Guidance

BPS rules for 2023

Updated 16 March 2023

Applies to England

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The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is run by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

To get payments, you will need to follow the rules set out in this guide. This includes site visits of farms by field officers.

Updates for 2023

BPS, including the young farmer payment, will continue for the whole 2023 scheme year (1 January to 31 December 2023). BPS is due to end after the 2023 scheme year.

The final year of BPS

If you hold land after the BPS scheme has closed, you will still need to keep your land data up to date by checking your digital maps in the Rural Payments service. Not doing so could affect your payments under any existing schemes you are part of and future schemes you enter into.

Delinked payments are due to replace BPS in 2024

Farming subsidies in England are changing. As a result, this is the final year RPA plans to run BPS in England and delinked payments are due to replace BPS in 2024. RPA plans to make delinked payments each year from 2024 to 2027. Legislation will be introduced later this year to make these changes.

You will not need any land or entitlements to receive delinked payments from 2024. This will simplify the payments as we phase them out by the end of 2027.

However, you must claim, and be eligible for, BPS payments in the 2023 scheme year to receive delinked payments for 2024 to 2027. You must also meet the other rules for delinked payments. Delinked payments will be based on your BPS payments in a reference period, which is the BPS 2020 to 2022 scheme years.

You can receive delinked payments even if you choose to stop farming. Your delinked payments for 2024 to 2027 will not be affected if your farm size changes, or if you change what the land is used for after BPS 2022 (the end of the reference period). You can also apply for any other scheme you are eligible for, including our environmental land management schemes.

You cannot apply for delinked payments if you have received a Lump Sum Exit Scheme payment.

Read more about Delinked payments: replacing the Basic Payment Scheme. This includes information about how business changes since BPS 2020 could affect your delinked payment. We’ll update this guidance and send more information to you later in the year.

You will not have to do anything differently when you fill in your BPS 2023 application.

Entitlements to end

Entitlements will end with the BPS scheme. You will need to hold entitlements on 15 May 2023 if you want to use them to claim BPS in 2023. Entitlements will not be needed after this date. This means that you will not be able to make entitlement transfers after 15 May 2023. For transfers of land with entitlements or entitlements only, the ‘effective date of transfer’, or where applicable, the date the lease agreement starts, can be no later than 15 May 2023.

Entitlements will not be needed for delinked payments.

Cross compliance to end

Farmers must follow cross compliance rules if they claim for BPS in 2023. From 2024, cross compliance will not apply to delinked payments or any other rural payments in England.

However, most of the standards in cross compliance will continue to apply to your farm activities as they remain in other English laws.

Defra will make sure you are aware of these legal requirements, as well as the approach to enforcing them, before 2024.

A reminder about the Lump Sum Exit Scheme

The application period for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme closed on 30 September 2022. If you applied, remember you must submit a ‘Lump Sum Exit Scheme entitlements and evidence form’ to us by 31 May 2024. You will not receive a lump sum payment if you do not complete and return this form.

If you applied for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme, have not yet completed your exit from farming and have not been paid, you may want to apply for BPS 2023. This will protect you if you then find that you are not eligible for the lump sum or cannot complete the transfer of your land by 31 May 2024. To apply for BPS in 2023, you will need to meet the BPS scheme rules, including making sure the land stays eligible for the rest of the year. If you receive payments for BPS 2023 and later meet the rules of the Lump Sum Exit Scheme, the value of any BPS payments made will be deducted from the lump sum due.

If you have already been paid a lump sum payment you will not be eligible to apply for BPS 2023, or delinked payments, in England for the remainder of the agricultural transition period (2024 to 2027). You will also not be eligible to enter into new agreements (or add land to existing agreements) under some other schemes during the rest of the agricultural transition.

See more information on the Lump Sum Exit Scheme.

Opportunities within other schemes

If you’re a farmer, land manager or forester, read Funding for farmers and land managers for information about opportunities to apply for money to improve the environment and your farm’s productivity. You can keep up to date with scheme news on the Rural Payments Agency website and the Defra Farming blog.

Payments

We intend to pay Direct Payments in England in 2 instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period, to help farmers with their cashflow. Farmers with eligible BPS 2023 applications will receive an advance payment of around 50% from 1 August 2023 and the balance payment from 1 December 2023.

We’ll use the bank account details we already hold to pay you. If these change, and you want to be paid into a different account, you need to give us your updated bank account details as soon as you can. You can only do this over the phone – telephone us on 03000 200 301. You need to have ‘Business details: Full or Make legal changes’ permission level in the Rural Payments service before you ask us to update your bank account details. It may not be possible to change your details close to the start of payments.

Progressive reductions

We continue to progressively reduce Direct Payments.

As in previous years, your BPS 2023 claim value will depend on the number of entitlements, with eligible hectares (ha), you claim in 2023 and on whether you claim the young farmer payment. Progressive reductions will be applied to your total claim value (after any other reductions or penalties). See the ‘Progressive reductions to BPS payments’ section for more details.

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)

SFI applications opened for BPS eligible farmers from 30 June 2022. Applications will remain open, so you can apply at a time that works best for you. In later years we will remove the BPS eligibility requirement, so a wider range of farmers will become eligible for SFI. We do not expect to do this before 2024.

You can claim BPS and SFI on the same land parcel, provided that land parcel meets the relevant eligibility rules under both schemes.

See information about SFI, including eligibility, payment rates, standards and the application process.

Rural Payments service – GOV.UK Verify sign-in has closed

If you had a GOV.UK Verify account, you can no longer use it to sign-in to the Rural Payments service – you’ll need to move to RPA Identity.

We contacted all GOV.UK Verify account holders about the changes and explained what they needed to do. Please follow the instructions in your email or letter to move your account from GOV.UK Verify to RPA Identity.

If you are already an RPA Identity account customer you do not need to take any further action.

Important dates for BPS 2023

Date	Information
1 January 2023	Official start of the BPS 2023 scheme year
1 January to 31 December 2023	Land used to apply for BPS needs to be eligible all year Cross compliance rules need to be followed all year
14 March 2023	Application window opens
15 May 2023 (11:59pm)	Land used to apply for BPS in 2023 needs to be ‘at your disposal’ (only the person who has the land at their disposal on this date can use it to be paid for BPS in 2023) BPS application deadline, and young and new farmer 2023 application deadline (to avoid late application penalties) Deadline for BPS 2023 entitlement transfers (only the person who holds an entitlement on this date can use it to be paid for BPS in 2023). For transfers of land with entitlements or for entitlements only, this is the final ‘effective date of transfer’, or where applicable, final date the lease agreement can start Deadline for RPA to receive applications for new entitlements from young or new farmers, to avoid late application penalties Deadline for RPA to receive the young and new farmer form for the young farmer payment from first time applicants, or from existing young farmer applicants when the business structure has changed
9 June 2023 (11:59pm)	‘Late application’ deadline. Deadline for supporting evidence and certain changes to the application (no penalty) and late applications with penalties. Any applications, certain changes to applications and supporting evidence received after this date will not be accepted (except in cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances)
From 1 August 2023	BPS 2023 advance payments start
From 1 December 2023	BPS 2023 balance payments start
31 December 2023	Official end of the BPS 2023 scheme year and BPS scheme
30 June 2024	BPS 2023 payments end

Apply for BPS 2023

What you need to declare on your BPS application (online or on paper) and when.

How to apply

You need to apply to receive a payment.

In 2023, you can again apply online, using the Rural Payments service, or on paper using a BP5 application form.

We will update the BPS 2023 page with all the latest guidance and information about the scheme.

Apply online through the Rural Payments service. There is a ‘Help’ link on many of the screens that goes through each process step-by-step. For more information about applying online, see How to apply for BPS 2023 online.

Apply on paper

If you submitted a paper BP5 application form for BPS in 2022, you will receive a BPS 2023 application pack, including a BP5 application form. However, it is quicker and easier to apply online. Telephone us on 03000 200 301 to set up an application form.

What you need to declare on your application

You (or your agent, if you use one) need to declare:

• all the agricultural land parcels and areas on your holding
• the ‘land use’ and any non-agricultural features that cannot be applied for
• what eligible land you are using with your entitlements (which needs to be at least 5ha, except for those who qualify for the cross- border exemption)
• how many entitlements you want to use to apply for payment (which needs to be at least 5, except for those who qualify for the cross-border exemption)

If applicable, you may also need to:

• declare any non-agricultural land on your holding that is part of an agri- environment or woodland scheme, such as Countryside Stewardship (CS), Environmental Stewardship (ES) or any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme
• declare if you want to apply for the young farmer payment
• fill in a separate application to apply for new entitlements (young and new farmers only – see ‘Applying for entitlements’ in the ‘Young and new farmers’ section for more information)
• provide evidence, where required, to prove you meet the definition of a farmer, young or new farmer – see ‘Applying for entitlements’ in the ‘Young and new farmers’ section for more information
• submit separate applications to other UK paying agencies if you want to apply for BPS for land you have in other parts of the UK – see the ‘Cross border farms’ section for more information

If you (or your agent) use the online system, you should be aware that the system will accept zero values, for example in Part C, Land Use Codes (C7) and Area to Activate (C8). You should check C7 and C8 to make sure that they do not contain 0.0000 as this can reduce the value of your BPS payment or cause your application to be rejected.

If you use an area of common land for grazing, you need to declare all of your rights in your application form (even if you choose not to apply for payment for them).

Cross border farms

If you have land in more than one part of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales), this will not be treated as a single holding for BPS. BPS applications submitted in England will be treated completely separately from any applications you make to other UK administrations for land in another part of the UK. You should only enter your English land onto your BP5 form.

The rules in this guidance apply to your English claim and land. We will calculate and apply any reductions or penalties to your English claim only. You should read the guidance issued by the devolved administrations for the rules that will apply to claims you make in other parts of the UK.

