|
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The RPA was created on 16 October 2001 from the amalgamation of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and the Defra Paying Agency〔(RPA website "About RPA" )〕 as a single paying agency for most Common Agricultural Policy schemes in England and certain schemes throughout the whole of the UK.〔(RPA website "Background to RPA" )〕 Most notably the agency is responsible for administering and distributing the Single Payment Scheme to farmers in England. It also enforces the European Union's regulations on the class, quality, size and shape of vegetables and fruit sold, by warning and advising businesses, and occasionally prosecuting under section 14 of the Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964. The RPA delivers EU CAP payments to farmers and traders in excess of £2 billion per year, managing more than 40 schemes. The largest such scheme it manages is the CAP (Single Payment Scheme ) (SPS) for England, paying more than £1.5 billion to around 105,000 claimants each year. It is the EU's paying agency for market support measures across Great Britain under Defra authority and as agreed with Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Government and the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland. RPA works closely with Natural England and the Forestry Commission which are responsible for authorising payments under the Rural Development Programme for England for schemes including Environmental Stewardship and the English Woodland Grant Scheme. Part of the role of the agency is to issue holding numbers and vendor numbers to landowners in England who wish to take advantage of the various schemes Defra offers. In 2003 the British Cattle Movement Service, which manages the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) for the whole of Great Britain, was amalgamated into the RPA. It maintains a register of births, deaths and movements of cattle to be used for animal health purposes; issues cattle passports; and records where individual cattle are, as well as operating a dedicated helpline.〔(RPA website "British Cattle Movement Service" )〕 It handles around 20 million transactions per year, the majority recorded online. The (Rural Land Register ) is also managed by the RPA. It holds data on around 2.4 million registered land parcels digitally, and sends land maps to landowners in England. The RPA publishes an (annual business plan ) which sets out its targets and commitments to its customers, Defra and the taxpayer. The agency is working closely with Defra towards implementation of the new (CAP ) payment schemes, currently anticipated to be in 2015. ==Offices== RPA has six main offices which are all located in England.〔(List of Offices )〕 They are situated in the following towns: * Carlisle * Exeter * Newcastle * York * Reading (Head Office) * Workington 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rural Payments Agency」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|