Correspondence

Rural Payments Agency update - April 2023

Published 14 April 2023

Applies to England

Basic Payment Scheme

The 2023 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) opened in March. BPS guidance has been published on GOV.UK to help you to prepare for submitting your application. Make sure you submit your BPS application by 15 May 2023 to avoid late application penalties. BPS will end after the 2023 scheme year and will be replaced by delinked payments.

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

BPS Advance Payments

BPS payments are now made in two instalments to help farmers with their cashflow. We made advance 2022 BPS payments of around 50% of the claim value to customers during July and August 2022.

We will also make advanced payments in 2023 from August. From 1 December 2023, we will make the remaining balance of BPS payments, which will include any adjustments that are needed.

Delinked Payments

RPA plan to replace BPS with delinked payments in 2024 and to make delinked payments each year from 2024 to 2027.

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

You will not need any land or entitlements to receive delinked payments. This will simplify the payments as they are phased out by the end of 2027.

Delinked payments will be based on your average BPS payments, including any young farmer payment or greening payment, for the BPS 2020 to 2022 scheme years (before most reductions and penalties).

To be eligible for delinked payments you must apply, and be eligible for, BPS in 2023.

You can read the scheme guidance for more information about how business changes since BPS 2020 could affect your delinked payment.

Progressive reductions will be applied each year as delinked payments are gradually phased out by the end of 2027.

As we delink Direct Payments at the beginning of 2024, we will move away from cross compliance. The vast majority of our strong legal standards for the environment and animal health and welfare will continue, and we will be enforcing these in a proportionate and fair way. This means working with farmers to get it right and giving them a chance to self-correct before taking stronger action. For example, we’re increasing our use of warning letters, where appropriate, rather than immediately imposing payment reductions.

We understand that those participating in agri-environment agreements will want to know how this impacts their agreements. We will let agreement holders know in advance of next year.

Keep up to date with the latest information about delinked payments on GOV.UK.

Progressive Reductions

We will continue to apply progressive reductions to BPS payments for 2023 as part of ongoing plans to phase out Direct Payments by the end of 2027.

This will be the third year of progressive reductions, which began in the 2021 scheme year. It’s important you know the impact this will have on your 2023 BPS payment. Use the progressive reductions calculator to find out how progressive reductions could affect your BPS payments in 2023.

Lump Sum Exit Scheme

If you applied to the Lump Sum Exit Scheme, we can pay you once we receive a valid Lump Sum Exit Scheme: entitlements and evidence form. You must send your form to us by 31 May 2024.

If you have not yet completed your form or received a lump sum payment, you may want to apply for BPS 2023. This will protect you if you find that you are not eligible for the lump sum or cannot complete the transfer of your land by 31 May 2024. If you receive payment(s) for BPS 2023 and later meet the rules of the Lump Sum Exit Scheme, the value of any BPS payment(s) made will be deducted from the lump sum due. You can read about the scheme on GOV.UK.

Countryside Stewardship

Claims and payments

Here’s the latest information and important reminders about CS claims and payments.

CS revenue payments

We started to make Countryside Stewardship (CS) revenue payments from early December 2022 and will continue to do so until June 2023.

We may contact you about your CS revenue claim if we need additional evidence or information, so it’s important to make sure we have all the correct contact information for you in the Rural Payment service. If we do send you a request, please respond as soon as possible so that if a payment is due, we can pay you as quickly as possible.

Payment rate changes

Defra has reviewed and updated Countryside Stewardship (CS) revenue payment rates based on current costs.

Where the 2023 rate has increased, the higher revenue payment rate will be paid for:

• revenue agreements starting on or before 1 January 2023
• applications received in 2023
• some payment rates have not changed, so they will remain the same as the 2022 payment rate.

Read more information about CS payment rate changes.

Agreements and revenue claims

If we have sent you a CS agreement offer, you need to send us an agreement acceptance. Once we receive this, your agreement will start from the start date shown on your agreement document.

You must submit a revenue claim for each year of your agreement to get paid , including the first year of your agreement.

Make sure you submit your CS revenue claim or declaration by 15 May 2023 to avoid payment reductions. Find out more about dates for claims in our key dates 2023 guidance on GOV.UK.

Submit your claim with a single click

If no changes to the annual revenue claim are needed, CS agreement holders can make an annual declaration in the Rural Payments service.

This means you can generate and submit an automated revenue claim with a single click and without completing each section of your claim.

You can continue to:

• view your agreement before you claim
• make changes to your claim before you submit it
• download and print your completed claim form.