To apply for BPS in England you need to claim on at least 5 entitlements, with at least 5ha of eligible land in England (the minimum claim size). However, there is an exemption for some farmers who had a cross-border holding in 2020. You meet the exemption if, for BPS 2020, you:

• had eligible land in England and another part of the UK
• had less than 5ha of eligible land in England
• claimed BPS and were eligible for payment in relation to some or all of your English land

Other than this minimum claim size exemption for some farmers, your application will be treated the same as any other English application.

Common errors

Some of the most common errors on applications include:

• Part C: missing information, for example, missing or zero values in the Land Use Code (C7) and Area to Activate (C8) boxes
• Part C Online: zero values found
• incomplete paper continuation booklets: failure to complete all columns on the continuation booklets, for example C7 and C8
• missing pages of the BP5 application form and continuation booklets
• failure to check that the online application has been submitted

You need to:

• carefully check the form before it is submitted, particularly for any zero values
• indicate how many paper continuation booklets you are sending in with the application
• check all parts of the paper continuation booklet are included in the envelope you are sending
• make sure you do not remove any blank pages from the paper BP5 application form as this may cause issues in processing the application
• complete Part L of the BP5 application form: Your declaration and responsibilities

Deadline for applications

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

Applications received after 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 but by 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 will be considered as ‘late applications’ and will receive a penalty (apart from cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances).

Applications received after 9 June 2023 will be rejected (apart from cases accepted as force majeure and exceptional circumstances).

Acknowledgement of BPS applications

We recommend that you use a postal method with tracking and proof of posting to submit your paper BP5 application.

We will acknowledge receipt of the application within 10 working days of receipt. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 15 working days of posting your form, you should telephone our helpline on 03000 200 301.

Please note we do not send receipts for continuation booklets sent separately to the BPS application.

We are not responsible for applications that are delayed or lost in the post.

You should make sure that you get an acknowledgement of receipt from us.

Sending supporting evidence with an application

If you need to send supporting evidence (for example, young or new farmer proof or form, continuation booklets or RLE1 form), you need to do this early enough for us to receive it by 11:59pm on 9 June 2023. We will not apply a penalty, as long as we received your application before 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

You have until 30 June 2023 to submit your hemp seed labels (see ‘Hemp’ for more details).

Your application will be rejected if the supporting evidence (apart from hemp seed labels) is received after 11:59pm on 9 June 2023.

If you are sending us an RLE1 form you can do this electronically or by post.

We will need originals of any other evidence, which should be sent by post. You are advised to keep copies of any evidence you send to us. All evidence should be sent to us by post. Before sending evidence, you should put your name and address on the front page, and your SBI on every page. We will post confirmation receipts for any evidence received and if we are returning evidence, we will do so by post (usually within 3 working days).

You should keep any evidence after we have returned it, in case we need to see it again in the future.

Reminders

We send reminders of the application deadline to the address and email address of you or your agent, if you have one. You should check all these details are up to date in the Rural Payments service before you submit your application.

As you are normally expected to have planned to submit your application accurately and on time, you should not rely on a reminder to submit your application.

Changing a BPS application

You need to tell us as soon as possible if you want to change an application after it has been submitted. This applies to paper and online applications that need to be resubmitted. Amendments can only be made without penalty if the original application was submitted by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

Until 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 you can, without a penalty:

• add a land parcel
• increase the eligible area of a land parcel
• increase the area you want to use to activate your entitlements
• change the land use of a land parcel

We cannot accept any of the changes listed above after 11:59pm on 9 June 2023. You may also be able to make land use changes after 9 June 2023 without penalty under the ‘notified error’ provisions. You cannot make these changes if:

• you have already been told about any non-compliance affecting the land parcel you want to amend
• a check has revealed a non-compliance affecting the land parcel you want to amend
• you have received advance warning of a visit by a field officer

‘Notified errors’

You can notify us of errors in your application at any time, without a penalty, unless you have either:

• already been told of any non-compliances in your application
• received advance warning of a visit by a field officer

If we cannot accept notification of an error for these reasons we may, in very limited circumstances, still be able to amend your application if we consider the error to be an ‘obvious error’.

For information on amendments which will increase an applicant’s payment value read ‘Changing an application after it has been submitted’ in the ‘Payments, reductions and penalties’ section.

‘Obvious errors’

We will check your application for obvious errors. These are genuine mistakes or things you’ve missed off your application that are easily identifiable from a simple check of the application. We can correct these at any time without applying a reduction or penalty to your payment, provided the mistake did not result in overpayment.

If we think there is an obvious error, we will carry out a basic review of your application and any other relevant information we hold. For example, we could look at a previous claim or any correspondence before you applied. If our checks show you made a mistake or missed something out, we may accept it as an obvious error. However, if you make the same mistake or omission more than once, depending upon the circumstances, we may not accept it as an obvious error a second time.

This applies to paper and online applications. As you change the declared land areas on which you claim from year to year, if a zero value is found in any part of the application, that zero value will be accepted as intentional. We cannot assume all of the land declared on the application is being claimed on. The zero-value found may result in a reduced payment or the application being rejected.

Withdrawing all or part of an application

You can withdraw an application without penalty at any time unless:

• you have already been told about any non-compliances in your application
• a check has revealed any non-compliances in your application
• you have received advance warning of a visit by a field officer

You can withdraw part of an application without penalty (for example, a land parcel or entitlements) at any time unless:

• you have already been told about any non-compliance affecting the part of the application you want to withdraw
• a check has revealed a non-compliance affecting the part of the application you want to withdraw
• you have received advance warning of a visit by a field officer

This includes non-compliances found by us or the Forestry Commission when cross-checking BPS information against agri-environment or woodland scheme agreements (such as CS or any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme).

Force majeure and exceptional circumstances

If force majeure and exceptional circumstances mean you cannot follow the BPS scheme rules (including cross compliance relating to your BPS claim), we may not apply a penalty or reduction, and may also accept an application after the 9 June 2023 deadline.

For BPS, you need to inform us of your circumstances within 8 weeks from the date you are able to do so. You will also need to send evidence to demonstrate your claim. This is a legal requirement and we have no flexibility to change this rule.

Force majeure is defined as ‘abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances, outside the control of the operator concerned, the consequences of which, in spite of the exercise of all due care, could not have been avoided except at the cost of excessive sacrifice on your part’.

Some examples of force majeure and exceptional circumstances might be, but are not limited to:

• the death or long-term professional incapacity of a farmer
• a severe natural disaster which affects the agricultural land
• an accident which destroys livestock buildings
• an epizootic disease which affects livestock
• a plant disease which affects crops
• expropriation of all or a large part of a holding if the farmer could not have anticipated this on the day they made their application

Evidence for force majeure or exceptional circumstances

You need to prove that, despite taking every care that could have been expected of you, the force majeure or exceptional circumstances prevented you from meeting your obligations. Evidence should include details of the actions taken, with an explanation of the events and the dates they occurred.

Cases are assessed on an individual basis on the evidence supplied.

You can post us your force majeure or exceptional circumstances request and evidence.

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG

We recommend you use a postal method with tracking and proof of posting.

You can also submit your force majeure or exceptional circumstances request by email to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk. The email needs to be from an email address registered in the Rural Payments service and have the correct permissions for the business.

We are not responsible for force majeure or exceptional circumstances requests that are delayed or lost in the post.

Who can claim BPS

To claim BPS (and receive entitlements), you need to be a ‘farmer’.

The BPS definition of a ‘farmer’

For BPS, a ‘farmer’ is a person, group of people or a business that does at least one of the following on their holding:

• produces, rears or grows agricultural products – including harvesting, milking, breeding animals and keeping animals for farming purposes
• keeps some land in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation by keeping it clear of any scrub that cannot be grazed (sometimes known as ‘dense scrub’)

For BPS, these are known as an ‘agricultural activity’.

Definition of a ‘holding’

A ‘holding’ is all of the land a farmer manages and uses for an agricultural activity in England. For most farmers, this is all of the land they should declare under their Single Business Identifier (SBI).

A holding can have more than one County Parish Holding (CPH) number, as well as land in more than one location.

Land

To claim BPS you need to declare all of the agricultural land on your holding (all of the land you manage and use for an agricultural activity in England). You also need to declare any non-agricultural land you use for agri- environment or woodland schemes, or the National Forest Changing Landscape Scheme, Woodland Carbon Fund, HS2 Woodland Fund, or any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme.

Agricultural land – what you need to declare

Agricultural land is:

• arable land (including temporary grassland and fallow land)
• permanent grassland
• permanent crops

All other land is ‘non-agricultural’.

What land to declare on an application

You need to have at least 5ha of eligible land to apply for BPS (unless you qualify for the cross-border exemption) and each land parcel you use in your application needs to have a total eligible area of 0.1ha or more. You can only use land that is ‘at your disposal’ on 15 May 2023 to apply for BPS.

On your BPS application, you need to declare all the agricultural areas on your holding that are ‘at your disposal’ and are 0.01 hectares or more – whether or not you use that land to apply for BPS.

You need to also declare all the non-agricultural land you are using for any of the following schemes:

• CS (including Higher Tier, Mid-Tier, Woodland Creation Grant)
• Entry Level Stewardship
• Organic Entry Level Stewardship
• Uplands Entry Level Stewardship
• Higher Level Stewardship
• English Woodland Grant Scheme
• Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
• Farm Woodland Scheme
• National Forest Changing Landscape Scheme
• Woodland Carbon Fund
• HS2 Woodland Fund
• any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme (for example the England Woodland Creation Offer)

Land ‘at your disposal’

You can only apply for payment in 2023 on land that is ‘at your disposal’ on 15 May 2023.

