How to check your BP5 application form
Guidance about how to check and update your BP5 application form for the Basic Payment Scheme 2021.
When you receive your BP5 application form, read the ‘Important notes’ on the form first. Where we can, we have already added information to the form in words and figures.
Check the information and make sure it is correct for your 2021 application. If the information we have filled in for you is correct, you do not need to write it in again to confirm it.
Important- You must send back all pages of the BP5 application form, even if some of the pages are blank. In previous years we had to reject some applications that were submitted with missing pages, so it’s essential that you submit all the pages in the BP5 application form - even if you think some of the pages are not relevant to you.
Check the BP5 application form we have sent you has the right SBI and that the name of the beneficiary (business name) is correct. If it is not, call us on 03000 200 301 and we will arrange for a new form to be sent to you.
It may take up to two weeks before you receive your new form, so if you would prefer to complete an online application instead, please let us know so we can activate it for you.
Check that the information we have entered for your land parcels is correct and complete.
Important
Columns C3 (Total field size) and C4 (Maximum area eligible for BPS) show the information our land parcel database holds for your land. Do not change the information showing in these columns, even if you think it’s wrong.
Instead, use columns C7 and C6.
- In C7 (land use in 2021), declare all the agricultural and non-agricultural land uses
- In C6 (part field size), declare the areas of all the agricultural and non-agricultural land uses shown in column C7.
If you do change columns C3 and C4, it may delay the processing of your BP5 application form. If you think the information in these columns is wrong, this may be because:
- you have already sent us an RLE1 form requesting a change to your land, but this has not been actioned yet. If you have, you do not need to send us a new RLE1 form.
- you have not yet sent us an RLE1 form to request a change to your land. If this is the case, you need to send us one now to tell us what needs to be changed.
- we have updated your land using the latest information we have, including aerial photography and Ordnance Survey map updates. This keeps our land information up to date and we use it to check any applications you make. So it’s important that you check your maps online because we may have updated them since your application for 2020.
The total of all the agricultural and non-agricultural land use areas in column C6 should add up to the correct total field size (C3), taking into account any changes you have told us about on an RLE1 form.
The total of all the eligible land use areas in column C6 should add up to the correct maximum area eligible for BPS (C4), again taking into account any changes you have told us about on an RLE1 form.
You should also check column C8 (Eligible area you want to claim payment for). The area entered for each eligible land use must not exceed the area entered in column C6 for that land use. Where there is more than one eligible land use in a land parcel, the total of the eligible land use areas entered in column C8 for that land parcel must not exceed the total of the eligible land use areas entered at column C6.
Example:
Your paper BP5 application form shows the following: - C3 (Total field size) = 10.0000ha C4 (Maximum area eligible for BPS) = 8.5000ha
You sent an RLE1 form (which has not been actioned yet) asking for a new permanent non- agricultural feature of 0.5000ha to be mapped.
Your new maximum area eligible for BPS should therefore be 8.0000ha.
You should not update the information showing in column C4, instead use columns C7 and C6 to give the relevant non-agricultural land use code and area for the new permanent non-agricultural feature.
You do not need to send another RLE1 form as you have already sent one. You should make sure that column C8 (Eligible area you want to claim payment for) is reduced to take account of the smaller eligible area of 8.0000ha in this land parcel.
Adding land in Part C
If you need to add a land parcel, use the next available blank line on your Field Data Sheet. Where there are no blank lines, use a continuation booklet for 2021 (available at www.gov.uk/rpa/bps2021, or call us on 03000 200 301). If you are adding a land parcel that is not already registered, use an RLE1 form to register it with us (as well as entering it in Part C). When entering a new line, leave columns C3 and C4 blank.
Correcting information we’ve put in Part C
If you need to correct any of the data we’ve filled in for you, do not cross out the information that’s wrong or put an X in column C9, simply enter the correct information in the blank row below the land parcel at columns C7 and C6.
However, if you need to add other land uses to a land parcel (for example, to show a ‘temporary land parcel split’) use the next available blank line – you need to enter information in columns C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 and C8. You can either enter the whole land parcel with all the different land uses, or just enter the land use which was not pre-printed on the form.
