Small Grants – Efficiency: general rules booklet: update

Introduction: Supporting the rural economy and the transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme

The Programme for Government sets out our commitments to continue supporting farmers to produce food in a sustainable way, whilst taking action to respond to the climate emergency and to help reverse the decline in biodiversity. Funding support for farmers, land managers and associated rural sectors is delivered through a flexible framework of support, with schemes – including the Small Grants – Efficiency Scheme - delivering towards the following themes:

• Farm scale land management
• On farm environmental improvements
• On farm efficiency and diversification
• Landscape scale land management
• Woodland and forestry
• Food and farming supply chains

 The framework is designed to both support action in response to the challenges and opportunities available and to support transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which will reward farmers for the work they do now to lower their carbon footprint, improve the environment and produce food in a sustainable way.

Further information on the themes and schemes being developed (on businesswales.gov.wales) 

These Guidance Notes explain the Small Grants – Efficiency Scheme. Please read them carefully. If you then consider your investment plans may qualify for support under this scheme and you want to apply for support, please see ‘How to Apply’ at section C and the How to Complete booklet.

 The application window will open on 6 March2024 and close on 16 April 2024.

 The indicative budget allocation for this application window is £5.0m.

 The Small Grants - Efficiency scheme is a capital scheme designed to help farmers in Wales to improve the technical, financial and environmental performance of their farm businesses.

The objectives are to increase on-farm investment, increase technical performance, increase on-farm production efficiencies, increase on-farm resource efficiencies and enhance the use of technology to improve management decisions.

The Small Grants – Efficiency scheme supports capital investments in equipment and technology that have been pre-identified as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to your farm business. The capital items have been specified, along with a referenced cost for each item.

Any changes will be publicised via the Welsh Government website, GWLAD online and, where necessary, we will contact you directly.

You are eligible to apply if:

• You are registered with the Welsh Government and have been issued with a Customer Reference Number (CRN). Please refer to the Welsh Government website for the how to register guidance or call the RPW Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004. You must:
  • be a primary producer of agricultural products
  • have 3ha of eligible agricultural land registered with RPW in Wales or
  • be able to demonstrate over 550 standard labour hours

We will check if you have an eligible Basic Payment Scheme claim to verify if you are a primary producer of agricultural products and you have 3ha of eligible agricultural land in Wales.

If you have not submitted a Basic Payment Scheme claim you must submit documentary evidence with your EoI to verify that you are a primary producer of agricultural products and that you meet either the 3ha of eligible agricultural land registered with RPW in Wales or 550 standard labour hours’ eligibility criteria. If this documentary evidence is not submitted by the EoI closing date, your EoI will be rejected. 

The primary production of agricultural products includes the following farming sectors:

• arable
• beef
• dairy
• goats
• horticulture (including hydroponics and aquaponics)
• pigs
• poultry
• sheep
• apiculture

You are not eligible if:

• You are an Equine customer (including grazing horses)
• You are a Forestry customer (including woodland only owners)
• A group of farmers (including Producer Organisations) 
• However, if two or more agricultural holdings are managed as a single unit, or in a single ownership, or to some extent have common management, common financial accounts, common livestock, machinery and/or feeding stores that will be classed as a single business.

You must not use items purchased through Small Grants – Efficiency for agricultural contracting activities.

Eligible costs 

Only items included on the List of Eligible Capital Items set out in Annex A will attract funding.

Purchased items must meet or exceed the minimum specification described.

Ineligible Costs

• Second hand equipment
• Consumables (items which are likely to be used up or depleted, e.g. Medication to be used in the Auto ID Drench Gun item would not be eligible)

Costs related to the purchase of equipment are only eligible for grant aid when the cost has been correctly and fully defrayed by the claimant prior to submitting a claim. Therefore, the full costs of any equipment secured under a hire purchase or lease hire agreement or any other form of financial arrangement is not eligible for grant aid.

 Maximum grant rate and maximum grant threshold

 The maximum grant award is £15,000 and the minimum is £1,000.

 Any previous participation in the Farm Business Grant or any previous rounds of the Small Grants – Efficiency scheme will not affect your ability to apply for the maximum £15,000 grant.