Avoid reductions to your payments

Every year, we receive a number of CS revenue and capital claims late or find that claims have not been submitted at all. Remember to submit your CS claims on time to avoid reductions to your payments.

Applications

We have made some improvements to Countryside Stewardship for 2023. These include:

• CS Capital Grants agreements last for 3 years instead of 2 years
• the payment rates for CS Capital Grants to fund one-off capital items have increased by an average of 48% from 1 January 2023
• we have introduced a simple annual declaration process to submit revenue claims where no changes are necessary (see the ‘Submit your claim with a single click’ section)
• we intend to apply more proportionate payment reductions where revenue and capital claims are received late, so they’re scaled according to how late the claim is
• it is now easier to find management options and capital items which can improve biodiversity by filtering to ‘Biodiversity’ under Land Use on the grant finder.

Your land must be correct on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service before you start your CS application. If you need to make any land updates, changes or corrections, you it is important to submit an RLE1 form straight away.

Higher Tier

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier is currently open for applications until 28 April. You can read the guidance on GOV.UK for more information.

Mid Tier

Applications for Mid Tier are now open and close on 18 August 2023.

If you have an agreement that expires in December 2023, it’s important that you reapply in 2023 for a new Mid Tier agreement which will start in January 2024.

More applicants were able to save time on their CS Mid Tier application last year by submitting it online. We’ve improved the online application process for Mid Tier this year, so it’s easy to apply. We will continue to make improvements based on feedback from farmers, land managers and agents using the online service.

Other improvements to Mid Tier include:

• some options previously available only in Higher Tier are now available in Mid Tier to support natural flood management. This includes management options, SW15 and SW16 and capital items WN2, RP31, RP32 and RP33. In addition, WD8 is now available in Mid Tier with Natural England advice and SW13 is available to support biodiversity.
• land in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or Scheduled Monument is now eligible for capital items, if the land is also managed in a CS Mid Tier agreement and the proposed activity has consent from Natural England
• the fencing specifications for FG1, FG2 and FG3 have been updated. Changes will apply to agreements applied for after 5 January 2023.
• for 2023 there is no limit on the value of capital items that can be included in a Mid Tier agreement in either water or air quality, hedgerow and boundary or natural flood management priorities. Instead, applications will be assessed for value for money.

CS Capital Grants

For 2023 there is no limit on the value of capital items that can be included in a Mid Tier agreement in either water or air quality, hedgerow and boundary or natural flood management priorities. Applications will be subject to a value for money assessment.

A new Natural Flood Management group has been added to the Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants offer with 3 capital items available in this group - RP31, RP32 and RP33.

A new offer - Higher Tier Capital Grants - has been introduced, offering 3-year agreements for capital items which deliver additional environmental benefits without the need for a CS Higher Tier agreement.

Woodland schemes

England Woodland Creation Offer

• Standard Cost Item rates have been updated, a full list of the previous and revised rates is available to view in the Forestry Commission’s Operations Note
• the payment cap for Standard Cost Items has been increased for EWCO by 20%, going from £8,500 per hectare to £10,200 per hectare
• maintenance payments have increased from £300 per hectare per year, to £350 per hectare per year

For more information on how the EWCO rate changes affects applications in progress, new applicants, or agreement holders, please see the operations note above.

Tree Health Pilot

The Tree Health Pilot has been updated. Using learning and extensive user feedback gained over the last year, changes have been made to improve the support offered to farmers and land managers dealing with tree pest and disease issues. These changes include:

• standard capital cost items for Restocking in Woodland, Restocking Capital Items have increased. Maintenance Rates have increased to £350 per hectare per year and Lead Facilitator Rates have increased to £25 per hour. This is in line with new rate changes for Countryside Stewardship and England Woodland Creation schemes. Landowners no longer need multiple quotes for felling operations during the application stage and will be able to claim for costs incurred, up to a maximum cap.
• standard costs for biosecurity items have been introduced
• for restocking in woodlands, the maintenance period has increased from 3 to 5 years.
• a new Statutory Plant Health Notice advice package, the £475 standard cost package will fund:
  • an agent consultation
  • preparation of a biosecurity management plan
  • biosecurity training
  • personal biosecurity kit and signage.

Woodland Management Plan

The payment rate for Woodland Management Plan (WMP) has increased from:

• the first 100 ha at £20 per ha (minimum payment £1,000), to £30 per ha (minimum payment £1,500) - a 50% increase
• over 100 ha at £10 per ha, to £15 per ha - a 50% increase
• A previous intervention rate of 70% to 100%

Woodland Improvement (WD2 and capital items)

If you are planning to apply for CS Woodland Improvement (WD2 and capital items) this year, you will need to submit your application before 28 April (midnight) – the Higher Tier deadline.