If information is missing for a land parcel, please enter this information in the relevant columns of the blank row below the land parcel. Make sure you add the land use at column C7 and add the correct area into column C6. If we do not have all the required information for a land parcel, we may have to remove it from your application and we may not pay you for it. You must put the area you want to claim on in column C8.
Where a land parcel has incomplete land cover mapped, the form may be pre-populated with multiple lines for the same land use. If this happens, enter the correct information in the line of data you believe is incorrect.
Land areas in Part C
If you need to add land areas to Part B of your application form, make sure you put them in to 4 decimal places. For example, ‘10.0100’ hectares for ‘10’ hectares.
English Payment Region
This will display the English BPS payment region for all parcels on a page. More information about the three English payment regions is in the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’.
Where you are adding parcels to a blank page, you should add the English BPS payment region in this box and only add parcels that are in that region.
If you have land on your holding that was declared as agricultural, but has since become permanently non-agricultural, fill in an RLE1 form to let us know that the land has passed out of agricultural use. More information is in the RLE1 guidance, available at www.gov.uk/rpa/ bps2021.
C1 – Field name
You do not have to fill in this section. We’ve included it because it may help you when you make your application. If you add field names, we will not keep a record of them, as these are for your use only.
C2 – Ordnance Survey (OS) Map sheet reference and National Grid (NG) field number
This must contain a 10-character reference, made up of two letters, four numbers and the final four numbers indicating the centre of the land parcel (for example, AA1234 1234). We need the whole reference to identify the land parcel.
Land parcel numbers may have changed since last year, which means they may be listed in a different order from last year’s application. You can check them on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service or using your latest maps if you cannot get online. If you are having problems, or cannot go online, call us on 03000 200 301.
You must tell us about additional land you have on your holding that has already been registered with us but is not showing on your BP5 application form, by adding the land parcel onto your form. You must make sure that all the details for the parcel are included. If this land has been transferred to you, make sure the transferor has submitted a transfer request for that parcel or parcels, using the Rural Payments service or an RLE1 form.
If the land you are adding to your application has not yet been registered with us, you need to use an RLE1 and sketch map to tell us about this land, as well as entering it in Part C
If you’ve already sent an RLE1 to register land, check online in the Rural Payments service to see if it’s been mapped yet
If you cannot get online, call us and we can check for you. If we have not actioned your RLE1 form yet, on your BP5 application form, put the estimated field number and size from the RLE1 form.
You can tell us about land which you no longer have as part of your holding for BPS 2021 by deleting that parcel from your application form. Read ‘C9 – Cross to delete line’ for more information.
Do’s and don’ts
- You should use the blank boxes underneath each line of pre-populated data to tell us about changes to that land parcel.
- Do not use the ‘cross to delete’ box at the end of the row and re-enter the land parcel with the corrected information on a blank row. You should only do this if you have split the parcel this year, otherwise it results in additional lines of data in the application which can delay processing.
- If you need to make a change to some of the pre-populated information for a land parcel, or add missing information, make sure you write the correct, or missing, information in the blank box underneath the line. Do not use “ditto” marks to replicate the information that is correct.
Important
Do not make any changes to the information in column C3 or C4. If you do, it may slow us down when we’re working through your application form.
Instead, you should add the correct land uses (both eligible and ineligible) in column C7 and record the associated areas in column C6. Column C6 is called ‘Part field size (ha)’ on the application form but use it to record any updates to information that is incorrect in columns C3 or C4 or to add any new land parcels. You can include whole or part areas in column C6.
You’ll also need to fill in an RLE1 form to tell us about the changes you’ve made, if you have not already done so.
C3 – Total field size
Total field size is the total area of the land parcel based on the area registered with us. This will be shown in hectares – we have put in a figure for you based on the information we hold about your land.
Remember, we use all available data sources including aerial photography and Ordnance Survey map updates to keep our land information up-to-date and to check any applications you make.
Please check this area, making sure that it includes the area of all agricultural and non-agricultural land in the parcel.
