RPA has announced that it has paid out over 51,000 farmers in the first two days of the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme window.

The Agency announced on Tuesday that on Friday and Saturday it paid 59% of eligible claimants their share of £660 million in BPS funds. RPA highlighted that those who’ve received payments include a range types and sizes of farmer, including those inspected and farmers with common land.

Speaking after a meeting with Defra secretary Andrea Leadsom before the payment window opened last month, NFU president Meurig Raymond said “We are acutely aware that RPA is already warning BPS claimants, such as those on commons or cross-border holdings, to plan for a later payment.  It is not acceptable that these same farms could be paid late in the payment window for the second year running.”

The farm union president asked the Defra secretary to ensure plans are in place for bridging payments, if these claimants are going to experience repeated delays accessing their BPS funds.

On Tuesday, RPA restated that it remains committed to paying 90% of eligible claims by the end of December. The agency also warned farmers to beware of fraudsters, who will see them as a lucrative target now that subsidy payments are hitting their bank accounts.

Farmers should remember:

• Your bank, police or the RPA will never ask you to reveal your online password, PIN or bank account details or ask you to make a payment over the telephone.
• Never enter into a conversation on this subject with someone you don’t know or open unknown or unexpected computer links or emails.
• If in doubt, call the organisation back, ideally on a different telephone, using a number you are familiar with or you know to be official (using a different phone is important as fraudsters can try to remain on the line to trick their victims). You can usually find the official number on the organisation’s website, correspondence or statement. Contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 if you think you may have been targeted.