The grant provides a maximum 40% contribution towards capital investments in equipment and machinery (excluding VAT).

The grant will be a maximum 40% contribution against actual invoiced costs up to the maximum referenced costs as stated within Annex A.

For instance, you are offered a contract with an offer of grant towards the purchase of a mobile cattle handling system which has a referenced cost of £11,061. If you purchase the item that meets or exceeds the specification for £11,061 or more, the grant paid will be £4,424 (40% of £11,061). However, if you purchase the item that meets or exceeds the specification for less than the referenced costs (e.g. item purchased for £10,000), the grant paid will be reduced to £4,000. (40% of the £10,000 invoiced cost)

An EoI may exceed the maximum grant by adding a single item. If selected, the related claim will be capped to the maximum £15,000 grant.

The minimum grant value of your EoI must be at least £1,000. 

 Key requirements

 All items to be purchased within 180 days of the contract being offered.

Ensure all items purchased are on the premises at the time you submit your claim.

The Project would not proceed without grant assistance.

 Applications must also demonstrate that the following have been addressed.

• All other consents, licences and permissions have been granted where required
• Compliance with minimum standards and legislative requirements regarding the environment, hygiene, animal welfare and all relevant health and safety standards

RPW Online

You can only complete an EoI for the Small Grants – Efficiency scheme by accessing Rural Payments Wales (RPW) Online.  If you already have a Customer Reference Number (CRN) you should have received a letter informing you of your Activation Code to set up your account. If you no longer have this, please telephone the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004 (Monday – Friday 9:00 – 16:00) and tell the operator your CRN.  They will send you a new Activation Code.

To register your business details for the first time, you need to complete the online registration form. Please refer to the how to register guidance for further details. The vast majority of changes to business details can be done online. However, Welsh Government may require further details on any major changes. Please contact the Customer Contact Centre for further information.

Once registered, you can access your RPW Online account. The Small Grants - Efficiency EoI is available from the “Applications and Claims” section of your account. 

Agents acting on behalf of a client will need to register as a Rural Payments Wales agent.  If you have yet to do this, you are advised to complete an online or paper copy Agent / Farming Union Customer Details (Wales) form immediately. The form is available on the Welsh Government website. Upon receipt of the form, we will send you an Agent Customer Reference Number (Agent CRN) and an RPW Online Activation Code. You will also need to complete an Association Authorisation Form which can be completed once you register with RPW Online, please refer to our how to register guidance.

If you have any questions about registering for RPW Online or completing your EoI, please contact the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004.  They will be able to provide advice, including the digital assistance that is available to you.

Further details regarding RPW Online are available on the Welsh Government Website.

Submitting an EoI

Guidance on how to submit your EoI via RPW Online is available at this link

We will issue a maximum of 2 reminders for EoIs in draft via your RPW Online account prior to the closing date.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the EoI is correctly completed and that the information provided in support of your project is accurate.

Selecting Successful EOIs

If your EoI is selected, you will be notified via your RPW Online account. 

You must purchase and claim for all the items on your contract via your RPW online account within 180 calendar days of the date of the contract offer. 

You must accept your contract within 30 calendar days of the date of the contract offer via the blue button on your RPW online homepage. You cannot purchase the items included in your EoI until you have been offered a contract. 

If you do not accept the contract within 30 calendar days, the contract will be withdrawn. 

Full details of when your contract must be accepted and when the items must be purchased and claimed for will be in the contract.

We will issue a reminder via your RPW Online account prior to the deadline date in your letter.

If you accept a Small Grants - Efficiency contract and withdraw once you have accepted the contract, or do not submit a valid claim, the value of the contract will be deducted from the £15,000 maximum available grant available to you in any subsequent windows.

E.g. EoI submitted for this window and contract offered with a total contract value of £8,000. Where the contract is accepted but a valid claim is not submitted; the total amount available for any subsequent window will be £7,000.

Where the claim submitted is partially valid, (e.g. one item does not meet the specification) the contract value which was not eligible may be deducted from the total amount available for any subsequent window.

Scoring

Each capital item has been scored by independent assessors against four criteria and the following weightings have been applied:

The resultant score is given in the List of Eligible Capital against each individual item. This document is available on the Welsh Government website. 

