ACTION 25
"Integrated bovine inspections have been introduced and
the Executive will look at other ways of reducing
inspection burdens on farmers."
Progress
Integrated bovine inspections have been introduced and
as a consequence the number of individual inspections has
been reduced from a potential of 9,500 to 1,800 per annum.
Similar procedures were introduced to the 2003 round of
inspections carried out under the Scottish Rural
Development Plan (SRDP) to minimise the number of separate
farm visits. The number of farm inspections under the SRDP
reduced from around 1,450 inspections/year to under 850 in
2003.
Work is in hand to reduce the actual time spent on farm
during cattle inspections. SEERAD is investigating the
potential for
- amending the actual inspection
process itself; and
- using Information Technology
(IT)
to speed up operations on farm.
Further Work
Work is presently being undertaken to ensure that
inspections carried out under various regulations by bodies
such as SNH and SEPA are co-ordinated to avoid any
unnecessary burden on farmers who apply for the Single Farm
Payment scheme which includes a requirement to adhere to
Cross-Compliance conditions.
Primary action complete although work is
ongoing in relation to the overarching
objective.
Previous Action
Next Action