Guide for agreement holders: Water Environment Grant

Question 1

1. Sign your WEG agreement

Accepted Answer

After you receive your WEG agreement, you must sign and send it to the WEG team (section 5.4: send by post). The team will email you to confirm they’ve received it.

Question 2

2. Starting work

Accepted Answer

You can only start work on your WEG project when you’ve received email confirmation to do so.

Then you can commit to buying, ordering or making a deposit on any items specifically related to your grant application and start agreed works. The team will reject claims for any costs incurred before you were sent confirmation of your agreement by email.

2.1 Keeping invoices

You must keep invoices for 7 years from the date your project ends. You must show that you’ve paid for materials and contracted work with your claims for payment.

2.2 Project outputs

For a minimum of 5 years from the date of the final grant payment, you must:

maintain capital items funded by the grant and keep them in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement
continue to use items for the purpose described in your agreement
not transfer ownership in such a way to allow a firm or individual to get an unfair advantage

During this period you’ll need written permission from the team to make any changes or remove items funded by your grant.

Question 3

3. Changes to your agreement

Accepted Answer

In limited circumstances you may need to request a variation to your agreement to:

change works funded by the grant
change the timing or costs of your claim
change your project outputs
increase the amount of grant awarded

A change to your agreement is called ‘requesting a formal variation’. You must do this in writing and you must not make any changes before you have permission from the team to do so. Read section 4.0 How to request a change to your agreement for more details.

The team will aim to respond within 2 to 6 weeks of receiving your formal variation request, depending on the complexity of the change. For complex requests the team will ask for:

supporting evidence
quotations for any new works

Question 4

4. How to request a change to your agreement

Accepted Answer

You must manage your agreement under its existing terms until you get written permission to make a change. Use the variation request (VR) form to request a change to your agreement as soon as you identify a change is needed. You can include more than than one change on your VR form.

4.1 Variation request form

You should download and save a copy of the VR form to complete it. You must:

You must:

fill the form in online
print a paper copy of the declaration
sign the declaration in black ink

You must include:

why you need to make a variation and supporting evidence
handwritten signatures of each person who countersigned your agreement

To submit your VR form, follow the guidance in section 5.3 and 5.4 (the process is the same for all WEG forms).

4.2 What you’ll get back

You’ll get a written update of your grant agreement if the team approves your variation request. If you start new activities before you get written approval, the team could:

terminate your agreement
reject payment claims
reclaim payments already made
impose penalties

Question 5

5. How to get paid

Accepted Answer

You can make a claim for eligible grant costs when work is:

complete
paid for and cleared from your bank account

You must provide evidence that you’ve met all the requirements of your agreement when submitting claims or at inspections.

Payments will be made to the bank account you submitted with your single business identifier (SBI) number when you applied for the scheme. You must update your details with the Rural Payment Service (RPS) if you’ve changed your bank details.

5.1 Submit your claim

You can make 4 claims for each financial year (from 1 April to 31 March) of your agreement. It’s your responsibility to give sufficient evidence of what you’ve paid for as part of your agreement.

You need to submit claims to the team. The team will process your claim. The Rural Payment Agency will pay claims that are eligible into your nominated bank account.

5.2 Fill in a claim form

Download and save a copy of the claim form. You must:

fill the form in online
print a paper copy of the declaration
sign the declaration in black ink

You must include:

evidence to support your claim, such as photographs, invoices and timesheets
copies of bank statements to show cleared costs
handwritten signatures of each person who countersigned your agreement

5.3 Send by email

You must:

scan your signed declaration and save as a PDF
use the same email address that you used to register with the RPA
attach the form, signed declaration and claims schedule (for claim form) to your email
attach all supporting documents to your email

Send your email to WEG@naturalengland.org.uk.

If an agent is acting on your behalf, they must follow the same instructions and copy the claim to your email address. Your agent must have the appropriate permission to allow them to act on your behalf. This must be recorded on the RPS.

