How agri-environment agreements affect Basic Payment Scheme applications
Find out how you’ll be eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme if you are a Countryside Stewardship or Environmental Stewardship applicant or agreement holder.
This guidance covers some of the queries that you, as an applicant or agreement holder, may have about the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in relation to agri-environment scheme agreements (Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES)).
It covers BPS land eligibility queries about certain management options within mixed and non-woodland agri-environment agreements.
For guidance on BPS and woodland grant scheme agreements, read Guidance on woodland grant schemes and BPS: operations note 42. Also read the Basic Payment Scheme rules relevant to the year of your application.
BPS eligibility for land in agri-environment agreements
If you apply for BPS, you must declare on your BPS application:
- all of the agricultural land on your holding
- any non-agricultural land you use for a Rural Development Scheme agreement, such as CS, or certain nationally funded woodland creation schemes
Your land is eligible for BPS if it is:
- ‘agricultural’ land (arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops)
- used primarily for an ‘agricultural activity’ for the whole of the relevant calendar year
- at your disposal on the relevant BPS application submission deadline, usually 15 May
Land managed in an agri-environment scheme that continues to meet the BPS definition of agricultural land remains eligible, as long as it:
- meets the relevant BPS eligibility requirements
- is declared on the BPS application under an appropriate agricultural land-use code
Non-agricultural land is not usually eligible for BPS. However, land that has (or will) become non-agricultural, and is managed under certain agri-environment scheme agreement options, can still be eligible for BPS if it was used to claim the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2008.
BPS eligibility for non-agricultural land in agri-environment agreements
Where the agri-environment management option requires that the land is taken out of agricultural use, this normally means it is not eligible for BPS. This is because it is no longer ‘agricultural’ land that is being used for an ‘agricultural activity’. However, this non-agricultural land may remain eligible for BPS payments if:
- it was used with entitlements to claim under SPS in 2008
- it’s managed under one of the agri-environment scheme options in Table 1 in this guide
You should declare this non-agricultural land on your BPS application under the land use code ‘RD01’. It only remains eligible for BPS for as long as it continues to be in one of the agri-environment options listed in Table 1.
If the management required under the agri-environment options listed in Table 1 means the land is not taken out of agricultural use, it should still be ‘agricultural’ land used for an ‘agricultural activity’. You should declare it on your BPS application under an appropriate agricultural land use code, and not under ‘RD01’.
Non-agricultural land that does not meet this criteria is not eligible for BPS. You should declare it on your BPS application under an appropriate non-agricultural land-use code.
Land that has (or will) become non-agricultural because of the agri-environment management requirements will normally be considered as non-agricultural land from the start of the agri-environment agreement. This applies even where you can continue to graze or crop the land until the land use changes from agricultural to non-agricultural.
Carrying out an ‘agricultural activity’ does not automatically mean the land is ‘agricultural’.
Registering or amending agri-environment land in the Rural Payments service
All agricultural areas and non-agricultural areas that you manage (or intended to manage) under an agri-environment scheme agreement on a holding that are 0.01 hectares or larger must be registered with RPA and linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI). Read the RLE1 guidance for more information.
Non-agricultural land in an agri-environment agreement that is not already registered and was not used to support entitlements in 2008 is not eligible for BPS payments using the ‘RD01’ option.
Land cover and land use
Agricultural land and non-agricultural land must have an appropriate land cover.
Land cover is not the same as land use. RPA classifies land by looking firstly at the physical nature of the land – these categories are referred to as land covers.
The 4 land cover categories are:
- arable land (including temporary grassland and fallow land)
- permanent grassland
- permanent crops
- non-agricultural land – read the section ‘Non-agricultural land in the Rural Payments service’
RPA then looks at the activities the land is used for. These sub-categories are referred to as land uses.
The land use declared on your BPS application needs to reflect the land cover shown in your digital maps in the Rural Payments service.
If the land cover and land use do not correspond, reductions may be applied to the agri-environment scheme claim.
You can check the land cover of all the land parcels linked to your SBI in your digital maps in the Rural Payments service. Sign in and from ‘Business overview’ click on ‘Land’ and then ‘View land’. You can read further information on changing land cover in the RLE1 guidance.