Applicants are required to select capital items up to the maximum grant award of £15,000, or one additional item which exceeds this. The system will automatically calculate the applicant’s score by averaging the number of points against each individual item. 

All EoIs will be scored and ranked. A threshold score will be set based on the available budget and the highest scoring EoIs will be offered contracts. 

Where applications have equal scores, the lowest value application will be selected first.

Where applications have equal scores and are of the same value and rank on the available budget threshold, the Welsh Government reserves the right to either select or reject these applications, depending on budget availability.

The purpose of this scoring is to allow Welsh Government to rank the EoIs against the funding available for each EoI window. 

Withdrawal of EoIs

Once a business has submitted an EoI for FBG can it be withdrawn?

1. Yes - during an open EoI window.

You can withdraw your application via “My Messages” in your RPW Online account; you may re-submit an application before the window has closed. 

2. Yes - after an EoI window has closed BUT before the business has received the contract.

You can withdraw your application via “My Messages” in your RPW Online account.

If you have selected the wrong items or have changed your mind about the items that you have selected or have missed items that you wanted to select, you must withdraw your application and apply again in the next round. 

Please remember that the process is competitive and there is no guarantee that you will be successful in the next round.

3.  No - once the business has been selected and been offered a contract.

We cannot accept a withdrawal of the EoI once a contract has been offered. 

We cannot accept changes to the items on the contract at this point (you can buy the same items of a higher (better) specification, but that is the only permitted change).

The Small Grants - Efficiency Scheme is subject to a range of relevant legislation (see Section K). The Welsh Government and the applicant / recipient must act in accordance with that legislation.

The offer of a Small Grants - Efficiency grant is made subject to terms and conditions, which will be set out in full in your contract, and include those set out below. The contract will be for 180 days from the date the contract is issued.  Failure to meet the terms and conditions of the award could result in the cancellation of your award and / or the recovery of sums already paid, or a reduction of the amount of grant payable.

Conditions:

The award is made on the basis of statements and declarations made by you or your representatives in the application form and the claim form and any subsequent correspondence. The making of false or misleading statements is an offence. 

You must have bought the equipment and contacted RPW via RPW Online by the claim deadline within the contract offer. If you have not contacted RPW within that time, the grant offer will be automatically rejected.

The Welsh Government may need to update the rules and conditions to take account of changes made to the Government of Wales Act 2006.

You agree to abide by any changes following notification by the Welsh Ministers.

You agree to comply with all applicable domestic, or international laws or regulations or official directives.

No alterations may be made to the project, including the location of the activity, without the written approval of the Welsh Government.

Equipment purchased with grant aid may not be disposed of, transferred or sold during the project and for five years from the contract end date only with prior written consent of the Welsh Government. The grant awarded must be re-paid in full.

The applicant is required to read and understand the relevant scheme rules and guidance notes.

You have given details that are true, accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge and belief on the applications and any supporting documentation.

You acknowledge that neither Welsh Government nor any adviser appointed by Welsh Government shall be responsible for any advice given, including without limit any advice given in relation to the applications and that you are solely responsible for all business decisions undertaken.

The applicant is required to comply with the rules on eligible costs as detailed in the Scheme Guidance Notes.

Projects should be completed within the timetable agreed with Welsh Government. You should not deviate from this without prior written agreement from Welsh Government.

Claims must be submitted via the RPW Online Grants Claim application and be supported by all supporting documents as required by the scheme.

Claims must be submitted in accordance with the timetable set out in the contract. You must not deviate from the agreed timing and value of your claims without prior written agreement from Welsh Government.

Grant can only be paid on expenditure that has been defrayed, that is, on payments that have cleared from a bank account.

You undertake to meet any obligations in relation to obtaining planning permission, where necessary.

You must confirm that none of the items covered by the application are replacements under an insurance claim.

You must provide confirmation that no other public funding has been sought. If it is found that you have received public funding from another source your claim may be rejected, payments may be recovered and penalties may be applied.

Records concerning the application and claim for this grant, including all original invoices and any other related documents, must be retained for at least five years after the project end date.

