08/03/2011

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has begun making the first Uplands Transitional Payments to hill farmers. Figures published today show that 1525 claimants have received full payments representing 70 per cent of eligible claimants. £5.1m has been paid out in this first week.

Farmers who are eligible can receive their payment when all the administrative checks have been completed, provided their SPS claim is also fully validated.

This is the first year of the Upland Transitional Payment (UTP) scheme which has been aimed at farmers unable to enter the new strand of Environmental Stewardship (Uplands Entry Level Stewardship) due to continuing commitments in Environmentally Sensitive Area or Countryside Stewardship Scheme agreements . Uplands ELS  succeeded the Hill Farm Allowance.

Along with Uplands Entry Level Stewardship, it aims to make sure that agriculture continues to make its irreplaceable contribution to rural society and the managed environment of the English uplands.

The Uplands Transitional Payment 2012 to 2014 booklet is now available  on our website at rpa.defra.gov.uk/utpwww.businesslink.gov.uk/sps-claim and select ‘Log in to RPA Online’. Farmers who have not used the service before should then select ‘Go to RPA Online to register’. and is being sent out to claimants. The UTP 2012 claim can be made on the SPS 2011 application using the SPS Online service, which is now available on the Business Link website via www.businesslink.gov.uk/sps-claim and select ‘Log in to RPA Online’. Farmers who have not used the service before should then select ‘Go to RPA Online to register’.