You have a land parcel at your disposal if you are the:

• owner-occupier, farming the land parcel yourself or employing a contractor
• tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy (or equivalent) – see guidance on agricultural tenancies for more information

The land parcel is not at your disposal if you are:

• a contractor carrying out operations under the overall direction of the farmer
• a landlord whose tenant has a Farm Business Tenancy under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy (or equivalent)
• farming the land under licence

How to decide who has land at their disposal

An area of land can only be at the disposal of one farmer in a single BPS scheme year. If more than one farmer is using the land they should consider:

• the rights and responsibilities they have for the land parcel, and
• how these work in practice

The land parcel is probably at the disposal of the farmer who:

• has control of the land
• has access to it
• takes profit from the land
• is responsible for meeting cross compliance rules on it

Having an agreement about who is claiming BPS does not in itself mean the land is at your disposal. When deciding who has land at their disposal, the list above is more important than what any agreement is called.

If you are visited by a field officer, you may need to provide evidence showing how you have land at your disposal.

Dual use: land used by more than one applicant to claim under different schemes

A land parcel can be at your disposal on 15 May 2023, even if another applicant is using the same land parcel to claim for CS, ES, the English Woodland Grant Scheme or Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme (such as the England Woodland Creation Offer). This is sometimes called ‘dual use.’

Dual use is not allowed for CS Mid Tier agreements with a start date of 1 January 2016. For Higher Tier agreements starting 1 January 2016 and for both Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements starting on 1 January 2017 onwards dual use is allowed; rules applying to dual use are summarised in the CS manuals.

If you apply in a dual use situation, you need to be able to demonstrate you are meeting the rules and eligibility requirements of the relevant scheme you are claiming for. If you apply for BPS, you need to have a written record which shows both:

• the rights and responsibilities you and the other applicant in the dual use situation each have for the land
• that you have the land at your disposal on 15 May 2023

This could be a tenancy agreement, a letter, or both. It needs to be signed and dated by both applicants before 15 May 2023. Our field officers may ask to see this.

Share farming agreements

When 2 or more farmers have a share farming agreement (but their businesses are separate legal entities), only one farmer can apply for BPS.

All of the land in the agreement needs to be included on that one farmer’s application. They need to have the land at their disposal on 15 May 2023 and hold the entitlements at 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

The other parties to the share farming agreement who hold other land outside of this can submit their own BPS application for the land which they are not share farming.

What land is eligible for BPS

The types of agricultural land that can be eligible for BPS are:

• permanent grassland
• arable land
• permanent crops

Land is also eligible if it was used to claim for the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2008 and has become non-agricultural under certain options in other agri-environment and woodland maintenance agreements and is still covered by those agreements.

All of the agricultural land you use to apply for BPS needs to be used primarily for an agricultural activity for the whole calendar year. The land needs to be at your disposal on 15 May 2023.

Permanent grassland

Permanent grassland is land which is used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage for 5 or more consecutive years. It can be self-seeded or sown.

Permanent grassland includes areas of:

• bracken, salt marshes, reed beds and light scrub (including gorse bushes and briar) if the land is managed so that the areas are suitable for grazing and grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant
• heather, where these are kept in a state suitable for grazing

Permanent grassland does not include areas of dense scrub which prevent grazing.

If the land has been re-sown with grass or other herbaceous forage during the 5 years, it is still permanent grassland.

However, if the land has been re-seeded with grass or other herbaceous forage following a catch crop (such as stubble turnips) during the last 5 years, it is arable land.

As in previous years, you must not plough or convert permanent grassland if it is in a Natura 2000 site. For any other permanent grassland, you must get a screening decision from Natural England before you plough up or improve land which has not been cultivated for 15 years, or which is uncultivated or semi-natural grassland (or another semi-natural area). If you are in a CS or ES agreement you will also have to meet the rules for permanent grassland for those schemes.

Arable land

‘Arable land’ is land cultivated for crop production, including:

• land used for combinable crops
• crops grown as root crops or fibre (including hemp)
• crops grown for animal feed, such as forage maize and forage rape
• field vegetables
• cut flowers or bulbs and soft fruit (other than permanent crops)

Arable land also includes:

• fallow land available for crop production
• temporary grassland available for crop production

Fallow land

Fallow land is land which has been taken out of a crop rotation and is maintained in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation.

If you have bare soil on 15 May 2023, you should declare the code of the main crop you intend to grow in the year, even if it will be late sown. If you do not intend to sow a main crop, you should declare it as fallow (FA01).

Temporary grassland

Temporary grassland is land:

• that has been in grass or other herbaceous forage for fewer than 5 consecutive years – it can be self-seeded or sown
• used for livestock production, if it’s been used in this way for fewer than 5 years – this includes land used for outdoor pigs

Land can only be declared as temporary grassland for 5 consecutive years. After that, it will normally become ‘permanent grassland’.

If you have grassland that has been in temporary grass on 15 May 2023 for 5 consecutive years (so has been coded as TG01 in the years 2018 to 2022), this should be classed as permanent grassland from 2023.

Land in agri-environment schemes

Arable land that is taken out of production to be used for one of the agri-environment options listed in tables 1 and 2 below may be still treated as ‘arable’ land for BPS even though it may have been temporary grassland for 5 consecutive years. It may remain ‘arable’ land while it is being used for the agri-environment option and will not become permanent grassland.

The period of time land is used for one of these options does not count when working out whether temporary grassland becomes permanent grassland after 5 years.

For example, you have a land parcel which was temporary grassland for 2 years. The parcel was then taken out of production under an agri-environment scheme option for 5 years.

Once the land comes out of the option, it will still be classed as temporary grassland (which is arable land). At the next BPS deadline after the land comes out of the option it will be counted as the third year of grassland (not the eighth).

Table 1: Environmental Stewardship options

Option	Description
EC24, HC24, OC24 or OHC24	Hedgerow tree buffer strips on cultivated or rotational land
EE1, HE1, OE1 or OHE1	2 metre (m) buffer strips on cultivated or rotational land
EE2, HE2, OE2 or OHE2	4m buffer strips on cultivated or rotational land
EE3, HE3, OE3 or OHE3	6m buffer strips on cultivated or rotational land
EE8, HE8, OE8 or OHE8	Buffering in-field ponds on arable or rotational land
EE9, HE9, OE9 or OHE9	6m buffer strips on cultivated or rotational land next to watercourse
EF1, HF1, OF1 or OHF1	Management of field corners
EF4, HF4, OF4 or OHF4	Nectar flower mixture
EF5 or HF5	Pollen and nectar flower mixture on set-aside land. The land needs to have been set-aside at the time the applicant entered into the agreement
EF7, HF7, OF7 or OHF7	Beetle banks
EG3, HG3, OG3 or OHG3	Nectar flower mixtures in grassland areas
EJ5, HJ5, OJ5 or OHJ5	In-field grass areas to prevent erosion and run-off
EJ9, HJ9, OJ9 or OHJ9	12m buffer strips for watercourses on cultivated or rotational land
HE10	Floristically enhanced grass margin
EC1, HC1, OC1 and OHC1	Protection of infield trees on arable or rotational land
HC5	Ancient trees in arable fields

Table 2: Countryside Stewardship options

Option	Description
AB1	Nectar flower mix
AB3	Beetle banks
AB5	Nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew
AB8	Flower-rich margins and plots
AB9	Winter bird food
AB16	Autumn sown bumblebird mix
BE1	Protection of in-field trees on arable land
OP2	Wild bird seed mixture
SW1	4m to 6m buffer strip on cultivated land
SW3	In-field grass strips
SW4	12m to 24m watercourse buffer strip on cultivated land
WD3	Woodland edges on arable land
WT2	Buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land

Permanent crops

Permanent crops are non-rotational crops which normally occupy the land for 5 years or more (except permanent grassland) and provide repeated harvests.

However, they do not need to have been in the ground for 5 years before they count as permanent crops.

These crops include crops grown in nurseries, multi-annual crops and short rotation coppice.

Nurseries

These are areas of young woody plants grown in the open air, on soil, in greenhouses or under poly-tunnels for later transplantation. They include:

• vine and root stock nurseries
• fruit tree and berry nurseries
• ornamental nurseries
• commercial nurseries of forest trees (except those for the holding’s own requirements grown in woodland)
• nurseries of trees and bushes for planting in gardens, parks, at the roadside and on embankments

Nursery crops do not include Christmas trees, unless they are grown in nurseries for later transplantation.

Short rotation coppice

These are areas planted with:

• alder (Alnus)
• ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
• birch (Betula)
• hazel (Corylus avellana)
• hornbeam (Carpinus spp)
• lime (Tilia cordata)
• poplar (Populus spp)
• sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
• willow (Salix spp)

The maximum harvest cycle (the period between harvests) is 20 years. The initial tree planting needs to have taken place during or after 2000.

Factors which can affect whether land is eligible or not

Land used with entitlements to apply for BPS needs to be eligible throughout the calendar year. You need to also follow the cross compliance rules throughout the calendar year.

Utility and transport works

If you have utility or transport works taking place on your land, it can sometimes mean the land is not eligible for BPS that year, as well as breaching certain cross compliance rules. If this affects your land, you may want to seek compensation for lost payments from the organisation carrying out the work.

If this happens after you have already applied for BPS, you should either:

• ask us to remove the land from the area used to claim BPS on your application
• ask us to consider it as ‘force majeure’ (each case will be considered individually)

If you could have anticipated the work was going to take place on your land during 2023 when you applied for BPS, this will not be treated as force majeure.

Flooded land

Flooded agricultural land is still eligible for BPS if the flooding is temporary and the land would otherwise still be available for agricultural activity.

Deliberate and planned flooding of agricultural land to create new watercourses and permanent wetlands is not considered to be a temporary flooding event as the land is not being maintained in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation.

Activities that take place with the Environment Agency to manage floodwater positively and proactively will be considered on a case-by-case basis, although any agricultural land that floods temporarily would remain eligible.