If your total land parcel size has changed, do not amend the area provided in column C3. Use columns C6 and C7 to list all of the land uses for the parcel, including their correct areas. You will need to use an RLE1 form and sketch map to tell us about the change to the total size of the parcel. You can increase the size of the area if you need to, for example because a land parcel has been merged with another one and is now larger.
If you have recently sent us an RLE1 form to tell us about land changes but we have not finished working on it yet, column C3 may be incorrect.
C4 – Maximum area eligible for BPS
The maximum area eligible for BPS is the total size of the land parcel (based on the area registered with us) minus the area of any permanent non-agricultural features we have mapped for the land parcel.
You must make sure that column C4 does not include the area of any permanent non-agricultural areas and features, including any that are new for 2021.
If the maximum area eligible for BPS has changed, do not amend the area provided in column C4. Use column C6 to list all of the correct land uses for the parcel and C7 to list the correct areas.
The maximum area eligible for BPS for your land parcel could have increased, for example because:
- the permanent boundary between the land parcel and another land parcel no longer exists (the parcels have been merged)
- a permanent non-agricultural feature no longer exists in the land parcel
If this is the case, do not make any changes to the figure in column B4 on your application form.
What to check in C4:
To make sure the figure in column C4 is correct, take the total size of your parcel in column C3 and deduct all of the permanent non-agricultural areas and features that add up to 0.0100 hectares or more.
Remember to include any ‘scattered’ non-agricultural areas and features in this calculation and any area of land under an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES agreement which is ineligible for BPS. Read Annex C for more information.
Use columns C6 and C7 to enter the correct land use and areas for the parcel and, if you have not already done so, fill in an RLE1 form to tell us.
When to use an RLE1
If you are using columns C6 and C7 to tell us about any permanent changes to the total land parcel size or the maximum area eligible for BPS in your parcel, you must fill in an RLE1 form, mark the changes on a sketch map and send them to us (if you have not already done so).
C5 - Part field suffix
This column is for your own use. You can use it to give a reference to each land use in a land parcel, for example parts A, B, C or 1, 2, 3.
C6 – Part field (size of land use in C7)
Check the information in this box. If it is wrong, use column C6 to tell us about the area of different land uses in a land parcel. If there is only one land use in a land parcel, enter the entire area for that land use.
You can also use it for:
- any corrections to the pre-printed information in columns C3 and C4
- temporary crop splits in land parcels
If you have some of a land parcel at your disposal, and someone else has the other part at their disposal, use column C6 to tell us your share of the parcel.
For example, if you and someone else each have a 50% share of a parcel that is 10.0000 hectares in size, you would both enter 5.0000 hectares in column C6.
If both shares of the land parcel are eligible for BPS and both of you want to include the land in your application, you would each enter 5.0000 hectares in column C8.
If you need to tell us about more than one land use in your ‘share’ of the eligible land, use part fields in columns C5, C6 and C7.
Using part fields
If you are using parts of a land parcel in different ways, declare each of the land uses on a separate line in column C7 and the area of each land use in column C6. The total of all of the land use areas in column C6, both agricultural and non-agricultural should add up to the Total field size (C3).
If you need to amend the Total field size entered in column C3, do not change the figure on your form but submit an RLE1 form to tell us about the change (if you have not already). Add the area you want to use to activate entitlements for payment for each of the eligible land uses into column C8.
Example
You have a 10.0200 hectare land parcel with a temporary split (5 hectares of temporary grassland and 5 hectares of winter barley) and two non-agricultural features (one is ‘temporary’, one is ‘permanent’ and is not mapped with us) both are 0.1000 hectares in size. You would show the split as follows:
- Line 1 : C2 enter OS map reference and grid number, C5 enter part field suffix ‘A’, C6 part field size 5.000, C7 Land use TG01, C8 Eligible area to claim is 5.000
- Line 2: C5 enter part field suffix ‘B’, C6 enter part field size 5.000, C7 enter land use code AC63, C8 eligible area to claim is 5.000
- Line 3: C5 enter part field suffix ‘C’, C6 enter part field size 0.000, C7 enter land use code NA02, C8 eligible area to claim is 0.000
- Line 4: C5 enter part field suffix ‘D’, C6 enter part field size 0.000, C7 enter land use code HS01, C8 eligible area to claim is 0.000
The permanent non-agricultural feature has not been mapped with us, so you must declare its land use and area in Part C and send an RLE1 form and sketch map to us to tell us about it. You do not need to send an RLE1 form to tell us about the ‘temporary’ non- agricultural feature but do need to give it a land use code in column C7.
