A LEADING farming charity awarded £2.035 million in grants to farming families in 2016.

The help given by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) to 1,357 families followed a 67 per cent rise in requests on the previous year when £1.89 million of grants were issued.

In the early part of 2016, RABI was busy helping flood victims in the north of England – primarily Cumbria – giving out emergency grants of £91,000 but the county that received the most support in England over the year was North Yorkshire, with grants of £152,428.

However, RABI said the real story of the year was the number of claims received from working farmers, farmworkers and their dependants – £450,169 was paid to 216 cases compared to £269,000 in 2015.

Paul Burrows, RABI chief executive, said: "It’s been a challenging year for many in the farming sector with bad weather, animal disease, fluctuating commodity prices and late RPA payments all contributing to the difficulties encountered by some.

"Farmers, in our experience, do not want or readily seek charity. However, our message to them is 'there is no shame in turning to RABI to help you through the bad times'."

The charity's welfare officers also helped people claim £286,691 in state benefits.

Around £283,000 was given in Wales, with more than £92,000 paid to working families. Other counties receiving significant support included Devon, Suffolk, Cumbria, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Cornwall and Somerset.

Trish Pickford, RABI head of welfare, said: "Our welfare staff undertook a variety of training courses during 2016. The Universal Credit system is still being rolled out and staff are also getting to grips with more and more mandatory reconsiderations and appeals on behalf of people turned down for Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payments.

"We have also been involved with the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group regarding Universal Credit for the self-employed and are still very concerned about the impact this will have on farmers who have low incomes."

Malcolm Thomas, RABI chairman, said: "There can be no doubt that there continues to be a great deal of hardship and suffering within our industry and the cases that appear before our grants committee are the clearest evidence that, for all sorts of reasons, people can find themselves in extremely difficult and harrowing circumstances. I often wonder what many of these people would do without the support that RABI is able to provide."

RABI has provided financial assistance to people in hardship from the farming sector since 1860. Its Freephone Helpline is 0808 281 9490.

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