You should have already submitted a Woodland Management Plan by the 31 of December 2022. If you didn’t submit a Woodland Management Plan for approval by this date, then you cannot apply for the Woodland Improvement Option WD2 this year. You can however start to work on your Woodland Management Plan now, so that you will be a good position to apply for Woodland Improvement next year.

Environmental Stewardship

From 1 January 2023, all Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements adopted domestic terms and conditions. This included additional flexibility in the rules allowing for ES agreement holders to leave an agreement early.

If you wish to apply for another environmental land management scheme, you can do so without recovery, if it is of ‘equivalent or greater’ environmental value than the HLS component of your existing ES agreement.

Avoid Reductions To Your Claims

Every year, we receive a number of claims late or find that claims have not been submitted at all. Remember to submit your ES claims on time to avoid receiving a reduction to your payments.

Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Stewardship (HLS Agreements) – extensions of up to 5 years

We can now offer extensions of up to 5 years for existing ES agreements that continue to deliver environmental benefits. In exceptional circumstances, we may extend agreements for fewer than 5 years.

These extensions will provide longer term certainty for agreement holders and give them more flexibility to move across to other schemes.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Defra’s announcement in January included details of the new actions we’ll introduce under 6 new Sustainable Farming Incentive standards from this summer. In addition to the SFI actions to support soil management and assess moorland which are already available, there will be new actions under the:

• nutrient management standard
• integrated pest management standard
• hedgerows standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard

If you already have an SFI standards agreement, you will be able to access these new actions, with more details on how to follow.

You can find out more about what’s currently available in SFI on GOV.UK. We’ll update that information soon.

Grants available in 2023

In February at the NFU conference, we announced that more than £168 million in grants will be available to farmers this year. The grants will drive innovation, support food production, and protect the environment.

To make it easier for you to see what’s available and plan ahead, we’ve published a blog which explains all the grants on offer in 2023.

Policy announcement – more information on Environmental Land Management schemes

Defra has published information on the growth and rollout of environmental land management schemes.

There will be an offer for all farm types, regardless of size, location, ownership, or the systems used.

You can read the Farming blog post about the announcement, or the full document is available to read on GOV.UK.

The document includes:

• the future actions Defra will pay for, including payment rates for the ones being introduced this year in the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship
• more information on the evolved Countryside Stewardship scheme
• information about a new round of Landscape Recovery, opening this year

Privacy Policy

We have made some updates to our Privacy Policy and Personal Information Charter.

The updates reflect the new English arrangements for agricultural support, which have replaced the former European Union (EU) ones. In the documents, we have removed terms related to the EU, and added references to the English Agriculture Act 2020.

Requesting a new County Parish Holding (CPH) number

Farmers who are not registered with us need a County Parish Holding (CPH) number for keeping livestock and helping to trace livestock to prevent and control disease.

If you need to register with use and get a CPH number, you can use the new apply for a county parish holding number (CPH) form instead of calling our helpline.

Site visits

Field officers carry out visits on farm for the purposes of checking that the public funds paid out through schemes are being used as effectively as possible. Field Officers also to check on compliance with regulations. Where field officers find issues, particularly rectifiable breaches, then the field officer will provide advice, guidance and signposting to help farmers and land managers comply with the scheme rules and achieve outcomes. Field officers will check for errors and fraud as appropriate. Financial penalties have been removed, and reductions in payments are now made as necessary.

A visit record checklist gives farmers and land managers a summary of the visit for cross compliance and CS visits, including any advice and guidance given. They will also receive a summary if the visit is satisfactory, which includes details of what is going well on the agreement.

Free business advice: next phase of support now available

Any farmer who receives BPS payments in England is eligible for free confidential business advice from the Farming Resilience Fund during the early years of the agricultural transition.

The advice is provided by organisations in the farming community. They will work with you to help understand how the changes to farming, including the loss of BPS, will affect your business and help you to plan for the future.

You can access this free business advice until March 2025.

If you would like to find out more or sign-up for the free advice, please visit the ‘Get free business advice for your farm’ page on GOV.UK. You can find the organisations giving free advice in your area. You can also call the Defra Helpdesk on 03459 33 55 77 and get help accessing the information on GOV.UK and choosing an adviser.

You can find further details on the Farming Blog about the Farming Resilience Fund, including several farmers talking about the advice they received.

