The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has announced that Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) advance payments are now being issued to farmers and will reach bank accounts in the coming weeks.
The BPS July payments will make up the first 50% of two instalments that will be paid to farmers each year – for the remainder of the agricultural transition period. Environment secretary George Eustice announced in May that the second payment can be expected in December.
With these July BPS payments, those who applied for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme and claimed BPS in 2022 will also receive an advance payment in July.
Paul Caldwell, chief executive of the RPA, said: “We know that cashflow during the summer season can be concerning for many farm businesses, particularly this year due to issues exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. I’m pleased to confirm that we have started to make advance BPS payments to farmers, and expect to issue the majority of payments by the end of July.”
“These twice-yearly instalments are a permanent change to bring BPS in line with what will be a more regular payment system under the new environment land management schemes.”
To be assured that your payment will reach you, all farmers should make sure the RPA has their up-to-date bank account details. However, the RPA also said that some claims will require additional checks and may take longer to process – they will be in touch with any farmer affected by this.
Once a payment has been made, a remittance advice is sent in the post to confirm the amount. When the balance payment is made, from December, a claim statement will be sent to explain how the 2022 payments have been worked out.