The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has announced that applicants in England for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2016 will be able to start their online claim from the first week of March.

RPA has faced criticism over the delivery of the 2015 scheme payments; last year was the first year of the new scheme, delivered under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and RPA was forced into a u-turn over its decision to make applications digital by default due to IT issues. The NFU had previously expressed concerns that delays to the first BPS scheme could run on and affect delivery of the 2016 scheme.

On 12th February, RPA announced it had made almost 80% of payments, accounting for around 70% of the total scheme value (£1.43 billion). On Thursday, the Agency announced that just over 81% of all eligible claimants had received their payments, and that £1.11 billion had been paid out. RPA revealed “Almost all eligible farmers will receive their payments by the end of March with a few thousand of the more complex cases taking slightly longer.”

BPS 2016

For the 2016 year, the agency is encouraging farmers and agents who are planning to apply online to start their applications as early as possible, with a view to submitting completed applications from around mid-March.

Mark Grimshaw, Chief Executive of the RPA commented, “I want to encourage applicants to claim BPS online in 2016. We have learnt from 2015 and have made changes to the Rural Payments service for 2016.

“Lots of farmers and agents have told us they are keen to apply online again but we also understand that some farmers may need a paper option and this will be available for those who need it.”

This year, the agency said applicants will be able to view their maps online for the first time and the service has built-in elements that help to check the application. RPA will be sending out paper guidance to those registered on its system in March.

There are four stages to completing applications. From the first week of March until around the middle of the month, applicants will be able to check the information the RPA holds already and begin to make changes, including transferring land and entitlements.

From around mid-March onwards, applicants can complete their declarations and confirm the information in their application before final submission.

The deadline for applications will be midnight on 16 May 2016.