FwNH Checks and Inspections

We will check:

1. The eligibility of land associated with your farm business if you have informed us that you no longer have management control.
2. That you have provided us with valid bank account details for the purposes of making a payment to your business; and
3. That we have not been informed of a reason why a payment cannot be made to your business.

This is not an exhaustive list of the checks we will undertake.

Inspections

We may undertake inspections on your farm business for the purposes of determining your eligibility for a payment under the FwNH scheme.  The information we gather because of any inspection we carry out on your business may affect your eligibility for, and/or the amount of, payment.

If you do not cooperate with any DAERA official (or their authorised persons) visiting your business or contacting you to carry out any checks required in connection with your application, then no payment will be made.

You must retain records relevant to your agreement. Records must be available to DAERA on request. If DAERA complete a FwNH inspection, the inspector will check that the records are up to date.  The inspector will also check that the information entered verifies that the correct management has been undertaken.  Failure to keep complete records may lead to a penalty (such as reduction and/or recovery of payments).

If at inspection it is determined that the land under agreement has not been maintained as required, payment may be affected and penalties may apply.

Farm businesses claiming FwNH must meet the Farm Sustainability Standards (FSS). A breach of the Farm Sustainability Standards resulting in a penalty will be applied and deducted from the FwNH payment.