Transferring land to someone else during the year

Land can be transferred at any time. The Rural Payments service is available to do this from early 2023 until 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

However, where you are the person transferring the land (the transferor) and have included it on your BPS 2023 application, it is still your responsibility to make sure the land:

• stays eligible for BPS for the rest of the year (or is withdrawn from your BPS application)
• meets the cross compliance rules for the whole year, unless the person you have transferred it to (the transferee) applied for any rural payments, in which case they take over this responsibility

If you are transferring land, you should make sure any contract you have is clear about what happens if any of the BPS or cross compliance rules are broken, or if field officers are refused access to the land.

The deadline to transfer land with entitlements is 11:59pm on 15 May 2023. Read ‘Transferring entitlements’ for more information.

Applying for BPS on land in agri-environment and woodland schemes

Agri-environment relates to the schemes:

• CS
• ES

Woodland relates to the schemes:

• CS (woodland support: creation, maintenance and improvement)
• English Woodland Grant Scheme
• Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
• Farm Woodland Scheme
• Nationally funded woodland scheme to include National Forests Changing Landscapes, Woodland Carbon Fund, the HS2 Woodland Fund and any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation (such as the England Woodland Creation Offer)

Land included in an agri-environment scheme remains eligible for BPS if it continues to be:

• agricultural land (permanent grassland, arable land or permanent crops)
• used primarily for an agricultural activity throughout the calendar year
• is at the applicant’s disposal on 15 May 2023

You can still declare under the main BPS land use code for your land parcel:

• agri-environment field margins
• buffer strips
• field corners
• beetle banks
• other areas not permanently divided from the rest of the land parcel

Please see the How to apply for BPS 2023 online guidance for more information.

Non-agricultural land in agri-environment or woodland schemes

If the agri-environment or woodland scheme management requirements result in the land being taken out of agricultural use, it will normally become ineligible for BPS from the beginning of the agreement, even if required non-agricultural management activity has not yet started. The land should be declared on the BPS 2023 application under an appropriate non-agricultural land use code.

Exceptionally, land that has been taken out of agricultural use under an agri- environment or woodland scheme will remain eligible for BPS if both conditions 1 and 2 apply:

1. It was used with entitlements to claim the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2008.
2. It is managed under one of the relevant agri-environment and woodland options (refer to the tables in this section). Or it is declared under a nationally funded woodland creation scheme including the National Forest Changing Landscape scheme, the Woodland Carbon Fund, the HS2 Woodland Fund and any Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation scheme (such as the England Woodland Creation Offer).

It only remains eligible for BPS while it remains in the agri-environment or woodland scheme option. Declare this land on your BPS 2023 application under the land use code ‘RD01’ (remember to check that the land cover is correctly mapped as non- agricultural).

The options most likely to result in a non-agricultural land use are listed in tales 3 to 8. Some agreements will not require land managed under these options to be taken out of agricultural use and may still be considered agricultural.

For details of how to claim BPS on these land areas, refer to:

• How to apply for BPS 2023 online
• How to apply for BPS 2023 by email or post
• Guidance on woodland grant schemes and BPS: Operations note 42
• Guidance on agri-environment agreements (CS and ES) and BPS

Table 3: Countryside Stewardship options

Option code	Option name
CT2	Creation of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle on arable land and improved grassland
CT4	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land
CT5	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention
CT7	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland
WCG	Woodland Creation Grant
WD1	Woodland Creation and Maintenance
WD7	Management of successional areas and scrub
WD8	Creation of successional areas and scrub
WT6	Management of reedbed
WT7	Creation of reedbed
WT8	Management of fen
WT9	Creation of fen
WT10	Management of lowland raised bog

Table 4: Higher Level Stewardship (including agreements underpinned by Entry Level Stewardship or Organic Entry Level Stewardship) and Upland Entry Level Stewardship options

Option code	Option name
HC7	Maintenance of woodland
HC8	Restoration of woodland
HC9	Creation of woodland in Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs)
HC10	Creation of woodland outside SDAs
HC15	Maintenance of successional areas and scrub
HC16	Restoration of successional areas and scrub
HC17	Creation of successional areas and scrub
HP7	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land
HP8	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on grassland
HP9	Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention
HQ3	Maintenance of reedbeds
HQ4	Restoration of reedbeds
HQ5	Creation of reedbeds
HQ6	Maintenance of fen
HQ7	Restoration of fen
HQ8	Creation of fen
HQ9	Maintenance of lowland raised bog
HQ10	Restoration of lowland raised bog
UC22	Uplands woodland livestock exclusion

Table 5: Farm Woodland Premium Scheme and Farm Woodland Scheme options

Option code	Option name
A	Arable land (outside the SDA)
AL	Arable land in the lowlands
IA	Improved arable
IG	Improved grassland
IL	Other improved land in the lowlands
OC	Other improved land
U	Unimproved land
UU	Unimproved land or upland

Table 6: English Woodland Grant Scheme options

Option code	Option name
WCG	Woodland creation grant
WCGS	Woodland creation grant special broadleaf

Table 7: Woodland Creation under Nature for Climate Fund options

Option code	Option name
NCF	Nature for Climate Fund woodland creation schemes

Table 8: Woodland Creation under Green Recovery Challenge Fund options

Option code	Option name
GRCF	Green Recovery Challenge Fund woodland creation schemes

Non-agricultural activities allowed on eligible land

To be eligible for BPS, land has to be used primarily for an agricultural activity. If agricultural and non-agricultural activities are taking place on the same land, the land will not be eligible if the intensity, nature, duration and timing of the non-agricultural activity significantly interferes with agricultural activity.

The following non-agricultural activities are allowed – the land is still eligible because the land is still being used primarily for an agricultural activity:

• walking
• bird watching
• military training
• nature or farm visits by schools or other educational institutions
• horse or bicycle riding along bridleways, or on tracks, margins or other permitted routes
• fishing
• shooting game
• deer stalking
• drag hunting
• paragliding and hang-gliding
• hedge-laying competitions, local ploughing competitions or other demonstrations of farming that do not break the cross compliance rules (if these events include trade stands, they are covered by the list of activities with a 28-day limit)

Activities allowed for 28 days

These non-agricultural activities are allowed – but not for more than a total of 28 days in the relevant calendar year (whether consecutive or not):

• clay shooting
• car boot sales
• car parking
• country fairs and shows
• farm auctions and shows
• horse riding activities using apparatus or fixtures, like show jumping or an in- field cross-country course
• ballooning
• festivals and events
• scout or guide camps (or similar)
• using land for television and film locations
• caravan sites
• motor sports
• grass airstrips
• rearing game in pens which are moved at least once every 28 days
• agricultural competitions which include trade stands

Examples of other activities not usually allowed

Land used for the following activities will usually mean it is being used primarily for a non-agricultural activity:

• playing golf (on a golf course, including bunkers, greens, fairways, copse, patch of trees and areas of rough that are part of the playing course)
• training of racehorses on training gallops
• zoological conservation (land on which animals, not typically kept in England for farming purposes, are kept primarily for study, conservation or display to the public)

This land cannot be used to apply for BPS unless you can prove that the non- agricultural activity does not significantly interfere with the agricultural activity on the land.

The 28 days should include all the days the land was unavailable, including preparing the land and clearing up afterwards. If an activity lasts less than 24 hours, it still counts as one of the 28 days.

If these activities go over the 28-day limit due to circumstances beyond your control, this might be considered force majeure.

Agricultural and non-agricultural areas and features

Some areas and features on agricultural land are non-agricultural and are not eligible for BPS.

We will map all permanent non-agricultural areas and features that are 0.01ha or bigger. You need to declare and deduct all non-agricultural areas and features from your eligible areas.

Some non-agricultural areas and features may be small and scattered across a land parcel. If together they add up to 0.01ha or more, we will map them as ‘notional’ or ‘scattered’ areas. You need to declare and deduct them from your eligible areas.

You need to notify us of any permanent non-agricultural areas and features are not correctly mapped.

Non-agricultural areas and features that are temporary will not be mapped, but you need to still declare them separately on the BPS application and deduct them from your eligible areas.

For example, you have the following non-agricultural areas and features in a field:

• scree
• animal shelters on hard standing
• a pond

Each individual feature is less than 0.01ha in size, but together they have a total area of more than 0.01ha, so you need to declare them on a BPS application.

Grass strips (such as tracks, strips, margins and headlands) do not need to be identified separately from the main land use of the parcel (the cropped area).

List of features

We regularly receive aerial photography, satellite imagery and OS map updates. We proactively use this information to keep the land parcel information we hold up to date and to check any applications or claims you make. You need to sign into the Rural Payments service to look at and check your digital maps online.

You should check and correct your application form to reflect the position on the ground as at 15 May 2023. Contact us if you have any queries about the eligibility of land on your holding.

See the list of land use codes 2023. Table 9 shows some commonly used features and their eligibility for BPS.

