Making a claim
You or your agent can make a claim for SFGS grants provided that the work has been satisfactorily carried out in accordance with the Contract. We might inspect the work before we make any payment.
Note that planting grants are paid in two instalments, 70% at the first instalment and the remaining 30% five years later.
What you must do to make a claim
If you wish to make a claim for grant, you must first register your land with SGRPID under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). Use SGRPID’s Land and Business Change Form to do this. You can download this form and guidance about how to complete it from the Scottish Government website.
When the registration process is complete, you will be given a unique Business Reference Number (BRN), a Main Location Code (MLC) and your land will be allocated Field Identifier numbers (FID).
If you need more information, please contact your local agriculture office. You can find information on how to contact them here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/Contacts.
The payment process
When we receive your claim, our Conservancy staff will check it in the normal way and may inspect the work.
Making your declaration on the Invitation to Claim
Where we are paying instalments of grant due after you have claimed the first one, we will send you a reminder 'Invitation to Claim'. Please note that when you return the signed Invitation to Claim with the required FID information you are making a formal declaration that the work you are claiming for is still satisfactory.
We may inspect the work before payment is made.
Please note that FCS staff are not authorised to make corrections to your claim. If we discover errors then we may need to return your claim for correction.
It is also possible that penalties may be applied if, after an inspection, we discover differences between the area claimed and the area of the work.
Advice is also available about the circumstances in which a contract can be breached and the penalties that might be applied – see Introduction to Breaches and Penalties (link to Scottish Government website).
Once the claim is authorised for payment the data about the claim is shared with SGRPID who will validate the Business Reference Number and Field Identifiers and then cross check the claim against any other grants that are being claimed on the land.
Advice is available about how to ensure your claim gets through these SGRPID checks: see Claiming Legacy grants (PDF 25k).
If your claim successfully passes these checks then payment will be issued by SGRPID through the Scottish Executive Accounting System (SEAS).
Summary
If you have not already registered with IACS, do so now to get your BRN, MLC and FIDs
Now complete Form FP4: Claim form (PDF 115k) or complete and sign your Invitation to Claim. You must make the claim within the financial year agreed in the signed contract.
If Farmland Premium payments are applicable, complete sections 5 and 6 of Form FP 4. Payments are made by SGRPID, and claim forms are sent at 5 yearly intervals following the first claim
Include a map showing the boundary of the area and operations you are claiming
You can make separate claims for ground preparation, protection and planting
Send the form to the relevant Forestry Commission Scotland conservancy office for processing.
Please note
a. the claimant must be the person detailed in the SFGS contract;
b. the applicant is wholly responsible for ensuring that the claim is accurate
When an amendment is required
The applicant or authorised agent can make an amendment to existing SFGS contracts in the following circumstances:
- When there is an increase or change to an area to be felled or thinned
- When there is an increase to work quantities that are outside the tolerances
- Where there are additional proposals that will affect the amount of grant to be paid.
In the above circumstances, an amended contract will be provided. This must be signed by the owner/authorised agent and approved by Forestry Commission Scotland. Do not start any work until approval is given.
Please note: we will only accept one amendment per scheme per year unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Making an amendment
- Complete Form FP5: Amendment Form (PDF 81k) and send it to the relevant Forestry Commission Scotland conservancy office
- SGRPID’s approval will also be required for any changes to Farmland Premium contracts. Use Form FP8: Successor’s Application Form (PDF 83k) to make an amendment to a Farmland Premium contract
- A new Farmland Premium Declarations and Undertakings form may need to be signed
- If you are selling the property you may need to complete a Transfer of Obligations form FP6 (PDF 122k).
An amendment form is not required for the following:
- Change to planting year
- Change to species.
- Change to work quantities that do not exceed the allowances within the tolerances
These changes can be made by exchange of letter or email. Forestry Commission Scotland may send the applicant revised contract pages.
Change of ownership
If you intend to, or have sold or transferred your property with an existing grant scheme, it is vital that you, the owner, or your solicitor, inform the local Forestry Commission Scotland conservancy office within three months of any ownership change. This gives us time to get in touch with you and the new owner to give advice about the grant scheme contract.
