Cross-border farmers left at a financial disadvantage

FARMING families with land either side of the England-Wales border have too often been left behind when it comes to receiving farm payments, with many facing extreme financial pressures and being placed at a competitive disadvantage as a result.

That was a key message given to AMs and senior officials from Rural Payment Wales (RPW) and England’s Rural Payment Agency (RPA) during a cross-party crossborder group meeting hosted by the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The group’s chairman, Montgomeryshire AM Russell George, said: “As an Assembly Member for a constituency which borders England, I have regularly been contacted by cross-border farmers whose payments have been delayed by months, often leading to financial hardships.

“I know my colleagues up and down the border come across the same problems, and the same is true for our English counterparts, so the opportunity for the group to speak to stakeholders and senior officials from England and Wales regarding the problem was invaluable.”

Hugh Morgan, head of RPW, said the agency had received 249 cross-border applications in 2016, while in 2017 the number had risen to 257. A similar number of cross-border farms are registered in England and dealt with by the RPA.

Mr Morgan said data-sharing by RPW for 2015 applications had started in November 2015, and data had been received back from RPA in January 2016.

FUW Montgomeryshire county executive officer Emyr Davies said: “The Wales-England border is three times the length of the Scotland-England border and there are around 500 Wales-England cross-border farms.

“Such farms have to deal with additional complexity in terms of different sets of rules either side of the border, including different animal movement rules, different reporting systems and different environmental rules.

“Payments to these families are regularly delayed by months, placing them at a significant disadvantage compared with those who are paid within an acceptable timescale.”

Mr Davies explained that those affected are placed at a significant competitive disadvantage, as their ability to make the most of lower market prices is restricted, and they may have to borrow money and pay additional interest on loans.