The ‘heat map’ of inspections above shows the most targeted areas of this inspection season.
This year we have experienced an overwhelming increase in cross compliance inspections across the board. This is true for both the Environment Agency (EA) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in England.
As we are heavily involved in both types of inspections, we are always liaising first hand with ‘on the ground’ inspectors and have been informed that the number of physical inspections is on the rise. Some counties now have quadruple the number of inspectors they have previously had for the area and more inspectors equals more inspections.
There are key differences between EA and RPA inspections, the main one being that the EA want to see all cross compliance records for all land you farm, including unclaimed rented land, whereas the RPA focus solely on land that is claimed on for BPS by the farmer being inspected.
The EA are usually looking for the last 12 month’s fertiliser/manure applications and looking forward at a plan for next year, including soil testing results to justify planned applications of manure and fertiliser. The RPA however, require more years’ worth of records (usually 5 years), and are not so focused on soil testing.
The EA seem to audit compliance with the Farming Rules for Water whilst the RPA check against the cross compliance 2022 regulations.
Another major difference is notification timescale. We have found from our experience that the EA tend to give more notice of the visit, sometimes up to 6 weeks before the inspection date, whereas the RPA usually only give 48 hours’ notice.
Even though there are differences between both audits, we have found this year that all inspectors, whether EA or RPA, have been extremely grateful for records sent across electronically prior to the physical visit date. This is something we accommodate for all our clients and can provide all records on request. The inspectors like looking through the paperwork before the visits as they get more of an overview of the business before they set foot on the farm. It also means on ‘inspection day’ that the paperwork looked over is significantly less, making the audit more bearable for all parties.
If you would like any help or advice on preparing for an inspection, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01981 590514.
