Tips for Basic Payment Scheme application forms
With less than a week to go to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claim deadline, here are some more top tips on getting your application right…
Follow the BPS guidance on how to apply when completing your application form. RPA have also published an example of how to fill in a BP5 form correctly which might help when you fill in your form.
Tips for filling in your BP5 application form
Make sure that on your BPS application you:
- have your SBI on the front of the form
- put all your land parcels in Part C. When you are checking them, make sure that:
- the land parcel references in Column C2 are correct
- you have values in C3, C4 and C8 for each land parcel.
- you put land use codes in column C7 for each land parcel entered in Part C. Use the codes in How to apply for BPS in England 2015, most of them are new and different from the codes used for the Single Payment Scheme.
- the area in C8 in each line isn’t greater than the area in C4 in the same line. You can check C8 against the area you claimed on your 2014 Single Payment Scheme application form to see if it is similar to expected.
- fill in part D if you need to show how you are meeting the Ecological Focus are rules
- fill in part E if you want to claim rights on common land
- complete the active farmer declaration in part F
- sign and date your application in part M
Before you make your claim
Once you’ve completed your claim, use this handy checklist to ensure you’ve covered everything.
We recommend you keep a copy of everything you send, so that if RPA does need to discuss any part of your claim with you can refer to your copy.
Help is available
Remember, help is at hand – the RPA helpline is open 7 days a week and you can bring your form to one of 50 drop-in centres. Read Find help to claim rural payments to find out more.
The agency is also contacting farmers and agents out of hours when initial checks on their claims show further information is required.