Table 9

Feature	BPS eligibility
Animal shelters	Eligible if a temporary or mobile structure on a natural surface (such as bare soil). Not eligible if they are on a hard standing.
Bracken	Eligible (as ‘permanent grassland’) only if it’s managed so that grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant, and it is suitable for grazing.
Buildings (residential, commercial or agricultural)	Not eligible
Earth banks	Eligible if protected under cross compliance.
Farmyards	Not eligible
Fenced off pylons	Not eligible
Gallops (non-grass)	Not eligible
Glasshouses and polytunnels	Not eligible if on a hard standing or if used to grow ineligible crops.
Grass strips, buffer strips or margins located in parcels of arable or permanent crops	Eligible as long as they meet the cross compliance rules.
Hard standing	Not eligible
Heap – compost, muck	Eligible if it’s stored in the field on which it is to be used, the amount stored is appropriate for that field (larger amounts are ineligible) and it will be used as part of the normal cultivation cycle. Not eligible if it’s in the same place for more than 3 years.
Heap – straw, hay, silage	Eligible if it’s stored in the field from which it was harvested or, on which it is to be used, and the amount stored is proportionate to what can actually be used on the field the heap is located in (larger amounts are ineligible). Not eligible if it’s in the same place for more than 3 years.
Heather	Eligible (as ‘permanent grassland’) if it’s managed so that it’s in a state suitable for grazing.
Hedges	Eligible if protected under cross compliance.
Machinery (on grass or bare soil)	Not eligible if it has been stored in the same place for a year or longer.
Peat production	Land used for producing peat is not eligible.
Pond	Not eligible
Railway	Not eligible
Recreational parks	Not eligible, unless used primarily for an agricultural activity.
Residential gardens	Not eligible
Salt marshes and reed beds	Eligible (as ‘permanent grassland’) only if it’s managed so that grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant, and it’s suitable for grazing.
Scree, rock outcrops or boulders	Not eligible
Scrub – including gorse bushes and briar	Eligible (as ‘permanent grassland) only if it’s managed so that grasses and other herbaceous forage remain predominant, and it’s suitable for grazing. ‘Dense scrub’ is not eligible.
Solar panels	Land parcels which contain solar panels are ineligible. If the panels are concentrated in one end of a field, the rest of the land can be eligible if the 2 areas are registered as individual land parcels and separated by a permanent boundary.
Stone banks	Eligible if protected under cross compliance.
Stone walls	Eligible if protected under cross compliance.
‘Table top’ strawberries	As long as the land is eligible (for example not concrete or hard standing), the cropped area, including normal headlands, is eligible.
Tracks, paths and roads	Grass tracks are always eligible if they are used as part of the agricultural activity carried out in the land parcel. Natural surfaced tracks for example bare soil, are eligible when used as part of the agricultural activity carried out on the land parcel and are not part of a transport network. A track forms part of a transport network when it’s providing direct access from public roads to houses, farmyards or buildings, or directly linking houses, yards and buildings in different parts of the holding.
Trees	Trees are eligible if they are scattered individual trees or lines of trees (maximum 2 trees wide) within an agricultural parcel. Groups of trees on an agricultural parcel, whether next to a boundary or not, are eligible if the area underneath the canopy is used entirely for agricultural activity (such as cultivation or grazing livestock) or more than 50% of the area underneath the tree canopy is covered by grasses, other herbaceous forage or arable land. All other groups of trees are not eligible for agroforestry under BPS. Areas of land set-aside for woodland creation under agri-environment schemes or a national woodland scheme may be eligible if specific conditions are met. Schemes include the National Forest, Changing Landscape Scheme, Woodland Carbon Fund and any Nature4Climate Fund woodland creation scheme (such as England Woodland Creation Offer).
Turf production	Eligible unless it is used for fuel production.
Walkway – grass strip between fenced paddock	Eligible if it’s 0.1ha or more in size and it’s grazeable and predominantly used for agriculture.
Watercourses – ditch, drain, dyke, river or stream	Eligible if it forms part of a field boundary and if it’s up to 4m wide for the majority of its length. If it’s not part of a field boundary, it’s eligible if the overall area of ineligible features in the field does not exceed 0.01ha.

Common land and shared grazing

You can claim BPS for your use of a common or area of shared grazing, based on the rights that you hold.

What you need, to be able to claim

To claim BPS for your grazing rights on a common or area of shared grazing, you need to:

• have the correct rights
• be using the common land

The common or area of shared grazing used to support your application needs to be:

• eligible land
• at your disposal on 15 May 2023 – you need to be able to exercise your rights by turning out animals on the common on this date

You need to also meet the cross compliance rules. If a cross compliance rule is broken on the common, you may have your BPS payments reduced for your whole holding.

After BPS 2023, you will not need grazing rights or use of a common in future years for delinked payments. You will need to comply with the relevant common’s rules and regulations.

What ‘using’ a common or area of shared grazing means

You are ‘using’ a common if you either:

• exercise your grazing rights by turning out stock on it, including grazing for conservation purposes
• participate in a relevant ES or CS agreement on it
• contribute to managing the common

Contributing to managing the common with appropriate consents and rights includes keeping some of it in a state suitable for grazing or cultivation by either:

• clearing scrub that cannot be grazed
• some other beneficial activity, for example treating bracken, maintaining internal walls, hedges or fences, or managed swaling (burning)

How the eligible area of a common or area of shared grazing is allocated

We will allocate the entire eligible area of the common among those farmers who are using the common and have declared their rights on it.

We can only allocate the eligible area of a common after all BPS applications have been submitted, because we need to know:

• the total number of rights of common being used and declared on the common in that year
• how many rights each individual farmer declares (as a percentage of the total used rights)

We use that percentage to calculate each farmer’s ‘notional area’ – the amount of eligible land in hectares that the farmer can claim for the common. Table 10 shows the resulting area allocation if a common had an eligible area of 200ha with farmer A declaring 200 Livestock Units (LUs) of rights on it, Farmer B 120 LUs and Farmer C 80 LUs.

Table 10

	Rights declared (LU)	Total declared rights on common (%)	Area allocated (Ha)
Farmer A	200	50	100
Farmer B	120	30	60
Farmer C	80	20	40

What rights you need to declare

If you are using a common for grazing, you need to declare all of your rights in your application, even if you choose not to claim payment for them.

If you are using a common by participating in a relevant ES or CS agreement on it, or otherwise contributing to its appropriate management, you can choose whether to declare your rights on the common. If you do so, you need to declare all your rights.

If you are not using the common, you do not need to declare your rights.

What rights to claim on

You may have a right to graze land in common with other farmers. This land may be registered as common land, or it may be other shared grazing, such as stinted or regulated pastures.

‘Shared grazing’ does not mean land owned or occupied by 2 or more farmers as ‘tenants in common’.

You can claim BPS on a common if your right is:

• a right to graze which is registered under the Commons Registration Act 1965 or Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 (ask the relevant local authority to see the registers)
• a right to graze shared grazing (these rights are often set out in an ‘inclosure award’)
• a right to any surplus grazing on common land because you are the owner of the common, or the owner has granted that right to you
• a long-standing tenant’s right to graze common land (sometimes known as a ‘quasi right’), where there is no notional surplus, but the commoners’ association and owner for that common land has previously recognised the existence of your right

You cannot claim against a right of common which is not a right to graze animals (for example, a right to collect firewood or dig for peat).

Evidence you need to keep for common land

You need to have evidence of your right and use of grazing on common land or shared grazing. We may ask to see this evidence.

You may need to identify the right in the register of common land held by the relevant local authority.

Most rights of common are registered as being attached to land. If you are not the owner or occupier of that land, you may have to prove that you are entitled to the right (for example, because you are lessees of a right).

We cannot recognise a lease of a right of common attached to land where for the duration of the lease the right is held by one person, but the land is held by someone else, unless the lease either:

• lasts for 2 years or less
• was made before 28 June 2005

How to describe rights

If you have a right of grazing for more than one type of animal on a common or shared grazing, for example for 10 cattle and 30 ponies, you should claim for each type of animal separately.

We convert rights into LU equivalents so they can be valued on a uniform basis. The LU equivalents of different types of rights are shown in table 11. If you used common land rights for your BPS 2022 application, this information will normally be shown on your BPS 2023 application. If you need to amend this information for your BPS 2023 application, you should enter the number of rights now being claimed against and we will do the LU conversion for them. For instance, if you declared 200 sheep rights for BPS 2022, your BPS 2023 application will be pre-printed with this information. To declare 250 sheep rights for BPS 2023, you should amend the application to show 250 sheep rights and we will convert these into LU equivalents (250 x 0.15 LU = 37.5 LU).

If you have the right of grazing for alternative types of animal, for example for 10 cattle or 30 ponies, you should claim for the animals that give you the highest number of LUs.

If your rights are in the form of gates, gaits or stints, you need to explain your equivalent value for numbers of animals as defined in the common land register or other binding document (such as the inclosure award).

For example, where one stint equals the right to graze one cow or 5 sheep, you would enter one cow, as that would give the higher LU value.

Table 11

Livestock type	LUs
Cattle	1.00
Donkeys	0.60
Ponies	0.60
Goats	0.15
Geese	0.04
Horses	1.00
Heifers or stirks	0.60
Pigs	0.30
Sheep	0.15
Poultry (over 6 months)	0.02

Rules on claiming surplus grazing

Owners of common land or shared grazing can claim ‘owner’s surplus’ on some commons if:

• we calculate there is a surplus
• the owner meets the BPS definition of a ‘farmer’
• the owner is using the common

How we calculate if there is a surplus on a common

To work out the number of grazing animals a common or area of shared grazing can accommodate to decide whether there is a surplus, we use:

• 0.25 livestock units per hectare of eligible area (LU/ha) for Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) moorland
• 0.75 LU/ha for SDA non-moorland and non-SDA grassland

We work out the LU equivalent of all the rights registered on a common or area of shared grazing and, if this is less than the total number of LU that can be accommodated, the owner can apply for the difference as a surplus. We will work this out every year to take account of any change in the total registered rights or the eligible area of commons or areas of shared grazing.

Some common land has registered rights for so many animals that we will calculate there is no surplus grazing available to the owner. If there is a surplus, we will convert it into a ‘notional’ land area for the owner to apply for BPS on. You can apply for an owner’s surplus if the owner has granted that right to you, for instance as a tenant. You cannot apply for an owner’s surplus on any common land or shared grazing if the owner has no right to graze the land (for example, if the owner has granted away all the grazing rights, or if an inclosure award made no provision for grazing by the owner).