Telling us about land use
You need to tell us about the agricultural and non-agricultural land uses for all the land parcels registered to your holding (SBI) on your application, using the appropriate land use code (read ‘C7 – Land use’, below).
If a parcel has only one land use, enter the total area of that land use in column C6 and the land use code in C7. If a parcel has more than one land use, use column C6 to tell us the area of each land use and column C7 to provide each land use code.
C7 – Land use
This column should contain a land use code showing what each area of land is being used for on 17 May 2021. You should use the code of the main crop you intend to grow in the year even if it will be late sown, or declare it as fallow if you do not intend to sow a main crop. You need to tell us about all the land uses in each parcel.
There’s a list of all the land use codes you’ll need for BPS in annexes A and B. You can also refer to the Agroforestry and the Basic Payment Scheme guidance on GOV.UK.
Declare which crop is there for most of the cropping period but if this is likely to be fallow and you intend to sow a crop before 30 June 2021, you should declare this crop instead of fallow.
We will use the information on your land use provided at C6 (part field) and C7 (land use) to work out if you have enough eligible land to apply for BPS.
Read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ for more information.
Land use codes and eligible features
If you have BPS eligible features on your land, such as hedges, dry stone walls, ditches or watercourses meeting the BPS eligibility rules, you should include these under the main land use of the land parcel (cropped area).
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).
Temporary to permanent grassland: check that grassland, which has been claimed as temporary grass for 5 consecutive years (2016-2020 inclusive), is shown as permanent grassland for BPS 2021 (the sixth consecutive year in which the parcel is declared as grass) – as long as it is still grassland and has not been used for a catch crop, and has not been in certain agri-environment scheme options during this time. For more information, read the ‘Temporary grassland’ section in the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’.
Example
A farmer has a 10 hectare land parcel with 4 land uses in it:
- 6.4500 hectares of winter wheat
- 2.1500 hectares of winter oilseed rape
- 1.3900 hectares of fallow land
- 0.0100 hectares of hard standing, which is a permanent non-agricultural feature and has already been mapped with us
The farmer should show 4 land uses on the form:
- label them as ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ in column C5
- put the size of each land use in column C6; and
- put the land use code for each use in column C7
You do not need to send us an RLE1 form and sketch map to tell us about the non- agricultural feature, because we already have it mapped.
More information on land use codes is in annexes A and B
Land use codes and non-agricultural areas and features
The way you need to declare non-agricultural areas and features in Part C will depend on what they are and whether we have them mapped already. The table below explains what you need to do.
If any permanent non-agricultural areas or features already show on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service and we have included them when we filled in your application form, you do not need to send us an RLE1 form to tell us about them.
| Non-agricultural area or feature | What to do in Part C |
|---|---|
| Permanent non-agricultural area or feature in a land parcel which is already on your digital maps | Check the area and land use we have provided for the feature. If these need to be changed, give the area a new land use in column C7 and an area in column C6. Enter the area as 0.0000 in column C8. You should also reduce the areas in column C6 for the other land uses for the field to account for this. Do not change the areas in columns C3 and C4. You do not need to use an RLE1 form or sketch map to tell us about this unless you needed to change the area in column C6. |
| Permanent non-agricultural area or feature in a land parcel which is not on your digital maps | Give the non-agricultural area or feature a land use code in column C7 and an area in column C6. Enter the area as 0.0000 in column C8. You should also reduce the areas in column C6 for the other land uses for the field to account for this. Do not change the areas in columns C3 and C4. You need to send us an RLE1 form and a sketch map to tell us about these features or areas unless you’ve already done so. |
| Permanent non-agricultural areas where they cover a whole land parcel and are already shown on your digital maps | Check the area and land use we have provided for the parcel. If these need to be changed, give the area a new land use code in column C7 and new area in column C6. Enter the area as 0.0000 in column C8. Do not change the area in columns C3 and C4. You don’t need to use an RLE1 form or sketch map to tell us about this unless you needed to change the area in column C6. |
| Permanent non-agricultural areas where they cover a whole land parcel and are not already shown on your digital maps | Give the area a land use code in column C7 and an area in column C6. Enter the area as 0.0000 in column C8. Do not change the areas in columns C3 and C4. You need to send us an RLE1 form and a sketch map to tell us about this area, unless you’ve already done so. |
| Temporary non-agricultural areas or features | Give the area a land use code of NA02 in column C7 and an area in column C6. Enter the area as 0.0000 in column C8. You don’t need to send us an RLE1 form and a sketch map to tell us about these temporary non-agricultural areas or features. |
Which land use codes to use in C7
All the land use codes to use for BPS are in annexes A and B.
