Guidance

Agreement Holder's guide: Woodland Tree Health grants 2024

Published 3 January 2024

Applies to England

If you’re applying for a Woodland Tree Health (WTH) grant agreement, follow sections 1 to 5 of the Applicant’s guide.

If you’re an Agreement Holder, follow section 6 and 7 of this guide, and the Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions 2024

A WTH grant agreement comprises:

• the scheme Terms and Conditions
• an Agreement Document (which sets out Agreement Holder specific details)
• the supplementary documents referred to in the Agreement Document

The Terms and Conditions refer to the mandatory sections of this guide that Agreement Holders must comply with.

WTH grants are for a maximum of 3 years. Your agreement will usually start from the first day of the following calendar month after you have accepted the agreement offer. The exact start date of your agreement will be set out in your Agreement Document.

You must comply with mandatory guidance in:

• section 6: Woodland Tree Health scheme requirements and procedures
• section 7: Manage your Woodland Tree Health grant agreement

6. Woodland Tree Health scheme requirements and procedures

6.1 Entering into an agreement

If your application is successful, we will send you an agreement offer.

To accept, you must return the signed acceptance declaration to us within 20 working days of the date on the offer. You have 3 calendar years to complete capital works from your agreement start date. The agreement start date is shown in your agreement offer.  

If you do not accept your offer in time, we will withdraw it.

You cannot modify, extend or amend your agreement after you have accepted it without written permission from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). See section 7.3.

6.2 Evidence: record keeping and site visits

You must keep all invoices, receipts, accounts and any other documentation relevant to how the grant was spent for at least 7 years from the end date of the agreement. We need this evidence to show that public money is being spent effectively and is delivering the intended results.

All records you keep must demonstrate you started the capital work or purchased materials on or after the agreement start date. We will reject claims and not pay them if you bought items or started work before your agreement start date.

Keep records as evidence to show:

• you are eligible for the scheme
• the activities funded under your agreement are appropriate
• the funded activity is taking or has taken place

You can use your normal farm records to meet scheme requirements, but you may also need to keep additional records specifically about the management being funded.

You’ll find the records you must keep for each capital item in the Grant finder.

6.2.1 When you must provide evidence

You must keep any required evidence and supporting documents and have them available on request.

Evidence to support your application

You must keep evidence to show that you, your business, your land or capital items are eligible as you may have to show this if you are chosen for a site visit.

During the agreement

You may need to provide evidence to show that you have carried out the required actions:

• to support a claim - more information is set out in the following sections and where relevant further information will be sent with the claim form covering letter
• during or after an administrative check, a site visit, or other checks as described in section 7.6

6.2.2 General evidence requirements for applicants and Agreement Holders

It is your responsibility to get all consents, approvals or permissions that you may need to meet your specific circumstances and to complete the capital works.

These consents, approvals and permissions must remain effective for the duration of the agreement.

6.3 Photographic evidence

You need to keep dated photographic evidence for capital items to support an application and any claims. You must make this available when we ask for it, for example as part of administrative record checks or during a site visit.

The need for dated photographic evidence depends on the particular capital item.  Check the capital item requirements using Grant finder.

6.3.1 Before work stage

For some capital items you need to take dated photographs and keep them to show where work or management will be carried out on a feature or site. Check the capital item requirements using Grant finder to see if this is the case. Your photographs must meet the required standards, See section 6.3.3. 

6.3.2 Claim stage

For a partial or full claim, you must take a dated photograph after you have completed work and send it with your payment claim. This must show the condition of completed work. You must take ‘before work’ and ‘works completed’ photographs from the same position.

6.3.3 Photographic evidence quality

All photographs must meet the following standards. This applies to digital and printed photographs.

1. Quality – photographs must be in focus and clearly show the relevant capital item or environmental feature. If you send your images by email, please send them as JPEG files. Digital images should not be smaller than 600 pixels by 400 pixels and ideally an image file size no larger than 400 KB. Printed photographs must be no smaller than 15cm by 10cm. Photographs can be portrait or landscape.
2. Photographs must identify the environmental feature or capital item(s) concerned it is your responsibility to show enough evidence that the investment or required management has taken place. For example, you may need to take more than one photograph if the feature or capital item is too large or not clear from a single photograph.
3. Where possible, include a significant feature to provide authenticity, for example a ditch, fence, farm building, road or telegraph poles.
4. Where possible, mark the photographed feature’s location and the direction from which the photograph has been taken with an ‘X’ and add an arrow to correspond on a copy of a map (or map extract) of the agreement area.