Non-agricultural land in the Rural Payments service
The land cover for non-agricultural land that is managed (or intended to be managed) under an agri-environment scheme needs to show correctly in the Rural Payments service. This includes non-agricultural land that is eligible for BPS under the ‘RD01’ land use code.
To register or update the land cover, fill in an RLE1 form and sketch map. Read the RLE1 guidance for more details, in particular ‘Part D: Add a permanent non-agricultural area or feature’ or ‘Part D: Change land cover’.
On the sketch map, write the relevant land use code to identify the appropriate type of non-agricultural land cover for the land parcel(s). For example:
- WO12 (woodland)
- WO25 (ungrazeable scrub)
- IW05 (shingle)
- IW06 (fen, marsh or swamp)
- IW07 (bog)
- MW02 (tidal area)
- MW03 (reed bed)
- MW04 (intertidal habitat)
- MW05 (saline habitat)
- CF02 (vegetated shingle)
- CF03 (sand dunes)
Do not use ‘RD01’ on the RLE1 form or sketch map. It’s only relevant to your BPS application.
For the list of permanent non-agricultural areas and features, see land-use codes for 2023.
For CS and ES agreements with a start date before 1 January 2019, the ‘Effective date of change’ (column D5 in Part D of the RLE1 form) should be 31 December 2018.
For CS agreements starting from 1 January 2019 onwards, the ‘Effective date of change’ is 31 December of the year before the agreement start date (that is, the day before).
Table 1 lists the agri-environment options that normally mean the land is considered non-agricultural. It also provides some suggested non-agricultural land use codes to support the RLE1 form. However, agreement holders must make sure they accurately declare all agricultural and non-agricultural areas and features within each land parcel.
Table 1 – Agri-environment scheme options for non-agricultural land
Countryside Stewardship options
| CS code | CS option | Non-agricultural land-use code |
|---|---|---|
| CT2 | Creation of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle on arable land | CF03 or CF02 as applicable |
| CT4 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| CT5 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| CT7 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| WD7 | Management of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| WD8 | Creation of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| WT6 | Management of reedbed | MW03 |
| WT7 | Creation of reedbed | MW03 |
| WT8 | Management of fen | IW06 |
| WT9 | Creation of fen | IW06 |
| WT10 | Management of lowland raised bog | IW07 |
Environmental Stewardship options
| ES code | ES option | Non-agricultural land-use code |
|---|---|---|
| HC7 | Maintenance of woodland | WO12 |
| HC8 | Restoration of woodland | WO12 |
| HC9 | Creation of woodland in Severely Disadvantaged Areas | WO12 |
| HC10 | Creation of woodland outside Severely Disadvantaged Areas | WO12 |
| HC15 | Maintenance of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| HC16 | Restoration of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| HC17 | Creation of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| HP7 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| HP8 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on grassland | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| HP9 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| HQ3 | Maintenance of reedbeds | MW03 |
| HQ4 | Restoration of reedbeds | MW03 |
| HQ5 | Creation of reedbeds | MW03 |
| HQ6 | Maintenance of fen | IW06 |
| HQ7 | Restoration of fen | IW06 |
| HQ8 | Creation of fen | IW06 |
| HQ9 | Maintenance of lowland raised bog | IW07 |
| HQ10 | Restoration of lowland raised bog | IW07 |
| UC22 | Uplands woodland livestock exclusion | WO12 |
For further information on woodland grant scheme options and BPS, read Guidance on woodland grant schemes and BPS: operations note 42.
Applying for BPS on these areas and land parcels
Once RPA has registered or updated the land cover for the land parcel in the Rural Payments service to show the appropriate non-agricultural nature of the land, you must declare it on your BPS application with an appropriate non-agricultural land-use code:
- ‘RD01’ – where the land was used to claim SPS in 2008 and is being managed under one of the agri-environment options listed above meaning it is eligible for BPS
- the relevant non-agricultural land use code(s) – where the land is not eligible for BPS
Contact RPA
Contact RPA by email or telephone.
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges
Last updated 14 March 2023 + show all updates
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Content refreshed for BPS 2023.
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Updated references for 2020
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First published.