Universal Action 12: Animal health and welfare

Introduction

The Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability Llyr Gruffydd announced on 19 July a change of process regarding the Animal Health Improvement Cycle (AHIC) within the Universal Action (UA) 12 of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). Welsh Government is progressing the integration of key elements of UA12 with accredited farm assurance schemes that formally agree to participate in this arrangement and meet the agreed requirements for delivery. This change is being taken forward as an early recommendation arising from the Government’s review into the bureaucratic burden on family farms.

• the aim of the AHIC is to help farmers and vets work together to identify priorities, take targeted action and drive continuous improvements in animal health, welfare and productivity.  The requirements of the AHIC under UA12 remain unchanged.  Veterinary expertise remains central to improving animal health, welfare and productivity outcomes
• Welsh Government’s intention of integrating farm assurance scheme requirements with UA12 requirements is to reduce duplication and administrative burden for farmers and veterinary professionals, while maintaining the animal health and welfare outcomes.  This new approach is not designed to dilute the AHIC or the farm assurance schemes that choose to integrate
• Welsh Government will be working with interested farm assurance schemes over the coming months to understand how integration can work in practice
• we will provide further updates as farm assurance schemes confirm whether they intend to integrate elements of UA12 into their Animal Health and Welfare Plans from 2027
• farmers who are members of an accredited farm assurance scheme that commits to integrating the AHIC from 2027 will not need to complete separate AHIC ‘Measure’ and ‘Plan’ requirements for 2026. Their existing farm assurance health and welfare plan requirements will be accepted as meeting this requirement. As a reminder, the 2026 requirement is to complete only the ‘Measure’ and ‘Plan’ elements of the AHIC
• if a farmer has already completed the ‘Measure’ and ‘Plan’ elements of their AHIC for 2026 and is a member of a farm assurance scheme that has committed to integrating the AHIC into its animal health and welfare plan, they will be able to use the work already completed through their 2026 AHIC (for example, the priorities identified and actions agreed with their vet) to inform and support their 2027 farm assurance health and welfare plans
• if a farmer has incurred costs in relation to the AHIC already but would have met the new requirements without incurring those costs, they can contact RPW via the online enquiry form and provide details of the costs incurred to see if they are entitled to compensation. Each case will be considered independently
• if a farmer has not yet completed their qualifying farm assurance scheme animal health and welfare plan for 2026, we advise veterinary professionals to incorporate the ‘Measure’ and ‘Plan’ elements of the AHIC into their 2026 plan. This will support continuous improvement in animal health and welfare and help farmers prepare for their requirements in 2027
• if a farmer is not a member of a farm assurance scheme, they will be unaffected by this change in approach, and their current AHIC requirements will still need to be met. The full guidance on Universal Action 12 can be found in section J12 of Sustainable Farming Scheme 2026: Universal Layer guidance 
• for the 2026 scheme year, all farmers will be required to undertake the Biosecurity Assessment for Incoming Stock (BAIS) in accordance with the Scheme Guidance. However, from 2027 Welsh Government intends to recognise this requirement as fulfilled for SFS participants whose farm assurance schemes commit to integrate the BAIS and AHIC into their health and welfare plans
• farmers who have obtained a Veterinary Attestation Number (VAN) but are not members of a recognised farm assurance scheme will still be required to complete all elements of UA12 if they have joined the SFS. A VAN is not a farm assurance scheme and will not be recognised as meeting AHIC or other UA12 requirements