The Houses of Parliament have announced that a Westminster Hall debate will take place on Thursday (28th January) on the problems with BPS. This comes after farmers’ concerns were voiced by the NFU to their MP, James Heappey, on the burden of stress caused by the application and payment process.

Mr Heappey MP won the Westminster Hall debate ballot and chose to raise his constituents’ concerns. Fellow MPs and the Defra Minister attending the debate will cover BPS issues including number of completed payments, accurate RPA communication and the 2016 application.

NFU county delegate for Somerset James Small led the meeting with his MP and said, “We welcome James Heappey’s choice of debate picked up from the open and honest discussions we’ve had on the concerns of Somerset farmers.

“The RPA's implementation of the BPS scheme in 2015 has been beset by problems resulting in delays and additional stresses to hard pressed farmers across the country. We are pleased to see that it’s being given the national attention it deserves.”

NFU Vice President Guy Smith added, “For the thousands of working farmers still waiting for their BPS payments two months after the opening of the payment window it will be reassuring to hear Westminster takes this issue seriously. Any attention given by MPs as to how we can better get these payments out in a timelier manner both this year and next year will be appreciated by the farming community.”

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Rural Payments Agency announced that 61,172 farmers have now received their 2015 BPS payments, or over 70% of those eligible. The Agency has a target of making the ‘vast majority’ of payments by the end of the week.

So far, £845 million, of an estimated total fund of £1.43 billion, has now been paid out for the 2015 Scheme, since the payment window opened at the beginning of December.

RPA Chief Executive Mark Grimshaw said, “We understand the importance of BPS payments for farmers and the RPA is working seven days a week to meet our commitments. Payments are being made regularly, typically arriving in banks mid-week, as claims are checked and completed.”

Grimshaw said the RPA is doing everything it can to pay the remaining claims as quickly as possible. This includes contacting those who still need to register or provide information. There is currently £1.5million of payments ready to pay waiting for those farmers to either register or confirm correct bank account details.