Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are special sites designated under the EU Birds Directive to protect rare, vulnerable and migratory birds.

The original boundary proposal map missed out some areas in Portsmouth Harbour and all of Pagham Harbour. There was a mapping error in the River Avon where the boundary was not drawn to the mean high water as stated in the departmental brief. The map has been corrected and replaced.

Some stakeholders were also not made aware of the original consultation so there’s an extended opportunity for comments. All previous responses have been recorded and will be included and submitted to the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The consultation summary document and departmental brief have been replaced.

The proposal for Solent and Dorset Coast is to create a new SPA for internationally important populations of:

• common tern
• Sandwich tern
• little tern

This area is particularly important to these birds as much of the sea around their breeding colonies is the ideal habitat for plunge diving for food.

The proposal is available as a series of separate documents (attached above). You should:

• read the consultation summary that sets out the aims of the proposal
• read the departmental brief that provides the scientific explanation behind the proposal
• use the map to locate the proposal site (this is a large file and may take some time to open)

You can obtain site boundaries as vector polygons in both ESRI ArcMap shapefile and Pitney Bowes MapInfo tab file formats from Natural England’s GIS Digital Boundary Datasets.

Use the ‘respond online’ link below to give your views.

Requirement R095

Requirement detail

The MMO requires a character description of the north east, south east, south west and north west marine plan areas to support marine planning. Evidence is required to characterise both the inshore and offshore areas.

This work will be split into the following parts:

1. characterisation of the above marine plan areas via desk study
2. stakeholder validation of the findings
3. visual amenity analysis to show where the sea is visible from the land
4. field work, which is not a priority to deliver as part of this requirement, but could potentially add value to the findings.

MMO use

Marine Planning: will use the characterisation work (stakeholder validation if available) to help inform marine plan development, particularly in relation to identifying seascape related issues and developing plan policies for seascape.

Marine Licensing: will use the visual amenity analysis to help determine the impacts of developments at sea from the land and vice versa, which will inform licensing decisions where relevant.

External interest:

Natural England, Environment Agency, Cefas

On 19 May 2016 Dover Harbour Board (DHB) submitted an application to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for a marine licence to carry out aggregate dredging at Area 521, known as the South Goodwin Sands.

The original application proposed the dredging of a maximum total of 3,750,000 tonnes of aggregate within the South Goodwin Sands sandbank system using trailer suction hopper dredgers to provide material for land reclamation works and berth construction works as part of the wider Dover Western Docks Revival project.

A public consultation was started on 9 June 2016 and ended on 20 July 2016.

The MMO requested further information from DHB to assess the impacts of the proposed dredging. A further public consultation on this additional information started on 6 October 2016 and ended on 16 November 2016.

On 20 December 2016 the MMO requested additional information from Dover Harbour Board to assess the impacts of the proposed dredging. A further consultation on this additional information started on 17 August 2017 and ended on 28 September 2017.

The application for a marine licence was updated in Autumn 2017 to:

• reduce the volume of material required;
• reduce the proposed dredge area; and
• alter the timeline of the indicative dredging programme.

Between Autumn 2017 and July 2018 the MMO has been taking necessary steps to ensure that the process to assess the proposed development was in compliance with the Marine Works (EIA) Regulations 2007 (as amended) and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, amongst other relevant legislation. This included taking into account relevant representations made as part of the consultation process and obtaining guidance from our primary advisers.

On 26 July 2018 the MMO announced it had granted a marine licence giving DHB permission to extract up to 3 million tonnes of aggregate by trailer suction hopper dredging, which is proposed to be undertaken between September 2019 and September 2020.

In reaching its decision the MMO has considered Section 69 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, in particular the need to protect the environment, the need to prevent interference with legitimate uses of the sea and other such relevant matters. The MMO has taken into account the evidence provided; the comprehensive consultations; and the clear conclusions of the EIA Consent Decision on individual issues, which includes consideration of the nature of the proposed activity (the campaign of dredging) and the likely significant effects both individually and cumulatively in reaching its marine licence decision.

The EIA Consent Decision document included on this page explains the steps taken by the MMO in reaching its EIA Decision and subsequent Marine Licence determination, and the evidence on which its conclusions were based.

All relevant documentation, including the updated marine licence application, further information requests and responses and representations received following the first and second consultation period, is available from the MMO marine licensing public register (case reference is MLA/2016/00227).

For more information contact the Marine Licensing Team. Phone: 0300 123 1032 or email: marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk.

This collection brings together information on what Defra is doing to control the risk of bovine TB from badgers, as part of our wider measures to control bovine TB.

How BPS 2017 payments are calculated

To find out how payments are calculated, read the ‘Payments, Reductions and Penalties’ section of the Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017. Page 89 explains how RPA calculates payments.

You may also need to read information about greening administrative penalties that apply from BPS 2017.

Common land grazing rights
(PDF, 636KB, 54 pages)

– to find out how the value of the common land part of the BPS payment is calculated read the example below.

The BPS 2017 exchange rate is: €1 = £0.89470.

Entitlement values for 2017

Payment region	Entitlement value
Non-SDA (Severely Disadvantaged area)	€180.46
SDA	€178.90
SDA moorland	€49.63

Greening payment rates for 2017

Payment region	Greening payment rate
Non-SDA (Severely Disadvantaged area)	€77.69
SDA	€76.92
SDA moorland	€21.32

Commons eligibility checks 2017

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

• RPA is surveying the eligible area of a common separately to the enclosed land farmed by the common land graziers who declared grazing 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 no more than 3 years old. These checks are carried out on an ongoing basis. This means each common will not be checked every year.