The table below shows where to find the right land use codes, depending on what type of land you need a code for.
| Land type | Where to find the right land use codes |
|---|---|
| Agricultural land at your disposal for BPS | Annex A: Coding agricultural land when you apply for the Basic Payment Scheme. |
| Agricultural land under your management control for an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES and not at your disposal for BPS | Do not enter a land use code for any land you have that is not at your disposal for BPS. Leave column C7 blank and enter 0.0000 in columns C6 and C8. |
| Land in a ‘dual use’ situation with another applicant (One of you has the agricultural land at your disposal for BPS and the other has the land under their management control for an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES agreement) | Note: you will need to agree the land use code for the land parcel with the other applicant - make sure it is compatible with both BPS and CS / ES agreements. Once this is agreed, the land use code should not be changed, unless you both agree with the change. If you are applying for BPS enter: - the land use code in column C7 - the area in column C6, and - the area to activate in column C8 If you are an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES agreement holder you should enter: - 0.0000 in columns C6 and C8, and - the same land use code as the BPS applicant in column C7 |
| Non-agricultural land under an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES agreement, National Forest Changing Landscapes Scheme, Woodland Carbon Fund or HS2 Woodland Fund. | Use the appropriate non-agricultural land use code(s) from the list provided in Annex B: Coding non-agricultural land when you apply for the Basic Payment Scheme. |
If you see ‘unknown cover’ in Part C of your application, enter the correct land use code(s) as at 17 May 2021. You should use the code of the main crop you intend to grow in the year even if it will be late sown, or declare it as fallow if you do not intent to sow a main crop - read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ for more information.
Trees and Woodland
If you have land that contains scattered trees or groups of trees but remains agricultural, use an appropriate agricultural land use code from Annex A in column C7. Read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ for more information about BPS eligibility and trees on eligible land. You can also refer to the Agroforestry and the Basic Payment Scheme guidance on GOV.UK.
If you have trees on land that was agricultural last year but has now become non-agricultural, for example, because:
- the trees are scattered in the land parcel and now prevent agricultural activity being carried out in the same way as in a land parcel without trees; or
- the land has become woodland preventing agricultural activity
use an appropriate non-agricultural land use code from Annex B (see the sections describing ‘Scattered trees’ and ‘Woodland’).
If you have woodland under an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES agreement, the National Forest Changing Landscape Scheme, Woodland Carbon Fund or HS2 Woodland Fund, use an appropriate non-agricultural land use from Annex B or the land use code RD01 where the woodland meets the BPS eligibility criteria. Make sure you have followed the Forestry Commission’s ‘Guidance on woodland grant schemes and BPS: operations note 42’ which is available on GOV.UK or the Guidance on agri-environment agreements (Countryside Stewardship) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) and the Basic Payment Scheme as appropriate and submitted an RLE1 form and sketch map to amend the land cover of the area.
C8 – Eligible area you want to apply for payment on
Important: You must put all the areas you want to apply for payment into column C8.
You can only use land parcels which have a total eligible area of 0.1000 hectares or more to apply for BPS. Use column C8 to tell us how much of your eligible area in column C6 you want to use in your application.
