:

  • Publishing new guidance for farmers, advisors and contractors to help them reduce ammonia emissions and invest in infrastructure and equipment
  • Working with international partners to research and develop new standards for tyres and brakes to enable us to address toxic non-exhaust emissions of micro plastics from vehicles which can pollute air and water. A call for evidence was launched last month.

This is in addition to our £3.5 billion plan to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport.

Many consumers are unaware of the impact on their health or the environment from burning solid fuels, or indeed which fuels are the cleanest to buy. Our recent research suggests that over half of people surveyed did not consider that the burning of solid fuels and wood in their home might have an impact on their health or the environment.

The government recognises households have installed wood-burning stoves and is not seeking to prevent their use, or installation, or considering banning domestic burning, but it is keen to encourage people to switch to cleaner fuels.

A simple way to identify clean, quality wood fuel is to look for the Defra supported ‘Ready to Burn’ logo on fuels. Consumers can also take action by buying the most efficient stove and regularly servicing their appliance. The Burnright website has lots of helpful tips on how to minimise the impact of burning on air quality, as can your local chimney sweep during their regular visit. Householders can also swap their supply of traditional house coal to a cleaner alternative.

The consultation closes on 12 October.