After a common is checked, if the eligible area has changed, RPA will write to those customers who declare rights on it. RPA will publish the new eligible area and updated information on these checks on GOV.UK.

The changes might affect the value of customers’ BPS 2017 and agri-environment and woodland claims and payments.

This is because the ‘notional area’ used to calculate a customer’s 2017 BPS payment may be less than last year. Therefore, their 2017 BPS payment may be lower than they are expecting.
Read more information about how the ‘notional area’ of the common is calculated on page 28 of the
Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017
(PDF, 4.33MB, 118 pages)

.

What to do if you do not agree with the updates

Customers who want to query the revised eligible area 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 findings with the other commoners, if they still want to query or disagree with RPA’s findings, they can call RPA on 03000 200 301.

RPA will focus on making payments using the updated eligible areas and then will review any queries received. This is to avoid delays in making payments.

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.

Rural Payments service

You can use the Rural Payments service to:

• Register for rural payments
• View your BPS 2017 application summary
• Update your personal and business details
• Give someone else (like an agent) permission to act on your behalf
• View your BPS entitlements
• See and print digital maps of your land parcels

Now the 2017 application period is over, you cannot use the service to:

• edit land use

• add or delete common rights

• make an active farmer declaration for BPS 2017

RPA will let you know when you can do this for BPS 2018.

From 15 May, it was not possible to:

• transfer entitlements to use in the BPS 2017 scheme year – either online or using an RLE1 form

• transfer land using the Rural Payment service (You can use an RLE1 form for land changes during the BPS 2017 scheme year, as long as the land was at your disposal on 15 May)

RPA will let you know when you can do this for BPS 2018 using the Rural Payments service, so you don’t need to send an RLE1 form.

How to use the Rural Payments service – help is available

There’s help onscreen in the service to guide you if you get stuck (you can also
download a copy of the onscreen help
(PDF, 2.45MB, 55 pages)

)

Updates to digital maps on the Rural Payments service

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is making a number of updates to digital maps, this started in August 2017 and will continue through into autumn 2017. For more information on these updates please see the RLE1 page.

To view your individual land parcels, go to: www.ruralpayments.service.gov.uk/. From the ‘Business overview’ screen, click ‘Land’ then ‘View land’.

We will use these land updates to calculate BPS 2017 payments.

Financial Discipline Mechanism Reimbursement

Each year the European Commission uses some of the BPS budget to create a ‘crisis reserve’. This is used to support the farming industry in times of crisis, such as disease outbreak. To do this – and to make sure that the overall European budget for BPS is not exceeded – a mechanism called ‘financial discipline’ is used. ‘Financial discipline’ means BPS payments across all Member States are reduced.

If the FDM funds have not been used to relieve a crisis, they are reimbursed to eligible farmers in the following scheme year. Farmers with a 2017 BPS claim worth more than €2,000 will receive a reimbursement from the 2016 FDM fund.

Payments will start from early October 2018. The payment is called ‘FDM reimbursement’ on the remittance advice, which is being sent after a payment is made.

The rate to use to calculate the reimbursement for 2017 is 1.310%. RPA takes a farmer’s claim value, removes the first €2,000 and any reductions if they apply (but not cross compliance penalties), then multiplies this by 1.310%. They take the resulting amount and remove any cross compliance penalties from it.

Here’s an example:

Some farmers may receive a further payment under FDM for previous years.

Planned maintenance of the Rural Payments service

There will be times when the Rural Payments service is unavailable because of essential planned maintenance and updates.

Check ‘Rural Payments: registering and updating your details’ to keep updated about availability of the Rural Payments service.

Scheme rules and other guidance

• 
  Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017
  (PDF, 4.33MB, 118 pages)
  
  find out how the scheme works

Other guidance and forms you may need

• Active farmer certificate – 2017.
• Active farmer readmission: accountant certificate – 2017
• Rural Payments: land use codes

• 
  Greening workbook for 2017
  (PDF, 287KB, 10 pages)
  

• The guide to cross compliance in England 2017

• 
  Winter varieties of Brassica crops for ‘crop diversification’
  (PDF, 112KB, 3 pages)
  

• 
  Young and new farmer form
  (PDF, 231KB, 8 pages)
  
  (including applications for entitlements) and
  guidance on completing the Young and new farmer form
  (PDF, 669KB, 11 pages)
  

Read the RLE1 form and guidance if you need to use an RLE1 form to change your online maps, or to transfer entitlements by paper.

Guidance to help you apply

• 
  How to claim BPS online in 2017
  (PDF, 3.26MB, 46 pages)
  
  gives extra information about claiming online
• 
  How to apply using a paper form
  (PDF, 907KB, 60 pages)
  
  gives extra information about applying on paper
• 
  Not applied online before?
  (PDF, 2.49MB, 2 pages)
  
  leaflet gives paper customers information to help apply online
• 
  BPS 2017: Hints and tips
  (PDF, 1MB, 24 pages)
  
  to help you make your application

Continuation booklets

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part C: Field data sheet
  (PDF, 171KB, 12 pages)
  

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part D: Greening: ecological focus areas (EFA)
  (PDF, 174KB, 8 pages)
  

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part E: Common land grazing rights
  (PDF, 162KB, 8 pages)