FARMERS across Yorkshire and the North East are facing a totally unacceptable wait for the launch of the new agriculture section of the GOV.UK website, says the NFU.

Following the recent review of the Common Agricultural Policy, all farmers are required to register on the new site as part of the implementation of the new Basic Payment Scheme – even those who have previously completed online applications.

But the North East NFU says the excessive delays in getting the site up and running are causing real concerns that once again farmers – many of whom do not have good internet access – will be left with very little time to comply with the new requirements.

Rose Dunn, chairman of the NFU's North East regional board, said: "In the next six months farmers will be grappling with the new rules and registration process for the new online-only application system. We see this as a major issue for farmers in our region and many will require training and ongoing support to successfully switch to online working."

Locally, she said, the NFU had identified a range of ways to help members make the transition - from drop-in centres to workshops - but without access to the necessary systems, it’s impossible to get these initiatives underway."

As a result the Board is calling for urgent action and reassurances from Defra that any faults, time delays and misunderstandings caused by the delay in implementation do not lead to farmers being fined by the RPA or experiencing unfair delays to their payments.

Mrs Dunn said: "The message from our members is clear. They want to get to grips with the policy, but want to do so in plenty of time. They do not want to leave things to the very last minute. No-one should underestimate the challenge ahead.

“Unfortunately the government has a very poor record when it comes to introducing new computerised systems. Surely lessons have been learned from previous disasters? At the moment this doesn’t seem to be the case and we certainly need to see to clear evidence of progress in the coming weeks."