The area entered in column C8 for each eligible land use must not exceed the area entered in column C6 for that land use. The total of the areas entered in column C8 for the land parcel must not exceed the total of all the eligible land uses entered in column C4 or column C6.
C9 – Cross to delete line
Only use column C9 if you want to remove a parcel from your application.
For BPS 2021 you can tell us about any land parcels which you no longer wish to claim BPS for. To do this, put an ‘X’ in column C9 to delete the line – this will remove the whole (or part) land parcel from your application.
If you want the land to be permanently removed from your holding, you can remove the land parcel using the Rural Payments service, or by filling in an RLE1 form. If you do not do this, the land parcel will remain linked to your holding.
IMPORTANT
If you choose to remove the land, either using the Rural Payments service or by completing an RLE1 form, this will completely remove the land parcel from your records. This means you will not be able to claim for payment on that land parcel for either BPS or any of the following agri- environment or national woodland schemes:
- Countryside Stewardship
- Environmental Stewardship
- Habitat Scheme
- English Woodland Grant Scheme
- Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
- National Forest Changing Landscape Scheme
- Woodland Carbon Fund
- HS2 Woodland Fund
Do not remove the land from your holding if you still control the land parcel for one of these schemes. If you remove a land parcel under an existing agri-environment or national woodland scheme agreement (see above list), this may affect your agreement or payment.
The land you remove will not be available for a new application under a an agri-environment or woodland scheme, such as CS or ES, unless it is re-registered using an RLE1 form.
If you have common land parcels showing in Part C, you can remove them from your application by adding an ‘X’ in column C9. Common land grazing rights should appear in Part E.
C10 – Your checklist
This column is for your own use and does not form part of your application.
This part will show any common land grazing rights that you have. Check that the information is correct. If we have filled in information for you and it is wrong, use the boxes below to correct it.
If your common land grazing rights have changed, please send us evidence of the changes, with your BP5 form. The types of evidence we accept include, a solicitor’s letter, grant of probate/ letters of administration holding/ownership deeds or land registry title documents. Before you fill in this part, read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’.
E1 and E2 – Common land (CL) number and name
The CL number should always be two letters and four numbers. If the number you have is not four numbers, add zeroes at the front of the number. For example, if the number is ‘123’, put in ‘0123’.
Both the CL number and common land name are registered officially with your local authority.
E3 – Type of commons rights
This shows the type of grazing rights you have by animal type (for example, cattle, sheep or ponies) using the information we have.
Remember that if your register entry allows you a choice of animal types (for example, cattle, sheep or ponies), you should convert your rights to Livestock Units (LUs) and use whichever rights give the highest LU value. This will maximise the number of LUs you can claim on the common.
Read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ for more information and for guidance on how to apply if you have New Forest rights. The codes to use are shown in the table below.
| Description | Code |
|---|---|
| Cattle | CTTLE |
| Donkey | DNKYS |
| Geese | GEESE |
| Goats | GOATS |
| Heifers/Stirks | HEFER |
| Horses | HRSES |
| Poultry (over 6 months) | PLTRY |
| Pigs | PIGS |
| Ponies | PONY |
| Sheep/lambs | SHEEP |
If you have separate rights to graze more than one type of animal, you should put each animal type on a separate line. Please note, you are claiming for your right to graze common land. This will not necessarily be the same as what you actually graze on the common.
E4 – Number of rights of this type
This shows the number of animals you have grazing rights for, for the animal type listed at column E3, using the information we have. Read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ for more information.
You don’t need to convert your rights to Livestock Units or do any other calculations.
Important: If you need to correct any of the information printed do not give the number of stints/gaits, an area in hectares or the total LU value of your claim, as this can lead to us reducing your claim significantly or removing it entirely. Tell us the number of animals of the type you entered in column E3.
Where rights can be used on more than one common, we will allocate the rights between the commons in proportion to their relative eligible areas. For example, if you have rights to graze 100 cattle (equivalent to 100 Livestock Units (LU)) on Common A (150ha eligible area) or Common B (50ha eligible area), we will allocate 75 LU (150 ha/200 ha x 100LU) to Common A and 25LU (50 ha/200ha x 100LU) to Common B.