Shared or split rights

Some rights can be used on more than one common. Where this is the case, we will allocate the rights between the commons in proportion to your relative eligible areas. For example, if you have 100 LU of rights that can be used on Common A (150ha) and Common B (50 ha) = 200ha:

• (150/200 x 100 LU) = 75 LU would be allocated to Common A
• (50/200 x 100 LU) = 25 LU to Common B

How to claim on common land in the New Forest

As a result of the public consultation in 2021 we created a reference amount for every commoner who claimed BPS in the New Forest between 2015 and 2020. The reference amount was based on the highest number of marking fees that each commoner declared in the reference years 2015 to 2020 (the ‘best year’). This now provides a representation of commoners’ grazing rights that we use for the annual allocation calculation for BPS, removing any link to current grazing activity.

New Forest commoners no longer need to provide copies of Marking Fee receipts to support their BPS claims. When completing your 2023 BPS application, use your reference amount which we sent to you in 2021. If you do not have a copy of the letter containing your reference amount, you should use your application to declare an interest in the common rights you have in the New Forest and under the ‘Number of rights of this type’ heading, enter ‘9999’.

What to do if you are claiming BPS on the New Forest for the first time in 2023

New farmers in the New Forest who started commoning in 2022 and will claim BPS on the New Forest for the first time in 2023, will be allocated a reference amount based on their marking fees paid for 2022. However, this allocation is subject to a maximum threshold of 20 LUs and you will not be allocated more than this. If you claim BPS on the New Forest for the first time in 2023, you should use your BPS application to declare an interest in the common rights you have in the New Forest and under the ‘Number of rights of this type’, enter ‘9999’.

You also need to send us copies of the marking fee receipts with your application form. We need to receive these by 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 (the BPS deadline for supporting evidence). The receipts need to show the marking fees were paid for animals grazed in the New Forest in 2022 and be signed by an agister on behalf of the verderers. You may have paid some fees in 2021 in advance for animals to be turned out in 2022. We cannot accept these – you can only use receipts from 2022 for grazing in 2022. Each marking fee receipt can be used to support only one application. The receipts may be checked against records held by the verderers.

You may be asked to demonstrate you were new to commoning in the New Forest in 2022.

Entitlements

Entitlements are what you use to get paid for BPS. To use entitlements to get paid, you need to have and declare at least 5 entitlements and at least 5ha of eligible land to use with them on your BPS application unless you qualify for the cross border exemption. See the ‘Cross border farms’ section for more details.

For each land parcel you want to apply for BPS on, the minimum number of entitlements you can use for the land parcel is 0.10.

If you are a young or new farmer, you can apply for an allocation of new entitlements by filling in and returning a ‘Basic Payment Scheme (2023) Young and new farmer form’ (see ‘Applying for entitlements’ in the ‘Young and new farmers’ section for more information). You can choose to give up your entitlements by filling in a RLE1 form.

Entitlements will end with the BPS scheme. You will need to hold entitlements on 15 May 2023 if you want to use them to claim BPS in 2023, but entitlements will not be needed after this date. This means entitlement transfers will not be possible after 15 May 2023. The ‘effective date of transfer’, or where applicable, the date the lease agreement starts, can be no later than 15 May 2023.

Entitlements will not be needed for delinked payments.

Payment ‘regions’

Entitlements and land in England are divided into 3 payment regions:

• non-Severely Disadvantaged Area (non-SDA)
• Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA)
• SDA moorland

An entitlement can only be used with land in the same payment region. ‘English’ entitlements cannot be used with land outside of England.

Entitlement values

Entitlements have different values depending on which payment region they are in. SDA moorland entitlements are worth less than SDA and non-SDA entitlements (which will have similar values).

Entitlement values do not include the Young Farmer Payment, which is worked out separately. You can find out your entitlements information in the Rural Payments service, as we no longer issue entitlements statements.

BPS 2023 is due to be the last year of the BPS scheme. Entitlements will not be needed after the BPS application deadline on 15 May 2023.

Transferring entitlements

You should make sure we receive your transfer request by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 at the latest. As this is the final scheme year of BPS no entitlement transfers will be possible after this date.

Entitlements can be transferred:

• by sale or gift
• by lease or sublease
• through inheritance
• as part of a merger or scission

Entitlements can be transferred online using the Rural Payments service or by using an RLE1 form. Transfers through inheritance or sublease can only be done using an RLE1 form.

We will let you know once the transfer is complete. Both paper and electronic transfers will be confirmed by an online notification in the Rural Payments service.

Leased entitlements automatically return to the lessor at the end of the lease, or if the lease extends beyond BPS 2023, will no longer be effective after 31 December 2023. We no longer contact both parties after the lease end date has passed, to tell you that the entitlements have transferred back. If you are the lessor and want to end the lease early or extend the term, you need to tell us by letter or email before the change takes effect. Only the lessor can extend the lease, although both lessor and lessee may give notice by letter or email to end the lease early.

When to transfer entitlements

Only the person who holds the entitlements at 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 can use them to get paid in that scheme year. This means all entitlement transfers for the BPS 2023 scheme year also need to be made by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023.

You should make sure we receive your transfer request by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 at the latest – no transfers will be possible after this date.

Invalid transfers

If you receive entitlements you should not have had, the transfer is invalid and you will lose those entitlements. In these cases, the transferred entitlements (whether they were leased or sold) will not be returned to the transferor.

If you have already transferred them again (to a third business), that business may lose some or all of the entitlements which came from the invalid transfer.

Delinked payments and entitlements

When payments are delinked, you will not need any land or entitlements to receive the payments

Read more about Delinked payments: replacing the Basic Payment Scheme. We’ll update this guidance and send more information to you later in the year.

Hemp

It is against the law to grow hemp without a licence from the Home Office. You can apply for a hemp licence on GOV.UK.

There is a list of eligible varieties of hemp in the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species.

If you are a hemp grower and apply for BPS, you need to declare the land parcels you are growing hemp on. You need to write your SBI on the official seed labels and send them to us so we can confirm the varieties of hemp grown. We need to receive them by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 (or by 30 June 2023 with a supporting letter explaining why you were not able to sow hemp by 15 May 2023). We will return these labels.

Please contact us for advice if the hemp will be sown after 30 June 2023. A test will be done on a sample of all the hemp grown. This is done to make sure that the

tetrahydrocannabinol content is below the level set by legislation. Inspectors from the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) carry out these tests.

Hemp growers will receive a letter by 9 July 2023 confirming whether they have been selected for hemp testing. If you are selected, you need to not harvest your hemp until the inspection is completed.

Young and new farmers

Applying for entitlements

To apply for new entitlements in 2023, you (or your agent, if you have one) need to fill in and sign the ‘Basic Payment Scheme (2023) Young and new farmer form’. You need to arrange for a registered accountant or solicitor to complete the certificate at the end of the form to confirm your status as a young or new farmer (there is a list of acceptable qualifications on the form).

You need to return the completed form and certificate to us by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023. Applications received after 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 but by 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 will be considered as ‘late applications’ and will receive a penalty.

Only land acquired by 11:59pm on 17 May 2021 (the 2021 BPS application deadline) will be taken into account when we calculate the number of new entitlements for 2023.

You need to:

• meet the definition of a farmer (see ‘The BPS definition of ‘a farmer’ in the ‘Who can claim BPS’ section)
• have at least 5ha of eligible land (except for those who qualify for the cross-border exemption)
• say whether you are applying as a ‘young’ farmer or a ‘new’ farmer
• provide evidence to prove your ‘young’ or ‘new’ farmer status
• provide evidence to prove your land was acquired by 11:59pm on 17 May 2021

If you receive an allocation of new entitlements, this is a one-time only allocation for use for BPS 2023 only. These new entitlements are funded from the ‘national reserve’.

Entitlements for young or new farmers

You can receive a maximum of one entitlement for each hectare of eligible land you declare on your BPS application, minus the number of entitlements you already hold. To be eligible the land has to have been acquired by the deadline of 11:59pm on the 17 May 2021.

These entitlements work the same way as all other entitlements – see the ‘Entitlements’ section for more information about how to use them.

A ‘young’ or ‘new’ farmer application for entitlements may be rejected if you have sold any entitlements in the last year, because this might be considered ‘artificial’ (see ‘Artificiality’ in the ‘Payments, reductions and penalties’ section for more information).

Young farmers

To apply as a young farmer, you need to show:

• you are at least 18 years old, but not more than 40 years old, in the scheme year you make (or made) your first successful BPS application
• you set up or took control of an agricultural business for the first time in 2018 or later if your first successful BPS application will be submitted in 2023
• you are in control of the agricultural business you are applying for new entitlements for – this can be as a sole trader
• the land you are applying for new entitlements for was acquired by 11:59pm on 17 May 2021

New farmers

To apply as a new farmer, you need to show:

• you are at least 18 years old when you make your application for new entitlements
• your business started an agricultural activity in 2013 or later
• you made (or have made) your first successful BPS application no later than 2 years after the calendar year in which the business started farming – that’s 1 January 2021 or later if your first successful BPS application will be submitted in 2023
• you did not carry out (or were not in control of carrying out) an agricultural activity in the 5 years before your business started an agricultural activity
• you are in control of the farm business you are applying for new entitlements for – this can be as a sole trader
• the land you are applying for new entitlements for was acquired by 11:59pm on 17 May 2021

For example, a farm business started in 2021. To apply for new entitlements, the farmer in control of this business cannot have carried out, or been in control of carrying out, any agricultural activities between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020. The farmer in control acquired the land by 11:59pm on 17 May 2021.

They need to make their first successful BPS application by 2023.

Definition of ‘in control’ for young and new farmers

The individual ‘in control’ of a business is the person who has more than 50% of the shares and votes in the business.

Organisations which do not expose the people directing the business to financial benefit or harm resulting from the success or failure of the business cannot apply for entitlements. Examples include charities, trusts or public bodies.

A sole trader holding 100% of the business shares and votes is ‘in control’. Farmers ‘in control’ of a business are the ‘head of holding’.

How the ‘in control’ rule works for partnerships

For partnerships, you need to have more than 50% of the shares and votes in a business. Shares can mean the profit share.