GOV.UK Verify

GOV.UK Verify will no longer be a sign-in option for the Rural Payments service.

We are moving farmers and land managers from GOV.UK Verify to RPA Identity, which uses your existing CRN and password for access. This means farmers and land managers already using GOV.UK Verify can still access the Rural Payments service. We will contact anyone affected by this change by email or letter explaining what they need to do.

Farming Advice Service

The Farming Advice Service (FAS) is run by Defra to help farmers understand and meet the requirements of Cross Compliance, BPS and the EU policies on water protection and sustainable pesticide use.

The FAS helpline offers technical and business advice to farmers, including on:

• cross compliance
• water use and quality
• pesticide use, including Integrated Pest Management planning.

You can contact FAS by:

• email: advice@farmingadviceservice.org.uk
• telephone: 03000 200 301 Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm

You can read more information about FAS on its website farmingadviceservice.org.uk and view their newsletters.

Help us to help you

Updating your personal details

Getting information out to farmers, land managers and agents is critical throughout the year. RPA uses the information held in the Rural Payments service to send out prompts, reminders, and other helpful material.

Please check all the following are correct for you and your business:

• your postal address
• your email address
• your home phone and mobile number.

Permissions are also important as they allow a person to act for your business, including submitting claims and applications. You need to make sure that you have checked the following:

• Business permissions - these allow a person to act on behalf of your business
• Scheme permissions- these are split into the relevant schemes such as the Basic Payment Scheme or Countryside Stewardship. You can set permissions to allow certain people to do certain things on your behalf.

There aren’t any specific Environmental Stewardship scheme permissions in the Rural Payments service. Instead, we use the ‘business level permissions’ to determine if someone has been permitted to talk to us on your behalf about Environmental Stewardship.

Sending emails to RPA

If you are emailing us, your email must come from an email address that is registered in the Rural Payments service from someone with the right permissions for making requests or submitting documents.

If we have sent you an email requesting information, it’s best to reply directly to that email rather than starting a new one so that your reply is automatically matched with our request. If you are sending a new email, please use clear subject lines and include your details so we can action your query efficiently. You can read a full guide on how to check and update your personal details and permissions on the RPA blog.

Sending documents to RPA

If you are emailing a document to us, it’s important to check the file size doesn’t exceed 32MB, as this is the maximum size we can accept.

If you are sending us several documents, check the size of the file to make sure it will send correctly. You can upload files as zip folders, which compress files into smaller sizes, so you can send more files on one email without going over the size limit.

When sending attachments, please also put a clear subject line and your details, such as your name and SBI number, in the body of the emails so we can process your documents much more quickly.

SBI numbers in emails

If you are sending us a query for multiple SBI numbers, please send them in individual emails rather than in the same email to avoid delays in replying to you.

If you are sending evidence, such as a bank statement, please make sure that you redact (obscure) your bank details from the document before you send it to us. For security reasons, we cannot accept any documents with bank details on them.

You can read the guidance on submitting documents to us on GOV.UK to check how to send documents to us.

Sending queries to RPA

If you need to send a query to the RPA, you can now use our online query form in the Rural Payments service to get in touch with us. To access the query form, sign into the Rural Payments service and on the ‘Your businesses and messages’ screen there is an option to ‘create or view a query’.

Queries sent to us using this form can be sent directly to the right team, allowing us to answer you as quickly as possible. If you’d like to find out how to use the online query form, you can watch this video:

How to send an online enquiry using the Rural Payments Service

Rural Payments Agency blog

The RPA blog is where you can stay up to date with the latest news including:

• updates and information about schemes
• links to The RPA Podcast
• opportunities to ‘meet’ our people through our ‘Introducing You To…’ blog series

You can subscribe to the RPA blog and receive email updates when a new blog is posted.

The RPA Podcast

The RPA Podcast helps farmers, land managers and rural communities keep up to date on developments at RPA, offer support and guidance, and navigate agricultural transition. Please look out for updates via the RPA blog and our social media channels.

You can listen to the latest episodes of the RPA Podcast on Apple and Spotify, or through Buzzsprout. If you would like us to cover a particular topic with our subject experts, please do get in touch. You can e-mail us at External.Affairs@rpa.gov.uk

Contact us

Email us

ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Call us

03000 200 301 Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays

Write to us

CS customers:

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF

BPS customers:

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG

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• Follow us on Twitter @ruralpay
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• Sign up for our blog at ruralpayments.blog.gov.uk
• Sign up for the Farming blog at defrafarming.blog.gov.uk