APPENDIX 17
Memorandum submitted by North East Regional
Service Centre (E21)
NORTH EAST—NORTHALLERTON
1. DESCRIPTION
OF THE
AREA AND
TYPE OF
FARMING
The MAFF North East Regional includes Durham
and the old county of Cleveland, in addition to the standard Government
Office region of Yorkshire and the Humber.
Among the special features of the region are
two national parks, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors,
and the Pennine Dales Environmentally Sensitive Area which covers
nearly 38,000 hectares and has nearly 1,000 agreement holders.
These areas also comprise approximately 50 per cent of the Northern
Uplands Objective 5b area.
The Region is in an area of wide topographic
variety. The Pennine uplands and foothills in the west of the
region and North York Moors in the north east are characterised
by severe conditions, especially in winter. Rainfall is high in
the west and decreases rapidly eastwards. The Yorkshire Wolds
are exposed to easterly winds giving rise to a higher rainfall
and a shorter growing season that in the surrounding lowlands.
The lowlands include the Vale of York and Vale of Pickering and
the area around the Humber estuary. This latter area is relatively
dry, but inclined to be exposed to cold winds in spring and early
summer, increasing erosion risk on light soils.
These varying conditions give rise to a wide
range of agricultural activities. The total agricultural land
area amounts to approximately 1.4 million hectares, and this is
split almost equally between cropping and grassland (including
rough grazing). There are approximately 18,600 main holdings (defined
as holdings with more than six hectares and labour inputs of more
than 100 Standard Man Days) in the region. Cattle and sheep farms
are the most abundant farm type with lowland cattle and sheep
accounting for 14.6 per cent, while 13.6 per cent are cattle and
sheep farms in the Less Favoured Areas. Cropping is dominated
by cereals (over 74 per cent of the crop land), but there are
significant areas of potato plantings (nearly 17 per cent of the
English total). The region supports a very large number of livestock.
Around 30 per cent of English breeding pigs and other pigs are
found in the area particularly to the east side of the region
in Yorkshire and Humberside. The region also supports 17 per cent
of the English breeding ewe flock, 15 per cent of the English
beef herd and 9 per cent of the English dairy herd.
2. UPTAKE
AND ADMINISTRATION
OF SCHEMES
ARABLE AREA PAYMENTS SCHEME (AAPS) 1999
| Claims | Total grant £k
| Average grant £k | % paid by EU deadline
|
| 6,681 | 105,502 | 15.8
| 99.69 |
| | |
|
BEEF SPECIAL PREMIUM SCHEME (BSPS) 1998
| Applicants | Total paid £k
| % paid by EU deadline |
| 5,434 | 16,942 | 99.44
|
| | |
SUCKLER COW PREMIUM SCHEME (SCPS) 1998
| Claims | Total paid £k
| % paid by EU deadline |
| 3,470 | 14,430 | 99.54
|
| | |
SHEEP ANNUAL PREMIUM SCHEME (SAPS) 1998
| Claims | Total paid £k
| Average payment £k | % claims paid by deadline
|
| 5,416 | 28,353 | 5.2
| 99.82 |
| | |
|
HILL LIVESTOCK COMPENSATORY ALLOWANCES (HLCA) 2000
| Eligible claims | Total allowances paid £k
| Average payment £k | % eligible claims paid by deadline
|
| 3,122 | 10,493 | 3.3
| 99.6 |
| | |
|
ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS 1998-99
| Agreements | Total payments due £k
| Average grant £k | % paid by EU deadline
|
| 951 | 4,482 | 4.7
| 100 |
| | |
|
COUNTRYSIDE STEWARDSHIP SCHEME 1991-99
| Agreements | Budget £k
|
| 1,474 | 5,594 |
| |
FARM WOODLAND/FARM WOODLAND PREMIUM SCHEMES 1.4.92-31.3.00
| Approvals | Expenditure £k
|
| 617 | 519 |
| |
ORGANIC FARMING SCHEME (OFS) 1999
| Applicants | First year commitment of expenditure £k
| Average value per case (first year) £k
|
| 84 | 768 | 9.1
|
| | |
ORGANIC AID SCHEME (OAS) 1999
| Applicants | Payments £k
| Average value £k |
| 9 | 7 | 0.8
|
| | |
PROTECTION OF BADGERS ACT 1992 1.4.98-31.3.99
| Applications | Licences issued
| % meeting Citizen's Charter target |
| 32 | 31 | 100
|
| | |
WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT 1.4.98-31.3.99
| Applications | Licences issued
| % meeting Citizen's Charter target
|
| 48 | 10
| 100 |
| |
|
| Number of approved projects
| Total grant allocated £k | Total expenditure £k
| Average allocation per project £k
| Average commitment per project £k
|
| Objective 5b 1999 with N Region | 76
| 21,847 | 8,488 | 276
| 107 |
| Leader II 1999 with N Region | 93
| 835 | 238 | 12.9
| 2.5 |
| PESCA 1999 | 25 | 1,702
| 352 | 68 | 14
|
| | |
| | |
3. ENQUIRIES
Northallerton RSC receives 250,000 plus telephone enquiries
per year. Personal callers to the office—15,000 per year.