If you do not meet these requirements on your own, you could still meet the young and new farmer rules if you either:

• have a formal agreement with one or more of your partners in the business to vote together, so together you have a majority of the business votes and shares
• jointly own shares with one or more of the other partners in the business, giving you overall majority control

If there is more than one young farmer in a business and together you have a majority of the shares and votes, you do not need a formal written agreement to vote together. However, you need to apply as joint heads of holding.

If more than one farmer is in control of a business, everyone in control needs to meet the new farmer criteria in order to be a ‘new farmer’. If any person in control meets the young farmer criteria, that person may apply for the young farmer payment.

For example, Farmer A has 30% of the shares and votes and is a young farmer.

Farmer B has 30% of the shares and votes and is not a young farmer.

Farmer C has 40% of the shares and votes and is not a young farmer.

As long as Farmer A has a formal written agreement with Farmer B to vote together, they have a majority of the shares and votes (60%). Farmer A can apply for

entitlements for this business as a young farmer (as long as Farmer A meets the other young farmer rules).

In another example, Farmer A has 30% of the shares and votes and is a young farmer.

Farmer B has 30% of the shares and votes and is a young farmer.

Farmer C has 40% of the shares and votes and is not a young farmer.

Farmer A and Farmer B together have a majority of the shares and votes (60%). Both of them as ‘joint heads of holding’ can apply for entitlements for this business as young farmers (as long as they meet the other rules), without the need for a formal written agreement.

The young farmer payment

As a young farmer, you can apply for an extra payment on top of your BPS payment. This is worth up to 17.5% of the average value of all the entitlements you hold, multiplied by the number of entitlements you use to claim BPS, but only the first 90 entitlements you use count.

Who can apply for the young farmer payment

You can apply for the young farmer payment for BPS 2023, provided you complete a successful young farmer payment application (and have not already received the payment for 5 years).

To apply in 2023, you need to:

• be at least 18 years old when you make (or made) your first successful BPS application, but not more than 40 years old in the year of that BPS application (you only have to meet the age criteria the first time you successfully apply for BPS)
• be in control of the farm business applying for BPS (see ‘Definition of ‘in control’ for young and new farmers’ in the ‘Young and new farmers’ section)
• have set up or taken control of an agricultural business for the first time no more than 5 years before the submission of your first successful BPS application

For example, a young farmer set up or took control of the business in 2018. They need to make their first successful BPS application no later than 2023.

In another example, a farmer’s date of birth is 6 April 1979. They make their first BPS application in 2019. At the time of that application they are 40 years old. Providing they meet the other criteria, they will be classed as a young farmer up to and including 2023.

You can apply for the young farmer payment for a maximum of 5 years, starting from the year you make your first successful young farmer payment application, provided you meet the criteria above.

After successfully applying for the young farmer payment, if you did not then apply in one or more of your 5 years (or your application was rejected, for example, because you did not provide the required evidence), you are still eligible to apply this year, provided you are still eligible.

BPS 2023 is the last year the young farmer payment is available.

For example, a young farmer set up or took control of their business in 2019 and made their first successful young farmer payment application that year. They did not receive the payment between 2020 and 2022 because they did not provide the necessary evidence with their application. They would still be eligible to apply for the young farmer payment in 2023 (the remaining year in their 5-year period) if they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.

How to apply for the young farmer payment

You need to indicate you wish to apply for the young farmer payment on your BPS application, even if you have applied before.

Applying for the young farmer payment for the first time

The first time you apply for the young farmer payment, you need to also fill in a BPS 2023 Young and new farmer form.

You also need to arrange for a registered solicitor or accountant to fill in the certificate at the end of the form. The list of recognised qualifications is part of the form. You need to then submit the form and certificate to us.

If you have previously applied for the young farmer payment

If you have been previously assessed as eligible for the young farmer payment and your business structure has not changed since you last successfully applied for the young farmer payment, you do not need to send another BPS 2023 Young and new farmer form, or an accountant or solicitor certificate. The same applies if you were assessed as eligible for the young farmer payment in an earlier scheme year, but did not apply for the young farmer payment in 2022, and there has been no change to your business structure since you last successfully applied for the young farmer payment.

If your business structure has changed, you need to send another Young and new farmer application form and accountant or solicitor certificate.

How to complete the accountant or solicitor certificate

Where one is needed, the certificate to confirm the status of a new or young farmer will need to have been completed by a registered accountant or solicitor. You can find the certificate at the back of the Young and new farmer form. The certificate needs to be a statement of factual findings and the accountant or solicitor needs to use documentation supplied by the applicant to confirm their status within the agricultural business. Examples of acceptable evidence are detailed in the certificate.

It is your responsibility to make sure that the documents you give to the accountant or solicitor are up to date and accurate. The accountant or solicitor cannot be an employee or a director of the agricultural business.

Submitting the form and certificate

The accountant or solicitor should return the completed certificate to you, along with the supporting documents you supplied to them.

You need to then submit the original form to us by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023. You can submit the certificate up to 9 June 2023. We will not accept the form or certificate after 9 June 2023.

You should keep the documents you sent to the accountant or solicitor for any future inspection by us and you may want to keep a copy of the form for your records.

We will contact you later in 2023 to tell you if your application for the young farmer payment is successful.

Farm visits

To check you are following the BPS rules, we will visit a selection of applicants every year.

How farm visits work

Either a field officer will visit a farm in person, or we will use aerial photography and satellite images. Most farm visits are unannounced, which means we will not give any advance notice.

If you are selected for a visit, you need to allow the field officer (and anyone with them) to check your land, animals, storage facilities and farm records.

If the visit finds the rules are not being followed, there may be reductions and penalties applied to your BPS payment.

The field officer will also check that you are following the cross compliance rules.

Payments, reductions and penalties

If you do not meet the scheme rules, we can reduce your payments and apply penalties.

Payments

Your total payment for BPS can be made up of:

• your main BPS payment
• a young farmer payment (if you successfully apply)

Each part of a BPS payment is calculated separately, including having reductions and penalties applied. They are then added together to form the total BPS payment, made in sterling.

Farmers with eligible applications will be paid in 2 instalments. The advance payment of around 50% of your claim value will be paid from 1 August and the balance payment from 1 December. Soon after receiving each payment, you will receive a ‘remittance advice’ to confirm how much you have been paid. This will be followed by a single claim statement in December which will explain how we calculated your total payment value (including any reductions and penalties).

Bank account details

We will use the bank account details we already hold to pay you. If these change, and you want to be paid into a different account, you need to give us your updated bank account details as soon as you can. You can only do this by telephone on 03000 200 301. You need to have ‘Business details: Full or Make legal changes’ permission level in the Rural Payments service before you ask us to update your bank account details. It may not be possible to change your details close to the start of payments.

BPS entitlement values and payment rates

BPS payments are based on the value of entitlements. The value of a BPS entitlement depends on the payment region it is in. Entitlement values will be published later this year, (usually in the autumn).

Average entitlement value

To work out the value of a BPS payment, we calculate your average entitlement value. We use this figure when calculating payments and applying reductions and penalties.

To work out your average entitlement value, we multiply the number of entitlements you have correctly used to apply for payment in a region by the entitlement value for that region. If you have entitlements in more than one region, we do this calculation for each region then add the totals together. It then divides this figure by the number of entitlements (across all regions) you have correctly used to apply for payment.

For example, a farmer has 50 non-SDA entitlements but has only claimed payment correctly for 45. They also have 20 SDA moorland entitlements which they have claimed payment for correctly.

Non-SDA: 45 x £233.30 = £10,498.50.

SDA moorland: 20 x £64.00 = £1280.00 Total = £11,778.50.

Based on 2022 entitlement values, the farmer’s average entitlement value to 4 decimal places is: £11,778.50 / 65 = £181.2077.

This is then rounded to 2 decimal places, which gives £181.21.

If you have entitlements in only one region, your average entitlement value will be the same as the entitlement value for that region.

How we calculate BPS payments

The main BPS payment and the young farmer payment (if applicable) are calculated separately (including any reductions or penalties applied) and then added together to form the total payment for BPS.

Main BPS payment

To work out the value of your main BPS payment, we multiply the number of entitlements you used correctly to apply for payment by your average entitlement value.

For example, a farmer has 50 non-SDA entitlements but has only claimed payment correctly for 45.

They also have 20 SDA moorland entitlements which they have claimed payment for correctly.

The farmer’s average entitlement value, based on 2022 entitlement values, is £181.21.

To calculate the value of the main BPS payment, RPA then multiply the average entitlement value by the number of entitlements they have correctly used to claim payment: £181.21 x 65 = £11,778.65/

The main BPS payment is £11,778.65 (before penalties or reductions are applied).

Progressive reductions to BPS payments

We are phasing out Direct Payments in England. Progressive reductions to payments began with BPS 2021 and will continue until 2027.

Progressive reductions will be applied to your BPS payment (including any young farmer payment) after all other reductions and penalties have been applied.

The progressive reductions work in payment bands, on a sliding scale. This means there will be higher reductions applied to amounts in higher payment bands. We are taking this approach as we think it is the fairest and the best way to help you manage the transition in a sustainable way for your business.

For the 2023 scheme year, we will reduce your BPS payment (including any young farmer payment) by the percentages in table 12.

Table 12

Portion of the payment	Reduction percentage to be applied in claim year 2023 (%)
£30,000 or less	35
Amounts above £30,000 and no more than £50,000	40
Amounts above £50,000 and no more than £150,000	50
Amounts above £150,000	55

For example, for a BPS 2023 claim worth £40,000, a 35% reduction would be applied to the first £30,000 (a reduction of £10,500) and a 40% reduction would be applied to the next £10,000 (a reduction of £4,000). The revised payment would be reduced by £14,500 to £25,500.

Use our online calculator to see how progressive reductions could affect your payment in 2023 (and 2024).