The information pre-populated in the ‘Commons eligibility checks updated areas’ shows the allocation of rights that was used for BPS 2020 payments. However, if you are declaring split rights for BPS 2021, you should declare the full number of rights held against all of the commons on which the rights can be used (in the above example declare 100 cattle on Common A and 100 cattle on Common B) and we will do the calculation to allocate the rights between the commons for you, using up to date information from the system.
E5 – Do you own the common?
If you own the common, check that this is shown correctly. If the information we’ve added shows as ‘Yes’, but this is incorrect, put a cross in the ‘No’ box.
If you own the common land, you may be eligible to claim for any surplus eligible area that exists on the common, once the grazing requirements associated with the registered rights on the common have been taken into account.
E6 – Activate entitlements
Check that each line in column E6 is correct if you want to be paid for your common land rights.
E7 - Cross to delete line
Put an ‘X’ in the box if the information is wrong and you need to remove it from your application. You can re-enter information on the next available line if needed.
E8 – Your checklist
This column is for your own use and does not form part of your application.
If you want to apply for the young farmer payment, you must put a cross in the ‘Yes’ box. You need to do this for each year you want to apply for the young farmer payment.
If you are applying for the young farmer payment, you must send us a ‘Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) ‘Young’ and ‘new’ farmer application form’ together with the accountant or solicitor’ certificate to prove you are a young farmer. We must receive your application by midnight on 17 May 2021.
If you were assessed as eligible for the young farmer payment in 2020, you do not need to send us another ‘Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2021 ‘Young’ and ‘new’ farmer application form’ or any evidence, unless there has been a change to the structure of your business since then.
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 2020, and there has been no change to the business structure since you last successfully applied for the young farmer payment.
You will need to confirm there has been no change to the structure of your business in ‘Your declaration and responsibilities’ in Part L of the BP5 form.
If your business structure has changed, you must send us another ‘Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2021 ‘Young’ and ‘new’ farmer application form’ and ‘Accountant or Solicitor certificate’.
For more information about the young farmer payment and the evidence we need, read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ at www.gov.uk.
This section is for information only. If you think your entitlements information is wrong, you can check your most up to date entitlement position in the Rural Payments service.
If you cannot do this online, call us on 03000 200 301.
Remember, you can apply for BPS on as much of your eligible land as you want to – you don’t need to match the area you apply for with the number of entitlements you hold.
There is no penalty if the eligible area you apply for is greater than the number of entitlements you actually hold. We will work out your payment based on the number of entitlements matched by eligible land. However, you should not apply for more eligible land than you actually have.
Example
A farmer holds 100 entitlements on 17 May 2021 and declares 120ha of eligible land. 100 entitlements are activated for payment. The additional 20ha of eligible land is not an over- declaration.
Applying for new entitlements as a new or young farmer
If you are a ‘new’ or ‘young’ farmer and want to apply for new entitlements, read the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’ and send us a completed ‘Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2021 ‘Young’ and ‘new’ farmer application form’ These are available at www.gov.uk/rpa/ bps2021.
You can use this section as a checklist if you are sending any supporting documents with your application. If you are not sending any, you do not need to include a ‘0’ in any of the boxes. We do not use the information you record on this part of the form, but it can be helpful for you to make sure you have included everything you need to with your application.
If you are sending us documents to tell us about any hemp you grow, tell us how many documents you are sending in at question ‘6’. For example, if you are sending 5 seed labels, put ‘005’ in question 6.
More information on providing evidence is in the ‘Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2021’.
Important - Remember to keep a copy of your application and any documents you send to us.
Read this part before you sign your application. We reserve the right to reject applications if ‘Your declaration and responsibilities’ has been changed
Make sure you:
- sign the BP5 application form
- add your name in block capitals
- have the right permissions to submit the form (in this case ‘BPS Submit’)
If you are acting on behalf of someone else, or even if you are making an application for ‘your’ business, you must make sure you have the correct level of permission to sign the application. You can check this in the Rural Payments service or call us on 03000 200 301 if you do not have a computer. If your level of permission is incorrect, contact the person who has full permissions for the business to ask them to change this.