5.4 Send by post

If you cannot scan and send your claim form, claim schedule or variation form and documents by email, you must send your claim by post to:

Water Environment Grant Scheme
Natural England Operational Delivery Team
Rivers House
East Quay
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA6 4YS

On the back of all posted documents, you should add:

your name
SBI number
project name

Question 6

6. Evidence to support your claim

Accepted Answer

You may get a reduced payment or a penalty if you do not provide evidence to support your claim. You must provide the following documents. For all evidence supplied, you must show which activity it relates to in your grant agreement.

6.1 Consents and permissions

You must send copies of any consent or permission you need to lawfully carry out works. These must show they were in place before work started. You must keep original documents and make them available for inspections.

6.2 Invoices

You must provide original invoices or forward the email containing a PDF invoice to show you’ve paid for works before you submitted your claim.

The invoice must:

be addressed to you, or the person named in your agreement
be dated
list a description of each item and its cost
include the supplier’s name, address and VAT number

6.3 Claiming staff costs

You must provide copies of:

employees’ payslips showing their salary before deductions and breakdown of payments, if possible
your bank statement to show payment of salaries each month
timesheets for staff working on your project
national insurance, tax and pension contributions for all employees on the project

If you cannot show how much time each person has spent on your project using these documents, you must provide further explanation.

6.4 Photographic evidence

For some projects you may need to supply dated photographs as evidence for your claim. Your agreement will tell you if you need to do this. You should:

take clear photos to show the relevant item or environmental feature
save digital images as JPEG files no larger than 400 KB and a minimum size of 600 x 400 pixels
print non-digital photographs no smaller than 15 cm x 10 cm
supply the photos in either portrait or landscape format
take more than one photograph to give sufficient detail, if necessary
show all stages of the construction phase with a series of images
mark the feature’s location and direction you’re looking, with an ‘X’ and an arrow on a copy of a map, if possible
take pictures consistently from the same spot for before and after photographs of the project or equipment

You should save digital images with a meaningful filename, such as ‘projectname-yourSBI-1.jpeg’.

You can email digital images with your claim form section 5.3: Send by email, attached as supporting evidence.

You must send printed photographs by post section 5.4: Send by post. On the back of each printed photograph you should add:

your name, SBI number and project name
description
Ordnance Survey grid reference of the location of the image

6.5 Bank statements

You must show you’ve paid for all works before you can make a claim. You can provide screenshots of online bank statements or request a paper statement from your bank. All statements must show:

your bank name and logo
your full name or your organisation’s name, as the account holder
sort code
date of payment
type of payment, for example a payee reference or cheque number
amount debited from your account
statement date

For a BACS payment, you’ll need to provide separate details to show that it paid for your WEG project. The payment must show as ‘cleared’ from your account.

6.6 Bulk payments

If several payments are included in a lump sum, you should provide a report showing the breakdown of individual payments. You must show all payments are cleared from your account.

6.7 Additional evidence

If you need to provide further evidence to support your claim, the team will make it clear in your grant agreement. This could include:

copies of the feasibility studies, designs or modelling reports
copies of promotional materials
progress reports
details of training or workshops held, including attendee lists

Question 7

7. Site visits

Accepted Answer

You’ll get at least one formal visit from the team. The team will make sure your project is complying with your grant agreement. This is known as an ‘in-situ’ visit.

You may get an ‘on the spot’ inspection before or after a payment from the RPA of:

the work you’ve done under your agreement
your project paperwork

The RPA (or its authorised agent) carries out an annual inspection of a percentage sample of agreements to assess compliance with the scheme. These inspections can take place up to 5 years after the final payment. An inspector will usually make an appointment to visit, but they do not have to give you advance warning.

Inspectors will make sure:

the activities funded under your agreement are appropriate
the funded activity has taken place
you’re delivering the expected outputs
you’re following the WEG principles see section 9: WEG principles in the Guide for applicants for more details
you’re complying with your grant agreement

You must allow access, at a reasonable time, to any UK or EU public authority (or their authorised representatives or auditors). You must cooperate with all inspectors. You may need to join inspectors to answer questions about your project and the terms of your agreement.