You must undertake to meet any statutory obligations such as Health and Safety; employment; hygiene; environmental management and protection; animal or crop health and welfare that apply during the time of this project.

You must allow representatives of Welsh Government, the Auditor General for Wales or their representatives to access and inspect land and any relevant equipment. On request, you must provide them with information and / or access to original documentation in relation to the project.

The information provided in the application and any supporting documentation is subject to the requirements of the Welsh Government’s Code of Practice on Public Access to Information, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

You should be aware that, if successful, the Welsh Government reserve the right to publish the name of your business or company, the amount of grant you were awarded and a summary of your project.

The information provided in the application is subject to the Privacy Notice. The Privacy Notice explains the Welsh Government’s processing and use of your personal data and your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Claims

 The Small Grants - Efficiency scheme is only available to claim using the Grants Claim page on your RPW Online account. Payments will be made following the successful validation of your claim. Claims will only be paid when the Welsh Government is satisfied the relevant expenditure has taken place and that the work has been completed according to plan. Payment will be made by electronic transfer to your bank account.

 In order to receive a Small Grants – Efficiency payments you must:

• Have accepted a Small Grants - Efficiency scheme contract within 30 calendar days of the offer date and adhere to all the requirements.
• Ensure that you have only purchased items listed in your contract after you have been offered a contract.
• Ensure that you have purchased all of the items listed in your contract.
• Ensure all items purchased are on the premises at the time you submit your claim and are installed and/or fit for operational use to meet the grant specification within 6 months of submission of the claim.
• Submit the claim using the Grant Claim page on your RPW Online account by the claim deadline – 180 days after contract is issued with all supporting documentation.

We will issue a maximum of 2 reminders for any outstanding claims via your RPW Online account prior to the claim submission deadline.

A claim is not considered valid unless it has been submitted via the RPW Online Grants Claim page with all supporting documentation. 

You can submit your claim at any time once the investment has arrived on your holding, which must be before the claim deadline.

No extensions will be granted beyond 31 March 2025.

Supporting documentation

You must submit the following with your claim:

• Evidence of defrayment of expenditure for all claimed items.
• Invoices for all claimed items.
• Evidence that the purchased items meet the grant specification.
• A geo-tagged photograph of the item / items on your premises.

 Each individual item and its cost needs to be clearly identified on the invoice.

You must evidence that the item meets or exceeds the item specification. 

It is your responsibility to ensure the purchased items meet the grant specification inAnnex A and you must submit documentary evidence confirming this.

For example, if you are claiming for a Mobile Handling System:

A race. Mobile cattle handling system comprising:

• Crush with an internal width of no less than 720mm. 
• Sides to open to give access to the animal. 
• Pen for a minimum of 25 cattle. (24months +) 
• Integrated road legal trailer. 
• Rump bar operated from outside the crush and race. 
• Full length adjustable head yoke. 
• Fully galvanised or powder paint coated metal.

The invoice must show the Mobile Handling System meets each one of these requirements.

If the invoice does not show this, you must submit a detailed specification confirming the requirements are met.

To evidence the item supplied is of the correct specification, you should provide the following additional information, where appropriate:

• Name of the manufacturer, model number, serial number, etc. if not included on the invoice.
• Detailed specification list, if not included on invoice, or a description of the item explaining how it meets the specification.

You must submit bank statements as evidence of defrayment of expenditure for each item of equipment in your contract.

You can submit the invoices and bank statements by scanning them and sending them via “My Messages” in your RPW Online account.

You must submit a geo-tagged photograph of the item / items on your premises.

A geo-tagged photograph includes location information within the photograph data. Most mobile phones with an internet connection and a camera will record GPS coordinates automatically. They also record the date and time the photograph was taken.

Detailed guidance on the geo-tagged photographs required and how to submit geo-tagged photographs will be available on the website at the claim stage. 

You must evidence that the item meets or exceeds the item specification

Items not delivered

If you have been advised by the supplier/manufacturer that they cannot deliver the items before the claim deadline, you will need to contact us via “My Messages” in your RPW Online account notifying us of the issue.

You will need to request an extension to the 180-day deadline to claim and provide proof of ordering the item and documentary evidence from the supplier to confirm that they cannot supply the item.  