Where scale or continuity is important, include a feature, for example a quad bike, or vehicle, or use a sighting pole (2m high with 50cm intervals marked in red and white). Take pictures consistently from the same spot for ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs of the capital item.

6.3.4 Clearly label photographs

Use the Ordnance Survey (OS) map sheet reference and National Grid reference for the field parcel where the works are taking place, followed by:

• the relevant proposed or implemented capital item code
• date
• Agreement Holder name
• SBI
• Image number if you are sending more than one image

The OS map sheet reference and National Grid reference should relate to the field parcel adjacent to the boundary and what you used in your application. For example, if we ask you to send ‘before and after’ photographs to support capital items, the images should be labelled as OS Ref Capital item code_Date_Name_SBI_Image number.

Save digital images using file names as described in labels.

6.4 Publicity requirements

The Terms and Conditions require you to comply with all instructions and guidance relating to acknowledging and publicising the support provided. This includes using any materials or templates which are provided for this purpose.

7. Manage your Woodland Tree Health grant agreement

7.1 Agreement period

Agreements are for a maximum of 3 years, from the start date of your agreement. The agreement may not run for the full 3-year period if you finish the works before then.

During this period, you must complete all WTH capital works. You can submit a claim for payment when you have finished the works and you have been charged or invoiced by the contractor or supplier for the items or activities.

You will then have a further 3 months from the end of the agreement period to submit your payment claim.

You must maintain any capital items funded through these grants in the same condition and specification set out in your WTH grant agreement, for a minimum of 5 years from the agreement start date, this is called the durability period of the agreement.

You must also have management control of the land for the length of the capital grant agreement including for the 5-year durability period. Section 3.3 (Applicant’s guide) explains how this ‘durability’ requirement applies if you are a landlord or a tenant.

You may also need to apply to Natural England for a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) consent, if applicable (see section 4.5.3 in the Applicant’s guide). Your agreement cannot start until that consent is granted by Natural England.

7.2 Change in circumstances

You must notify us in writing without delay if there is a change in your circumstances that might:

• affect the amount of funding you have been or will be paid
• prevent you from complying with the conditions of your agreement
• prevent you from carrying out the work set out in your agreement, including preventing you from carrying out the work to the agreed standard or in the agreed timeframe
• affect your continued entitlement to agreement funding, for example if you no longer have management control of the land parcels included in your agreement

7.3 Changes to your agreement

You can ask for a change to your agreement if you have an exceptional change of circumstance. We will only agree to changes that are necessary to achieve the objectives of the scheme.

You need written permission from us before you can amend or reschedule approved capital items. You should contact us if you would like to discuss changes before the end of the original agreement period to complete the capital items.

We must agree to the request before you make any changes to the item, its location or timing. You may need to repay all or part of previous payments that you have received.

We will write to confirm if your request is successful. The change will not be valid until you have received the written confirmation and the date when the change can take effect.

7.4 Carrying out capital works

7.4.1 Using own labour to undertake capital works

You can use your own labour to carry out capital works. If you do so, you will need to prepare time sheets signed by the employee and employer showing:

• the hourly rate for your labour or a farm employee’s labour
• what work was carried out
• the date the work was done

You must tell the employees about your agreement and its requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure that work carried out using your own labour or a farm employee’s labour does not breach the terms of your agreement. You will be responsible for any payment reductions if the employee commits any breaches or the work does not meet the required standard.

7.4.2 Using contractors to carry out capital works

You can employ contractors to carry the work needed for the WTH capital items.

You must tell your contractor about your agreement and its requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure that work carried out by contractors does not breach the terms of your agreement. You will be responsible for any payment reductions if the contractor commits any breaches, or the work does not meet the required standard.

