Press release

CAP Reform: Dual use will continue to be allowed in 2015

Farmers and landowners in England with Environmental Stewardship agreements will be able to maintain their existing dual use arrangements in 2015.

Image of a field with a small area of woodland in it.

Farmers and landowners in England with Environmental Stewardship agreements will be able to maintain their existing dual use arrangements in 2015. The Rural Payments Agency’s (RPA) External Relations Director Arik Dondi, said: “This decision, announced this week, covers all existing Environmental Stewardship agreements, including those remaining to be signed up this year, and means the continuation of two different beneficiaries receiving support under two separate CAP schemes for the same piece of land at the same time, provided the different parties can each meet the rules of the different schemes.

“We are committed to making information available to help people understand how the new CAP will affect them as soon as decisions have been taken and I am sure our Basic Payment Scheme customers will welcome this latest detail.

“We are determined to implement the CAP in a way that is as simple, affordable, and effective as possible and to ensure that the countdown to the new scheme is as smooth as possible for farmers and landowners.”

Tenants or landlords whose land will be in dual use in 2015 should be aware that with the introduction of greening requirements, where land is let out under a tenancy agreement (Agricultural Holdings Act or Farm Business Tenancy), the tenant will need to include that land when working out their greening requirement. The landlord would not include that land as part of their greening requirement.

It is important that anyone planning to claim a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payment next year for land that someone else is claiming for under another scheme has a written record they have the land at their disposal and that they are eligible for the scheme. They will also need to read the leaflet called Extra guidance on dual use of land.

Further information about how dual use will work for the new environmental land management scheme will be released at a later date.

Up-to-date information about CAP Reform is available through the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk/cap-reform.

Published 26 September 2014