Letters received, in the year to March 2000, requiring a response
totalled 4,882 and responses sent within 10 working days were
4,201 (88.09 per cent).
4. NUMBER OF
STAFF
There were 301.5 staff in post at 1 April 2000.
5. FACILITIES
The Northallerton RSC is a new office building of 5,000 square
metres, with structure cabling throughout enabling maximum flexibility
of use. The building, which was constructed to BREEAM excellent
standards, is close to the town centre.
Facilities for the office's customers include:
— car parking for up to 35 visitors and nine designated
disabled parking spaces;
— facilities for disabled visitors;
— six interview rooms which include telephone and
PCs;
— comfortable seating for 25 visitors;
— TV monitor with display of relevant information;
— Graphitext electronic display;
— small child's play area; and
During the period leading up to the IACS deadline, additional
facilities are provided at points around the region for receiving
personally delivered IACS forms.
Facilities for staff include:
— 133 car parking spaces;
— motorcycles port for four motor cycles;
— two bicycle sheds suitable for 30 bikes;
— mess hall which includes an eating area and fully
equipped kitchen;
— gym supported by the Civil Service Sports Council;
— one male, one female and one disabled changing/shower
room;
— three lifts which provide access to all floors;
— one large conference room (fitted with an induction
loop) which can be split into two smaller rooms; and
— open learning centre providing training in computer
skills.
6. USE OF
IT
A pilot feasibility study of call handling technology has
been carried out within the BSPS section at Northallerton RSC.
The purpose of the pilot was to improve consistency in handling
CAP scheme enquiries and to provide better records of customer
contact. The BSPS scheme was chosen because the scheme rules and
regulations were relatively straightforward in comparison with
other CAP schemes and the pilot could be run with a control group
with minimum disruption to customers and staff.
The trial was run using call logging software which enables
a customer profile to be developed, logging caller details and
the nature of customers enquiries. It is possible to link customers'
records with the call record. This combined data can be used for
customer service and management purposes.
The trial started on 1 November 1999 and finished on 1 February
2000 with a final report expected in the summer. Initial findings
are positive with staff and customers commenting favourably on
the system and the improved service its installation has helped
to provide.
7. PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Performance measures are indicated in the tables under Paragraph
2—Schemes and in Paragraph 3—Enquiries.
8. RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER AGENCIES
The Regional Service Centre keeps in regular contact with
the main agriculture representative bodies in the region, supplemented
by formal meetings of a Regional Liaison Group. Bodies represented
on that group include the National Farmers Union, Women's Food
and Farming Union, Young Farmers, Country Landowners Association,
Tenant Farmers Association, Transport and General Workers Union
and Family Farms Association. Membership of the group is flexible
to include others with a specialised interest as necessary. The
Regional Director also has periodic meetings with Agricultural
College Principals and agricultural bankers.
There is increasing contact with other outside agencies through
the creation of the Regional Development Agency and the development
of a Regional Economic Strategy. The Rural Development programme
has involved regular meetings between MAFF, FRCA, Government Office,
Forestry Commission, Countryside Agency, English Nature, English
Heritage, Yorkshire Forward, Environment Agency and Regional Assembly,
chaired by the MAFF Regional Director. During the course of this
exercise, MAFF and its partners consulted widely with a wide selection
of organisations with an interest in rural affairs. These consultations
will continue as we progress to the implementation phase and move
on to consult on proposals and options for the new LEADER+ programme.
Other structural fund activity has given rise to widespread
contact with outside bodies. Under the Objective 5(b) (Northern
Uplands) programme, the Regional Director had a seat on the Government
Office led Programme Management Committee (PMC) and MAFF was represented
on all sub-groups, and preparation for the Objectives 1 and 2
programmes has required extensive liaison on the drafting of a
single programming documents with the Government Office and other
economic, social and environmental partners.
Many of these same bodies are represented on the Regional
Agri-Environment Consultation Group (RAECG) which meets twice
yearly with the purpose of endorsing the targets set under the
Countryside Stewardship Scheme and exchanging information on environmental
projects being considered or undertaken. The Ministry uses these
meetings both as an opportunity to consult and brief Ministers
and to inform delegates of developments in its own agri-environmental
work.
9. LOCAL INITIATIVES
OR CIRCUMSTANCES
Northallerton is unusual in that it is both a county and
market town; the development of market towns is a major feature
of Yorkshire Forward's (the RDA) Regional Economic Strategy. MAFF's
Regional Service Centre and County Hall are by far the two largest
employers in the town.
Initiatives on the human resources side include the provision
of work experience placements in liaison with a number of local
training organisations, and provision of work rehabilitation opportunities
for people who have been prevented from working by accident or
injury.
11 May 2000
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