Your inspector will discuss their observations, but not tell you how they might affect your agreement. They will prepare a report of their visit and explain how you can comment on it.

Any refusal or obstruction is a breach of your WEG agreement and may be a criminal offence. You could have payments withdrawn or your agreement terminated.

7.1 Record keeping

You must retain all evidence of activities you’ve carried out in accordance with the terms of your agreement. You must keep these records for 7 years from the date the agreement ends or is terminated, as set out in the conditions of your agreement.

7.2 Audits

Your project may be subject to domestic and European Commission audit.

Question 8

8. Reductions, recovery of payments and penalties

Accepted Answer

The team will reduce the amount you’re paid, withdraw payments or impose penalties if you:

8.1 Exceptional circumstances and force majeure

The team will consider how exceptional or unexpected circumstances may affect your:

payments
ability to meet the terms and conditions of your agreement

The legal term for unexpected circumstances is ‘force majeure’. The team will consider your circumstances on a case-by-case basis. It has the discretion to not recover or hold back payment from you.

Following an exceptional circumstance or force majeure, you must tell the team in writing within 15 working days of being in a position to do so.

You must provide evidence of:

what happened
why the event stopped you being able to fulfill your agreement

Cases of exceptional circumstances and force majeure may include, but are not limited to:

the death or long-term professional incapacity of the agreement holder (in this case a representative must contact the team)
a severe natural disaster gravely affecting your project area
an authorised body seizing all or a large part of the project area (as long as this could not have been anticipated at application stage)
an epidemic outbreak, such as foot and mouth disease
compulsory purchase of your land or business (as long as this could not have been anticipated at application stage)

The team will decide if:

you’re relieved of all or part of your obligations under the agreement
all or part of the grant should be withheld or repaid

If you’re aware of the notified issue when you sign your agreement, then it’s unlikely to be force majeure.

8.2 Penalties for over-claiming

If you’ve over-claimed by less than 10% of eligible costs, the team will reduce your payment to the correct amount and not penalise you further.

If you’ve over-claimed by more than 10% of the eligible costs, the team will reduce your payment to the correct amount and impose a penalty. The team will charge you by the amount you over-claimed up to a maximum of the entire value of the claim.

8.3 Penalties for a minor breach of agreement

A minor breach is one that does not affect the objectives of your project. The team may suspend payments until you’ve carried out actions to rectify the problem. The team will tell you what you need to do and give you 3 months to take action.

8.4 Penalties for fraud or a severe breach of agreement

The team can withhold or reclaim payment in full if you:

provide false evidence for your claim
make a serious breach of your agreement
fail to provide evidence when repeatedly asked - the team will impose the penalty on the grounds of negligence

The team will withdraw funds for the calendar year of the breach and the following calendar year. You may also get refusal of payment from other RDPE schemes.

You can appeal against this decision.

8.5 Obvious errors

If you’ve made an obvious mistake, you can ask for the team to correct it. The team will make an administrative check on your claim form and correct an obvious error without penalising you.

If you make the same mistake on a further claim, the team may not accept it as an error. The team will decide if it’s an obvious mistake and act accordingly.

8.6 Notified errors

You can notify the team in writing of errors in your claim to avoid penalties unless you’ve:

already been told of any non-compliance in your claim
received advance warning of an inspection

8.7 Interest charges

The team will charge interest on payments made to you if they decide to recover that payment.

Interest will accrue from 60 days from the date the team invoice you to recover payment. It will continue to accrue until you repay the money you owe. Interest will accrue during any appeal period or if your case is under review. The RPA will charge interest at 1% above the Bank of England base rate.