In the ‘Relationship to beneficiary’ box, enter one of the following to describe your role:
- Agent – if you have been given permission to act on behalf of the person claiming BPS
- Trustee – a trustee of the business who is making the BPS claim
- Partner – a partner in the business who is making the BPS claim
- Director – a director of the business who is making the BPS application
- Sole trader
Information for agents acting on someone’s behalf
As part of ‘Your declaration and responsibilities’ you will need to sign to confirm that you have made the beneficiary(ies) aware that they are responsible for complying with the conditions.
You also need to make sure you fill in your relationship to the beneficiary and your CRN number. If you are not sure where to find your CRN number, this is the number you use to log in to Rural Payments. If you are still not sure what this is, call us on 03000 200 301.
If you need to tell us more about your land parcels or common land, continuation booklets are available at www.gov.uk/rpa/bps2021. Booklets are available for:
- Part C: Land parcels
- Part E: Common Land
Use the booklets if you cannot fit all the information you need to tell us in these sections of your BP5 application form. Please add your SBI number on to all continuation booklets you use. If you do not have a computer, you can get copies by calling 03000 200 301.
You can use as many continuation booklets as you need to, but make sure you give each one a number on the front page, starting at 001. For example, if you are sending us three booklets (two for Part C and one for Part E), you can number them as follows:
- ‘001’ for the first Part C continuation booklet
- ‘002’ for the second Part C continuation booklet
- ‘003’ for the Part E booklet
If you use continuation booklets make sure you fill in all of the relevant pages and send all of the pages to us with your application. It’s important that you do this - even if you think some of the pages are not relevant to you, or are blank, you must still return them.
When you post your application form back to us, make sure that:
- you’ve checked all of the information and told us about any changes if you need to
- you have signed, dated and entered your name in Part L
- you’ve included any continuation booklets or supporting documents in the envelope with your application (if you need to) and have added your SBI number to each of these supporting documents
- you have not removed any pages from your application form (and any continuation booklets). It’s important that you send us all the pages in the BP5 form (and any continuation booklets). Even if you think some of the pages are not relevant to you, or are blank, you must still return them.
- you keep a copy of your application and everything you send us
- you send it to the correct address
- you have the correct amount of postage on the envelope.
We recommend that you use recorded delivery when you post your application form to us. If you are updating your BP5, do not:
- use a pencil or felt-tip pen
- use correction fluid
- cross through entire form pages or parts of the form; either leave them blank or use the delete line box
- use your own computer-generated land parcel data sheets
- send us a covering letter unless you need to give us extra information to support your application
What you’ll get a receipt for
You will receive a receipt for any BP5 or RLE1 forms you send us, that pass our basic checks. You will also receive a receipt for any continuation booklets you send with your BP5 application form, but we will not send a receipt if we receive a continuation booklet separately. We do not send receipts for any other supporting documents.
We will do a basic check on any BP5 or RLE1 forms you send to us, as follows:
- Is the form a paper BP5, Application for the Basic Payment Scheme in England, rather than an online print?
- Is the paper BP5 a 2021 form?
- Is the BP5 application form complete and contains all of the pages?
Part A Claimant Details
- Is there another nine digit SBI number; or is the SBI not recognised/illegible/altered?
- Is the Business name different; or is it not recognised/illegible/altered/missing?
Part C Field Data Sheet (there must be either one line of complete data at C, or one at E, or both)
- Are there any land parcels?
- Does at least one line of data in Part C of the application contain the minimum of an entry at C2, C3, C4, C7, C8?
Part E Common Land Grazing Rights
- Does the form contain data at Part E?
- Does at least one line of data in Part E of the application contain an entry at E1, E2, E3, E4, E6?
Part L Your Declaration and Responsibilities
- If any of the declarations or responsibilities have been amended in any way, we will reject and return the form with a letter
- Has the form been signed and a name entered on the form?
If we have to reject your form because it does not pass our basic checks, we will return the original form to you with a letter explaining why it failed. You can then update the form and return it to us, within the usual deadlines (see ‘Key dates for BPS 2021’).