This information must be submitted before the original 180-day claim deadline and demonstrate that you have attempted to have the item supplied in time for the original deadline.

No extensions will be granted beyond 31 March 2025.

Incorrect claims and penalties

You have a responsibility to make sure the claim submitted is eligible and accurate, it is only for defrayed expenditure (the money has gone from your bank account), all the items and costs are eligible and the claim is submitted on time.

 All of the items approved must have been purchased after the contract has been offered. 

 Your claim is incorrect if:

• You have bought items before the contract is offered. 
• You have not bought all of the items listed in the contract.
• You have bought items that do not meet the minimum specification.
• You have not submitted a claim and supporting documents by the claim deadline. 
• Not all of the items claimed are present on your holding at a visit to your premises.

You must claim for all of the items listed in your contract.

 If all items are not claimed, the claim will be rejected.

We will only remove items from the claim in exceptional circumstances.

Where we find that items have not been purchased or do not meet the specification, payments will be reduced to the amount of items purchased to the required specification.

If the amount of ineligible items is determined to be more than 10% of the eligible costs, an amount equivalent to the value of ineligible items will be deducted from your payment.

For example

A customer claims the following Small Grants - Efficiency items worth a total grant value of £7,960

In this example, the calving gate, worth £208, does not meet the specification. The total amount claimed is £7,960 and the value of the ineligible item is £208. As the value of the ineligible item is less than 10% of the eligible costs (£7,752) the total payment due is £7,752.

However, if the Sheep Handler, worth £1,004, does not meet the specification, the total amount claimed is £7,960 and the value of the ineligible item is £1,004. The value of the ineligible item, £1,004, is deducted from the original claim of £7,960, leaving a remaining amount of £6,956. As the value of the ineligible item is more than 10%, of the eligible costs (£6,956) an amount equivalent to the value of ineligible item, £1,004, is also deducted from the remaining amount. The total payment due is £5,952.

It is essential, if you have any doubts about anything you need for your contract, you request written confirmation of its eligibility, before you incur the costs.

Offences

 Regulation 13 of the Rural Development Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2014 (No. 3222 (W.327)) establishes criminal offences and penalties in relation to certain aspects of rural development funding.  That Regulation and those offences are applicable to the Small Grants - Efficiency Scheme.  Examples of offences include knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information in relation to rural development funding, obstructing an inspector or official, and refusing to provide information when requested to do so.

Legislation changes (including changes in interpretation)

Legislation may change from time to time and you will be required to abide by any changes to the scheme rules following notification from the Welsh Government.

Changes to scheme rules or contract

 We may need to make changes to the scheme rules and/or your contract for a number of reasons. For example, we may need to update the management conditions to take account of the latest scientific advice, amend scheme rules to take account of any changes to legislation. We will publicise changes on the Welsh Government website and where necessary contact you directly.

Controls

The Welsh Government must enforce the Small Grant - Efficiency Scheme rules.

Your claim may be selected for a visit to verify the realisation of the investment before the payment is made to you or it may be selected for a visit after the payment has been made.

All the details in your application, the details in your claim and the declarations you made in submitting the application and claim will be checked.

The Welsh Government and the specialist control bodies will try to ensure that visits cause you the minimum of disruption, but some checks require visits to be unannounced, which means it may not be possible to give you notice. You may be subject to more than one visit during a calendar year.

If you refuse to allow a visit or obstruct an officer or fail to give reasonable assistance, your claim may not be paid, we may recover payments and you may be prosecuted.

Monitoring

It is a requirement that all grant awards are monitored and the effect of the grant on the business is evaluated following completion.

You must allow officials from Welsh Government, or their representatives, to inspect the items purchased within this five year period.

Site visits will be made on a percentage of the projects approved within five years following final completion (Project End Date) to ensure the applicant still has and is using the equipment purchased with the grant and that the business is performing as expected.

It will be a requirement of the grant award that equipment purchased with the aid of a grant must be kept on your holding, operational and in good repair and used for the same purpose as set out in the original application for at least five years from the date of completion of the project as set out in the contract. This is to ensure the longevity of the project and to guarantee primary producers a lasting share of the project’s benefits.