Young farmer payment

To work out the value of the young farmer payment, we multiply the number of entitlements you have activated by a figure corresponding to 17.5% of the average owned or leased in payment entitlements. It is only paid on up to a maximum of 90 entitlements.

For example. a young farmer has 100 non-SDA entitlements but has only claimed payment correctly for 80. They also have 20 SDA entitlements which they have claimed payment for correctly.

First, we work out the total value of the entitlements the farmers has correctly used. Non-SDA: 80 x £233.30 = £18,664.00.

SDA: 20 x £231.60 = £4,632.00.

Total = £23,296.00.

Then we divide it by the number of entitlements used: £23,296.00 / 100 = £232.96.

This gives the farmer’s ‘average entitlement value’. RPA then calculate what 17.5% of this is (shown to two decimal places): £232.96 x 0.175 = £40.77 (this is the farmer’s young farmer payment rate). The young farmer payment only applies to a maximum of 90 entitlements.

Therefore, although this farmer has correctly used 100 entitlements in total to claim for payment, the top-up will only apply to 90: £40.77 x 90 = £3,669.30.

Therefore, the value of the young farmer payment in this example, based on 2022 entitlement values, is £3,669.30 (unless reductions or penalties are applied).

Reductions and penalties

We can only pay you for the eligible land you correctly declare and are using properly to follow the scheme rules.

If there is something wrong with your application or if you did not meet all of the scheme rules, we may have to apply penalties. There are also some reductions which we have to apply according to the legislation.

Your claim statement will show any reductions or penalties applied to any parts of your BPS payment. It will also show any cross compliance penalties.

Reductions and penalties are applied to each part of a BPS payment in the following order:

• penalties for applying for payment on more eligible land than you have
• penalties for late applications
• penalties for not declaring all of the agricultural land parcels on the holding
• reductions to the size of the young farmer payment (but only if the number of applications exceeds the budget for 2023)
• penalties for not meeting the cross compliance rules
• a progressive reduction applied to the net value of the payment

In cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances, we may not reduce a claim or apply penalties.

For example, a farmer has eligible land made up of 20ha in the non-SDA area, 16ha in the SDA area and 30ha in the SDA moorland area.

They have 20 non-SDA entitlements, 15 SDA entitlements and 32 SDA moorland entitlements

Their payments will be based on the lower of their entitlements or eligible land. They have no penalties and no young farmer payment.

Based on 2022 entitlement values their payments will be:

• 20 x £233.30 = £4,666.00 (non-SDA)
• 15 x £231.60 = £3,474.00 (SDA)
• 30 x £64.00 = £1,920.00 (SDA moorland)

Their total payment is £10,060.00.

Small payments

Payments of very small amounts can attract bank charges for you as well as incur administrative costs to us. To limit these costs, we may retain very small BPS payments due to you until they reach a certain level and then pay you.

Overpayments

If we need to recover overpayments from you, we may add interest to the amount recovered. This will be the Bank of England base rate plus 1%.

When penalties are applied

Penalties are applied if:

• an application is late (see ‘Late applications’)
• the application does not contain all the agricultural land on your holding
• the area of eligible land you apply for payment on is significantly larger than the area you actually have
• you provide false evidence in an attempt to qualify for the young farmer payment
• you do not follow the cross compliance rules

Late applications

The deadline for BPS applications without penalty is 11:59pm on 15 May 2023. This includes:

• applications for the young farmer payment
• applications for BPS entitlements (made by new and young farmers)

You can make a late application until 11:59pm on 9 June 2023, but you will get a penalty. For each working day the application is late, the penalty will be 1%.

New and young farmers applying for entitlements will also receive a 3% penalty for each working day their application is late. This penalty will only apply to the 2023 payment related to new entitlements.

Applications for the young farmer payment will get a 1% penalty for each working day they are late. This will only apply to the value of the young farmer payment, not the main BPS payment.

You cannot make applications after 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 (apart from in cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances). You also cannot submit paperwork in support of your application after 9 June 2023 (apart from hemp seed labels, which can be submitted until 30 June 2023).

Changing an application after it has been submitted

Applications submitted by 11:59pm on 15 May 2023 can be changed until 11:59pm on 9 June 2023 without getting a penalty. See ‘Changing a BPS application’ in the ‘Apply for BPS 2023’ section for more information.

Applications cannot be changed after 9 June 2023, apart from:

• in cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances
• where an applicant withdraws all or part of an application

We may not apply penalties in cases of force majeure and exceptional circumstances, and ‘obvious’ and ‘notified errors’.

Not declaring all the agricultural land parcels on a holding

If you do not declare all of your agricultural land parcels, the size of the penalty depends on how big the difference is between the number of hectares you declared and how many hectares are at your disposal, as shown in table 13.

Table 13

Difference between land declared and what is actually held (as a % of land declared)	Size of penalty (%)
Up to 3% of the area determined	No penalty
More than 3% and up to 20%	1
More than 20% and up to 50%	2
More than 50%	3

Over-claiming land

A claim will be reduced if you claim payment for either:

• land that is not eligible
• land that is not at your disposal

We will only pay you for the areas of land you have which meet the rules (called ‘the area determined’) and are used with entitlements held. As well as a reduction, we may have to apply a penalty. The size of the penalty depends on the size of the over-claim.

Definition of an over-claim

An over-claim is the difference between the area you applied for (BPS or the Young Farmer payment) with entitlements and the area determined. Where the difference is 0.1ha or less, we will not apply a reduction or penalty – we will pay on the area you applied for.

Over-claim penalties for BPS 2023

If the over-claim is more than 2ha or more than 3% of the area determined, but not more than 10%, we will apply a penalty of 0.75 times the size of the over-claim.

If the over-claim is more than 10% of the area determined, the penalty will be 1.5 times the size of the over-claim.

The penalty for over-claiming will not be more than 100% of the amount you applied for. If the size of the penalty is more than 100%, the excess will be written off.

If the penalty for an over-claim is more than the amount you are entitled to, we will recover the excess amount. This will be taken from any applications you make during the 3 years following the year of the over-claim. If we cannot recover the full amount in this time, the balance will be written off.

Young farmer payment penalties

If you do not meet the young farmer payment rules, or have already received the payment for 5 years, you will not receive a young farmer payment.

Cross compliance penalties

Cross compliance penalties are applied after BPS penalties – see the penalties section in the cross compliance 2023 guidance.

Force majeure and exceptional circumstances

If force majeure or exceptional circumstances mean you are unable to follow the scheme rules, we may not apply a penalty or reduction, and may also accept an application after the 9 June 2023 deadline. See ‘Force majeure and exceptional circumstances’ in the ‘Apply for BPS 2023’ section for more details.

Artificiality

If we find the conditions required for you to obtain an advantage have been artificially created, contrary to the objectives of the regulations, you will lose some or all of your payment.

Business structure

You can be involved in more than one business in England, if the businesses are separate entities – for example, limited companies or partnerships. The relationship between these businesses will determine if they are considered ‘separate’ for the purposes of applying for BPS.

You need to tell us about all agricultural businesses you are involved in. We will then decide if each business can make separate applications for BPS, or if the business should be treated as a single business for BPS purposes.

If the structure of a business changes

Restructuring a business (for example, changing from a sole trader to a partnership or from a partnership to a limited company) may affect your:

• business status
• eligibility for BPS
• access to BPS entitlements that the business owned or leased before

Contact us if you are in this situation.

Mergers and scissions

If your business has restructured, we will assess whether a merger or a scission has taken place and as a result will determine whether the resulting business or businesses are considered separate for the purposes of applying for BPS.

A merger is when 2 or more farming businesses join to create a new farming business, controlled by at least one of the farmers who managed one of the original businesses.

A scission is when one farming business is split into 2 or more businesses.

For more information, see Rural Payments service: registering and updating your details.

Legal notice and BPS regulations

Legal notice

This guidance is our interpretation of the current regulations for BPS 2023. Only the courts can give a definitive interpretation of the law.

You may want to get independent professional or legal advice before you change anything about your business. We cannot advise you or your legal representatives on business structure.

BPS regulations

This guidance is not the law. It’s designed to help you follow the BPS rules. For legal advice, contact a legal professional.

Relevant legislation governing BPS:

• Direct Payments Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013
• Financing, Management & Monitoring (IACS) Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013, insofar as it relates to direct payments
• Direct Payments Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014
• Direct Payments Implementing Regulation (EU) No 641/2014
• IACS Delegated Regulation (EU) No 640/2014, insofar as it relates to direct payments
• IACS Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014, insofar as it relates to direct payments
• Horizontal Implementing Regulation (EU) No 908/2014, insofar as it relates to direct payments

This legislation is former EU law, which has been preserved and continues to have effect as UK law. Since leaving the EU, the legislation has been amended by the following domestic regulations:

• The Rules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 SI No 91
• The Financing, Management and Monitoring of Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 SI No 90.
• The Direct Payments Penalty Simplification (England) Regulations 2020 SI No 551

• The Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020 No 576

• The Direct Payments to Farmers (England) (Amendment) Regulations No 1513
• The Direct Payments to Farmers and Cross-Compliance (Simplifications) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 No 1387
• The Direct Payments to Farmers (Reductions and Simplifications) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 No 407
• The Direct Payments to Farmers (Allocation of Payment Entitlements from the National Reserve) (England) Regulations 2022 No 200
• The Direct Payments to Farmers (Advance Payments and Activation of Payment Entitlements) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 No 706
• The Direct Payments to Farmers (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2023*

Other relevant domestic regulations are:

• The Common Agricultural Policy Basic Payment and Support Schemes (England) Regulations 2014 SI No 3259 (as amended)
• The Common Agricultural Policy (Control and Enforcement, Cross-Compliance, Scrutiny of Transactions and Appeals) Regulations 2014 SI No 3263 (as amended)

See more legislation information. If the regulations change or the interpretation of them changes, we will publish more information.

*At the time of publication these regulations were awaiting approval from Parliament.