7.5 Make a claim for payment

You can submit your claim when you have:

• finished the works; and
• been charged or invoiced from a contractor or supplier for the capital items

The minimum claim value is £500. You can submit a claim for payment at any time of the year. We aim to pay valid claims within 2 months of receiving them. If you are making interim claims, the minimum claim value of £500 does not apply to your final claim.

We must receive all claims for payment no later than 3 months following the agreement end date.

If we receive a claim:

• more than 3 months but less than 6 months after the agreement end date, a late claim reduction will be applied
• more than 6 months after the agreement end date, the claim will not be accepted, and no payment will be made

7.5.1 Submitting claims

You’ll need to sign into the Rural Payments service to submit your claim.

You can read more about How to submit a capital claim online.

If you cannot make a claim online contact us to ask for a claim form – go to Annex 3 for our contact details.

You must keep evidence to show that the work is finished. Section 6.4 explains the photographic evidence you need and what evidence is needed for individual capital items.

You may need to submit necessary consents or permissions with your claim, or you may need to supply them on request. See the individual capital item specifications for details.

This also applies to landlords where management of the agreement land reverts from the tenant Agreement Holder to the countersigning landlord during the durability period (read section 3.3 of the Applicant’s guide).

7.6 Scheme checks and site visits

We are required to make sure that capital grants are properly controlled to protect public money. We carry out site visits to monitor Agreement Holder compliance with  their agreements.

We will check you have followed the advice and guidance. If we think there is an issue that can be resolved, we will offer further advice and guidance, or we may deal with any agreement breaches or non-compliances we find in line with section 7.7  and the Terms and Conditions.

We carry out a number of checks on claims:

• administrative record checks
• rapid field visits
• agreement monitoring visits
• physical or virtual site visits

You must allow any UK public authority (or their authorised representatives or auditors) to access your land or premises to carry out site visits.

We will try to agree a date and time for a site visit where possible. If not, you will be notified at least 48 hours in advance of the site visit unless we have reasons to suspect that you are in breach of your agreement.

You must co-operate with any person carrying out a site visit (including controls and spot-checks). You need to provide access to any land, premises, plant, equipment or documents if you’re asked. Any refusal to do so or obstruction will be treated as a breach of the Terms and Conditions, and you may face recovery, suspension or termination of your agreement. We may also refuse support for other Defra grant schemes for up to 2 years. If this is the case, we will tell you and you will have the right to appeal against this decision.

7.6.1 Administrative record checks

We will check all stages of the application and claims, including your application form, claim forms and, the nature and quality of any supporting evidence we ask you to send us, such as receipts and farm records. This is to make sure that you meet eligibility requirements at the application stage, and that various forms and records match up during the whole agreement period.

If you do not provide records when asked, or there are discrepancies, we will treat this as a breach of your agreement.

7.6.2 Rapid field visits (in situ visits)

As part of our administrative checks, we may make rapid and focused visual checks of your holding, targeted at specific capital items. These visits may include record checks.

7.6.3 Agreement monitoring visits

Advisers may visit sites to monitor environmental progress, discuss environmental outcome reports, or if you ask us to visit.

7.6.4 Site visits

Each year, we will carry out site visits on a sample of agreements, to make sure  scheme requirements have been met.

You must follow the requirements for the specific item, including any specifications you need to adhere to and retain any records that are required to support your claim.

If we find an agreement breach, we may apply reductions (read section 7.7). Find out what to expect from a site visit.

7.6.5 Refusal or withdrawal of support claimed

In certain cases, we may refuse, or withdraw in full, the support claimed and terminate your agreement. We will do this if we think you have:

• committed a serious breach
• provided false evidence
• negligently failed to provide the necessary information (for instance, where we have asked for it repeatedly and there is no good reason why you have not provided it).

If we have to withdraw support for these reasons, we will terminate the agreement and you will not be permitted to re-apply for the scheme for 2 years. We may also refuse support for other Defra grant schemes for up to 2 years. If this is the case, we will tell you and you will have the right to appeal against this decision.

7.7 What happens if you breach your agreement

If you do not meet the terms of your agreement, we may reduce or withhold your payment or ask you to repay any monies we have already paid to you.