Record keeping

You must keep all records and information you need to evidence that you have provided complete and accurate information and have complied with your undertakings for five years.

You will also be required to:

• Supply to the Welsh Government any information about your Small Grants - Efficiency contract and supply that information within the period determined by the Welsh Government.
• Make available to the Welsh Government, its authorised persons or its agents, records, accounts, receipts and other information including access to computer data relating to your Small Grants - Efficiency contract.  Permit the Welsh Government to remove any such document or record to take copies or extracts from them.

Appeals procedure

There are no grounds for appeal at the EoI stage.

The ‘Independent Appeals Process for Rural Grants and Payments’ allows you to request a review if you feel the Welsh Government has not reached a correct decision according to the rules of the scheme.  

 The appeals process consists of two stages:

• Stage 1: review by RPW
• Stage 2: review by an Independent Appeals Panel (if you are dissatisfied with the Stage 1 response).

 The Independent Panel make recommendations to the Welsh Ministers, who take the final decision, which concludes the process.

 There is no charge for Stage 1 of the process, but there is a charge at Stage 2 – £50 for a written hearing or £100 for an oral hearing.  These charges are repaid in full if the Stage 2 appeal is either partially or fully successful.

 Appeals, including supporting evidence, must be submitted via RPW Online within 60 days of the date of the letter outlining the decision you wish to appeal against.

We welcome receiving appeals in Welsh and will respond to any correspondence in Welsh.  This will not lead to a delay in processing your appeal. 

 Further details of the appeals process and how to submit an appeal using the online appeal form can be obtained from the Customer Contact Centre or our website at: Rural Grants and Payments appeals: Guidance.

Complaints procedure

Complaints will be dealt with under the Welsh Government’s procedure on Complaints. Further advice on how to make a complaint can be obtained from the Complaints Advice Team:

Welsh Government
Crown Buildings
Cathays Park
Cardiff

CF10 3NQ

Tel: 03000 251378

E-mail: complaints@gov.wales

Website: Complaints about Welsh Government

You may also choose to contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales:

1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae
Pencoed,
CF35 5LJ

Tel: 0300 790 0203

Website: Ombudsman

How we will handle any personal data you provide in relation to your grant application or request for grant funding.

The Welsh Government provides a wide range of grant schemes to help deliver our policies and create a fairer, more prosperous Wales.

The Welsh Government will be data controller for any personal data you provide in relation to your grant application or request for grant funding. The information will be processed as part of our public task (i.e. exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government) and will help us assess your eligibility for funding.

 Before we provide grant funding to you, we undertake checks for the purposes of preventing fraud and money laundering, and to verify your identity. These checks require us to process personal data about you to third party fraud prevention agencies.

 If we, or a fraud prevention agency, determine that you pose a fraud or money laundering risk, we may refuse to provide the grant funding you applied for, or we may stop providing existing grant funding to you.

 A record of any fraud or money laundering risk will be retained by the fraud prevention agencies, and may result in others refusing to provide services, financing or employment to you.

 In order to assess eligibility we may also need to share personal information relating to your application with:

•  Natural Resources Wales
• Animal and Plant Health Agency
• Veterinary Medicine Directorate
• Welsh Local Authorities
• Food Standards Agency Wales
• DEFRA
• Other UK Government Agriculture Offices.
• Regulatory authorities, such as HM Revenue and Customs, Local Authorities, Health and Safety Executive and the Police.

 We may also share your information with organisations which deliver training, knowledge transfer and innovation advice and support on behalf of the Welsh Government for the purposes of appropriate targeting of support.

 Your information, including your personal information, may be the subject of a request by another member of the public. When responding to such requests the Welsh Government may be required to release information, including your personal information, to fulfil its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental information Act 2004 or the Data Protection Act 2018.

The Welsh Government will publish details of the amounts paid to Rural Support beneficiaries. Data will be published for all beneficiaries, and will include the name and locality of the farmer/land manager and details of the amounts and schemes for which subsidy has been paid. However, for those receiving less than the equivalent of £1,250 in subsidies the name will be withheld. The data will be published annually on 31 May and remain available for two years from the date it is published. 

