CCAGS
Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants (Scotland) Scheme (CCAGS)
BACKGROUND
CCAGS is designed to provide assistance towards improving the infrastructure of crofting and eligible small/medium scale agricultural businesses operating in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
By aiding and developing agricultural production on crofting businesses, the principle objective of CCAGS is to sustain the economic basis and way of life and so help retain population in crofting areas.
By focusing on crofting, CCAGS targets funding on a social group with particularly pressing economic needs and contributes to the social inclusion dimension of sustainable rural development. The practice of crofting is regarded as socially, culturally and environmentally important to a wider proportion of the population, for the sense of identity it provides, the landscape it produces and the systems of communal working it supports. On this basis the scheme helps significantly in supporting crofting which as a result offers wider social cohesion benefits.
Crofting exists in areas of Scotland where production and investment cost are traditionally high due to peripherality and remoteness. Through CCAGS, crofters can carry out individual investments which ensure production costs are reduced through improved stock control and crop protection from damage by deer and other wild animals. CCAGS assists with the provision of facilities for the wintering of livestock and storing winter fodder, which helps contain the cost of production by reducing waste and the resultant need to import additional fodder with its very high associated transport costs. CCAGS also promotes improved grassland management through the establishment of grass swards that are suited to the land and climate of the former crofting counties.
The Scheme also supports other crofting development initiatives such as the Highlands & Islands Croft Entrant Scheme and the Crofting Community Development Scheme as it provides a significant element of funding towards the projects included in both new entrants and crofting communities development plans.
CHANGES TO CCAGS 2008
As you may be aware the future of CCAGS has been secured for the next 5 years through its inclusion in the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2007-2013. The Notice is to alert you to the main features of the scheme which have been retained from the CCAGS 2006 Scheme and those which have changed. The following features remain the same:
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS : The scheme remains open to croft tenants, sub-tenants, registered Grazings Committees, and owners of crofts and occupiers of eligible holdings who can demonstrate that they are of the same economic status as croft tenants.
ELIGIBLE OPERATIONS: The full list of operations eligible under CCAGS 2006 has been retained (see Appendix 1 of the attached Scheme Guidance Notes for the full range of eligible operations).
GRANT RATES:
Grant rates are to be set at 50% for Less Favoured Area (LFA) land and 40% for non-LFA land for all eligible operations.
BUSINESS CEILINGS: The maximum grant for an individual remains at £25,000 over any 2 year period and for a group is £125,000 over any 2 year period.
APPLICATION AND CLAIM SUBMISSION PROCEDURES: Unlike the rest of the SRDP where applications will only be accepted on-line, we will continue to accept application forms which can be obtained from either the Crofters Commission or your local Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) office (contact details are set out at Appendix 4 of the Scheme Guidance Notes). Alternatively they can be accessed electronically at www.crofterscommission.org.uk
STANDARD COSTS: There will be no facility to apply for grants under Standard Costs. All applications have to be made on the basis of the actual costs to be incurred.
LABOUR COSTS: Where the work is undertaken by either the applicant or an employee, the labour costs can also be applied for. The value of the labour element will be assessed by the local SGRPID office and will normally be based on Industry standards for each operation and the current Agricultural Wage Board rates.
GRANT ASSIGNATIONS: There will be no facility to assign grant to a contractor or supplier. All Costs have to be incurred and paid prior to a payment being made. However it is possible to submit interim claims for work carried out and costs incurred and paid at agreed milestones prior to the completion of the project.
STATUTORY PENALTIES: Any claims submitted which include costs in excess of the grant amount approved, will be subject to penalties which will reduce the amount of grant paid.
CROSS COMPLIANCE: Aid will only be granted to eligible agricultural businesses which meet the requirements of cross-compliance and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC).
QUOTATIONS: The requirement to submit more than 1 quotation has been waived where the amount applied for is less than £2,000 and the costs are deemed to be reasonable.
Applications under the current scheme will be accepted up to 4 April 2008 and processed under the CCAGS 2006 scheme rules.
Applicants holding offers of grant under the CCAGS 2006 scheme will be honoured, providing claims for payment are submitted within the timescales set out in the terms and conditions of approval (All applicants in this category have already been written to by their local SGRPID office).
No applications for variations or extensions will be accepted on CCAGS 2006 scheme grant offers after 7 April 2008 . However there will be an opportunity to submit a new application under the CCAGS 2008 scheme providing costs have not been incurred and work has not commenced on the original approval.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Should you require any further information please contact either your local SGRPD office (or the Crofters Commission, Castle Wynd, Inverness, IV2 3EQ (Tel No. 01463 663450)