If we find a breach, we will write to you to tell you. You’ll have the opportunity to appeal if you do not agree with our findings. If a breach is confirmed, we’ll work out the most appropriate action we need to take and let you know. We may apply more than one course of action depending on the breach found. We’ll assess the level of breach in a fair and consistent manner, on a case-by-case basis, using the following set of criteria:

• to what extent the breach can (and will) be rectified
• the circumstances, nature and consequences surrounding the breach
• any failure to cooperate with site visits, or further investigations
• any steps taken to report a change in circumstances
• whether it is an isolated or a repeat occurrence
• whether it was intentional
• whether it was because of reckless or negligent action

If there’s a breach of your agreement or the regulations, we may:

• ask you to correct the breach
• issue a letter explaining that we’ve assessed the breach and what you have to do to amend your agreement

For more serious breaches, we may:

• reduce the payments you get, or withhold part of them
• reduce or withhold money from other schemes
• recover money we’ve already paid

In the most extreme cases, we may:

• end your agreement
• stop you receiving financial assistance  under any other scheme for up to 2 years

In exceptional circumstances where there is reasonable suspicion of a serious breach or fraud, we may access land and your premises without notice, using powers of entry. In these circumstances, for example as part of a fraud investigation, we may access any computer that’s been used in connection with the evidence or these records.

If we find breaches during administrative checks or any site visits, we will write to tell you and you will have the opportunity to make written representations if you feel that our findings are incorrect.

In these cases, we will work out the level of reduction we need to apply, by looking at the severity of the breach and whether it is an isolated or a repeat occurrence. We may apply a reduction to your claims, unless you can demonstrate you were compliant.

7.7.1 Severity

We will assess what has happened due to the breach or non-compliance and consider the objectives of your agreement or specifications that were not met. For example, constructing an item in a way that does not deliver what the item was designed for would be classed as a severe breach. As part of this assessment, we will also consider whether the breach will have short or long-term impacts.

If we consider that a breach is so serious that it cannot be rectified, we may have to cancel your agreement. In serious circumstances, you may be forbidden from entering another Agri-environment scheme for up to 2 years.

7.7.2 Re-occurrence

The assessment will depend on a number factors, for example whether a similar breach has been found on previous claims and whether the re-occurrence concerns the same or a similar type of work.

7.7.3 Over-declaration of expenditure

If you submit a claim for more than the value of the costs which are eligible to be claimed, we will reduce the payment to the correct amount or recover the amount of the over-declaration if payment has already been made.

7.8 Good reason for a breach

You may be unable to meet your requirements under the agreement because of exceptional circumstances. If this happens, you must write to tell us within 8 weeks from the date on which you (or any person authorised to act for you) are able to do so.

You will need to provide written evidence to show:

• what has happened
• how the event meant they were unable to meet the terms of your agreement

Good reasons for a breach may include, but are not limited to:

• the death of the Agreement Holder
• serious illness
• a severe weather event
• the accidental destruction of capital items connected to your agreement
• damage caused by criminality
• supply chain issues
• an epizootic or a plant disease affecting part or all of your crops, trees or livestock

We will consider the facts to decide whether the Agreement Holder is relieved of all or part of their obligations under the agreement, and whether all or part of the grant should be withheld or repaid.

If you are aware of the issue when entering into your agreement, then it is unlikely to be considered a good reason for a breach.

7.9 Change of ownership

You cannot transfer your agreement during the 3-year agreement period. This requirement applies only during the 3-year period from the start of your agreement.

If you sell or let, all or part of the land under your WTH grant agreement to another party, we will end the agreement on those parcels. You may need to repay all or part of the grant payments you have already received.

If, after completing your WTH grant agreement, you sell or let all or part of the land which was previously under your agreement to another party during the durability period (see section 7.1), you may need to repay part of the grant payments you have already received.

7.10 Disputes, appeals and complaints

If you are unhappy with a decision we have taken about your application or agreement, you can submit a complaint.

If you’re unhappy with a decision we’ve taken or service you’ve had from us, you can ask us to reconsider. If you’re still unhappy with the result of our decision, you can appeal.

Follow the RPA complaints procedure to raise a complaint. This also includes information on how to request a reconsideration or submit an appeal.