24 Apr APHA updates

Posted at 11:16h in News by
  • GEN02 forms for data fixes

APHA have confirmed that they will be moving the GEN02 form, used to notify APHA of a required data fix, to an electronic format. This should save time in practices and will also link better to the process for appealing against KPI exceptions.

  • Earned Recognition reviews

Since 2019 some herds in the Edge area of England have been able to revert to yearly testing instead of the default six monthly testing, if they meet certain criteria that gives them Earned Recognition status with APHA.  Initially checks were run six monthly by APHA to identify these herds but thanks to feedback from vets and farmers these checks will now be run quarterly to identify herds that are gaining, or losing, Earned Recognition status.  Where herds are gaining Earned Recognition status, they have the option to delay their next scheduled test, as long as the testing window has not yet opened.  This may mean tests being removed from practice workbaskets, even if arrangements have already been made to carry out that test.  If this causes issues to you as a practice over the coming months, please do let us know so that we can assess any impact on practice workflow.  APHA will continue to notify Farmcare of any WSAs removed from Sam so that we can notify the relevant practice.

  • Changes to cross-compliance and overdue bTB tests

From the end of 2023 cross compliance and the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) no longer applies to farms in England.  This means that financial penalties for overdue TB tests are no longer applied to farms via this scheme.  Although ultimately arranging and carrying out a test remains the farmers responsibility the number of overdue TB tests has fallen drastically since the start of the VDP contracts, due to the hard work by practices to proactively book TB tests in with farmers.  To ensure this remains the case with the removal of cross compliance penalties, please continue to follow the instructions given in the UK Farmcare TB QA manuals on test arrangements, namely that;

  • All communications with a farmer over test arrangements are logged
  • Reasonable attempts are made by the practice to arrange a test;
    • Three phone call attempts to all numbers held for the farmer
    • A TB test reminder letter (template in the QA manuals) is sent, ideally at least four weeks before the test window ends
  • Any changes to test arrangements are logged

By following this process, it ensures that if tests become overdue and subject to legal enforcement evidence is available to APHA to support this legal process.

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