8.8 Terminating agreements early

The team reserves the right to end your agreement by written notice. This may occur in a number of circumstances, including:

you’ve breached the terms of your agreement
you’ve made false or misleading statements
there’s a change in circumstance affecting your eligibility to receive WEG payments
you’ve failed to repay any sum which has become recoverable by the team in relation to a breach

In addition, the team may end your agreement and any future payments by giving you 6 months’ written notice at any time.

You may end your agreement at any time by giving written notice to the team. You may need to repay all or part of the payments received. Your obligations under your agreement won’t end until you’ve repaid the money you owe.

Question 9

9. Appeal against a decision

Accepted Answer

If you don’t agree with a decision made by the team about your agreement, you have the right to appeal. You must send in your appeal in writing within 60 days of the decision letter. You should write to the WEG team weg@naturalengland.org.uk saying why you disagree with their decision. You must only use the following reasons:

the decision was based on an error of fact
the decision was wrong in law
the delivery body made a procedural error

The team will make sure your case is properly investigated and follows the 4-stage appeals process. You can appeal against decisions taken at each of the stages to progress to the next stage.

9.1 First stage appeal

The team will check if:

information is correct
guidance has been followed
no calculation errors have been made

First stage appeals will be dealt with within 20 working days of receipt.

9.2 Second stage appeal

Where Natural England has made a decision, a Team Leader from NE will examine the case and look in detail at the decision and how the WEG principles have been applied.

Where the Environment Agency has made a decision, a Team Leader from the EA will examine the case and look in detail at the decision and how the WEG principles have been applied.

9.3 Third stage appeal

Natural England or the Environment Agency will appoint a Senior Manager who has had no previous contact with the case to make an objective review of the NE or EA decision and how the WEG principles have been applied.

9.4 Final stage appeal

The team will convene a hearing in front of an Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel, a panel of 3 independent agricultural professionals selected from the Public Appointments Register, and you have the opportunity to appear before the Panel. The Panel’s recommendation is passed to the appropriate Defra Minister, who’ll make the final decision.

Question 10

10. Complaints about service

Accepted Answer

You can make a complaint if you’re unhappy with the level of service, or the way you’ve been treated. You should use the appropriate organisation’s complaints procedure:

Question 11

11. EU publicity rules

Accepted Answer

For all projects with grant funding, you must use the EU logo on:

websites and other electronic communication, such as project blogs
printed publications and leaflets
materials for events, seminars and workshops
media and public relations communication

For projects that get more than €50,000 (Euros) (or pound sterling (£) equivalent), you must put up an A3 poster or plaque at the project site.

For projects that get more than €500,000 (or £ equivalent), you must put up a permanent sign at the project site.

Information on posters, plaques or permanent signs must take up at least 25% of its area and must show:

the name of the project
funding is from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
a short description of the activity supported by the project
the EU funding logo

Question 12

12. How we use your information

Accepted Answer

Your information is stored and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. This Act gives individuals the right to know what data the team holds, how the team uses it, with whom the team shares it, and how the team ensures that it is accurate.

The team will use the data for administering and assessing applications, agreements and claims under WEG. The team will circulate and discuss it, in confidence, with those persons or organisations that help us to assess and monitor applications, agreements and claims.

Some information will be shared with other grant distribution bodies and government departments, to enable them to detect fraudulent applications, agreements and claims and to coordinate the processing of complementary applications, agreements and claims. To do this, the team may have to discuss applications, agreements and claims with third parties or disclose information about funding decisions.

The team is required to make certain information about WEG applications, agreements and claims publicly available to meet requirements set out in domestic and European regulations governing payment of these grants. The team will do this by publishing information proactively or on request.

Details disclosed may include but are not limited to:

project name
applicant name
postal town or parish
the first part of the postcode
the payments received

The team is also subject to transparency obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Participation in WEG involves expenditure of public money and is therefore a matter of public interest. The team will respect personal privacy while complying with access to information requests to the extent necessary to enable the team to comply with its statutory obligations under this legislation. Information disclosed under these obligations includes:

grid references or location of project activities
the total area under agreement
details of inspections by Defra or its agents

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