We will keep personal information contained in files in line with our retention policy. If successful in your application then your personal data will be kept for 7 years after the date when you, as grant recipient, are free from all conditions relating to the grant awarded and all payment have been made. If you are unsuccessful, your details will be kept for one year after the date you provided them.

Under the data protection legislation, you have the right:

• to access the personal data the Welsh Government holds on you
• to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is the independent regulator for data protection.

For further details about the information the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you want to exercise your rights under the GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ

Email: dataprotectionofficer@gov.wales

The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are:

2nd Floor, Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF10 2HH

Telephone: 0330 414 6421

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Should you have any queries regarding this privacy statement please contact the RPW Customer Contact Centre.

Privacy notice: Welsh Government grants

The Small Grants – Efficiency Scheme delivers against a range of Government commitments and objectives, these are listed below along with the legislation and governance that applies.

The Small Grants – Efficiency Scheme is governed by Retained EU Law (now known as ‘Assimilated Law’ Council Regulations No. 1305/2013, 1303/2013 and 1306/2013, Implementing Regulation No. 808/2014 and No. 809/2014 and Delegated Regulation 640/2014 and 807/2014 (all as amended from time to time).

The Assimilated Law is implemented in Wales through the following domestic law (all as amended from time to time), including by the Agricultural Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021/400 (W.129):

• The Rural Development Programmes (Wales) Regulations 2014/3222 (W.327)
• The Common Agricultural Policy (Integrated Administration and Control System and Enforcement and Cross Compliance) (Wales) Regulations 2014/3223 (W.328)

Funding support for farmers, land managers and associated rural sectors over the next 3 years in response to four Welsh Government strategic objectives which are:

•  Fostering the competitiveness of agriculture;
• Contributing towards the sustainable management of natural resources as set out in Part 1 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016;
• Ensuring climate resilience;
• Achieving a balanced territorial development of rural economies and communities including the creation and maintenance of employment

 In addition, there are three cross cutting objectives for the Small Grants - Efficiency Scheme:

• climate change mitigation and adaptation
• innovation
• environment 

Your project will contribute to these cross cutting objectives. 

Your project will contribute towards the Welsh Governments cross cutting themes of:

• Equality of opportunity and Gender mainstreaming
• Tackling Poverty and Social Exclusion
• Welsh Language

 In addition, applications for the Small Grants – Efficiency scheme will address the strategic and thematic objectives of the Welsh Government.

 Activities will address at least one of the following Welsh Government priorities:

(1)  Fostering knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture, forestry, and rural areas;

(2)  Enhancing farm viability and competitiveness of all types of agriculture in all regions and promoting innovative farm technologies and the sustainable management of forests;

(3)  Promoting food chain organisation, including processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in agriculture;

(4)  Restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems dependent on agriculture and forestry;

(5)  Promoting resource efficiency and supporting the shift towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy in the agriculture, food and forestry sectors;

(6)  Promoting social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas.

World Trade Organisation and Subsidy Control

1.    Subsidies provided under this scheme are considered to be payments under an environmental programme, which fall within the scope of Annex II of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and have been classified as ‘green box’.

2.    As such, these subsidies are exempt from the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the interim UK subsidy control regime.

Enquiries – Customer Contact Centre

For all enquiries, please contact the RPW Customer Contact Centre

Enquiries can be submitted via RPW Online at any time.

Access to Welsh Government offices for people with disabilities or special needs

If you have any special needs which you feel are not met by our facilities contact the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 062 5004. Welsh Government officials will then endeavour to make arrangements to accommodate your requirements.

Welsh Government Website

For all of the latest Agricultural and Rural Affairs information, visit the Welsh Government’s website. By visiting the website, you can also sign up to receive the Rural Affairs e-newsletter which delivers the latest news directly to your e-mail inbox.

Gwlad

The Gwlad e-newsletter is the Welsh Government’s e-newsletter for farm and forestry businesses and all those involved with agriculture and rural Wales.  It contains news stories, guidance and information in an accessible, easy-to-read format.  To keep informed and up to date with all the latest agriculture news and developments in future we would encourage you to sign up to receive the Gwlad e-newsletter. You can do this either at Welsh Government announcements or at Subscribe to farming and forestry news on the Welsh Government website.