1. 2023 payments
The RPA continues to issue 2023 BPS payments for the final time. Payments will continue to be made throughout December, and into early 2024.
As always, it is important to check the payment is correct, so please check your claim statement which the RPA has been circulating since early December to those already paid.
If, after receiving your claim statement, you still have a payment query, then it will be worth contacting the RPA, after referring to the scheme rules. To query a payment please use the latest version of the BPS Query form on the government’s website: GOV.UK | Basic Payment Scheme: payment query form.
The RPA will contact you during December to explain a new 60-day deadline for querying or appealing against decisions relating to BPS including cross compliance. Please read the RPA communication carefully, especially the information relating to when and how a decision was notified.
You can also find more information in our guide to everything you need to know about BPS, including details on key reminders around fraud awareness.
CS/ES
The RPA is continuing to issue both Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship payments, so watch out for those and check the payments when you receive them.
2. Preparing for delinked payments
It will be important to consider the information that has been circulated since early November on delinked payments.
You may have noticed that as well as a BPS claim statement, by 20 December you should have received either a letter or a delinked payment ‘information statement’ outlining eligibility for this scheme.
The information statements will have been issued by email (as an attachment) or if a business email address was not held by the RPA for you, the RPA posted them to you on 14 December. Given the seasonal demand on the postal service, if you have not received an information statement and were expecting one by late December, then please contact the RPA helpline on 03000 200 301 or email [email protected]. The RPA will then check its records to confirm if you should have received a statement and will let you know the outcome.
Your information statement will outline the reference amount from which your delinked payments will be calculated from 2024 onwards. This will be a crucial stage in the delinked payments process, as ensuring the payment details are correct now will ensure your payments are accurate in the future.
If you are planning to transfer some, or all, of your reference amount then the RPA asks that you contact them with any queries as soon as possible and no later than 29 February 2024 to help resolve any issues. Don’t forget to ensure your contact details are up to date.
For those, not planning to transfer their reference amount, queries will also need to be raised by 29 February 2024. Please refer to the new rules that are introducing a 60-day deadline for such queries, the details of which you'll receive via an RPA communication in December.
NFU guidance on the delinked payment process can be found either by watching our webinar for members or reading our online guidance.
If you have an urgent query, then please contact CallFirst who will be able to support you on 0370 845 8458.
3. Ongoing regulation and cross compliance
Cross compliance will finish at the end of 2023, as a part of the Agricultural Transition Plan as we move away from European Union agricultural policies.
In the vast majority of cases, the regulatory requirements that sat under cross compliance will be continuing under their domestic law equivalents, though there will be some cases where there will be developments in domestic regulation.
The recent Defra consultation on hedgerow management was the first step in designing a new regulatory approach concerning hedgerows and is likely to be the first of several domestic developments in the years ahead. Please watch out for more information on this development.
It is important to note that the Farming Rules for Water does cover margins next to water courses and prevention of soil erosion, so those rules need to be considered post cross compliance.
On regulatory requirements, if you are a sheep, goat and/or deer keepers, the annual sheep and goat inventory needs completing by 31 December. Read our 7 steps on completing the annual inventory.
For more information on the ending of cross compliance please see our page: NFU summary: Cross compliance 2023.
For the main regulations you need to continue to consider, please see the government page at: GOV.UK | Rules for farmers and land managers.
4. Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund
The Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund remains open for new applications until 15 January 2024. The fund enables facilitators to bring together groups of farmers, foresters and other land managers to improve environmental outcomes in their local area.
There are several themes for the fund including air quality, increasing biodiversity, supporting priority species and water management. New for 2024 is a net zero theme.
Applicants will be able to bid for a share of £2.5 million over the next three years; the maximum sum available is £50,000.
More information can be found at: Everything you need to know about Countryside Stewardship.
Applications can be started at: GOV.UK | Facilitation Fund 2024: Countryside Stewardship.
For those signed up to an existing Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund agreement, the deadline for claims covering any work undertaken between September - November 2023 closes on 31 January 2024.
Facilitation Fund 2023
Claiming a payment requires use of a facilitation fund claim form, which will cover the work undertaken so far to meet your planned milestones.
Proof of spending and evidence of payments made in support of the items being claimed for is also required. There is also a timesheet which will be required to cover the names of each person being claimed for and for the length of activity they have undertaken.
To ensure your claim processes smoothly:
- Check your permissions are correct on the Rural Payments service.
- Make sure your email address is correctly registered on the Rural Payments service.
- Don’t forget to include ‘CS Facilitation Fund Claim’ followed by your SBI and Facilitation Fund number in your email title to the RPA.
- Send your claim email to: [email protected].
More information on the 2023 Facilitation Fund can be found on: GOV.UK | Agreement holder’s guide: Facilitation Fund 2023.
5. Sustainable Farming Incentive applications
It is important that any SFI 2023 applications currently in progress are submitted by 31 December, while any new applications started before the new year will need to be underway before 27 December and submitted by 31 December.
Applications can resume as normal from 2 January onwards, however any unfinished and unsubmitted applications will be wiped from the system as part of the annual maintenance upgrade the RPA needs to carry out.
Currently, if an application is removed from the system, it will have to be restarted from the beginning in the new year.
The key dates are:
- Midnight on 26 December 2023 is the final time that applications for SFI 2023 can be started.
- Midnight on 31 December 2023 is the final time the applications for SFI 2023 can be submitted.
- The service will reopen for applications for SFI 2024 on 2 January 2023.
For more information on SFI, check out our SFI essential information page.
6. Lump Sum Exit Scheme reminder
If you have applied for the Lump Sum Exit scheme but have not yet submitted your evidence declaration to demonstrate the disposal of land and surrendering of BPS entitlements (via the evidence form), you have until 31 May 2024 to submit this form to the RPA.
Alternatively, you can also choose not to submit a claim and receive delinked payments, provided you were eligible.
Further information is available on our website at: Lump Sum Exit Scheme application window reminders.
The evidence form can be accessed at: GOV.UK | Lump Sum Exit Scheme: entitlements and evidence form.
7. Small Abattoir Fund
The Small Abattoir Fund has an allocated £4 million available to support smaller abattoirs across England.
The fund aims to improve productivity, enhance animal welfare and to encourage investment and adoption of new technologies across the industry. Grants will be available for between £2,000 and £60,000, and the grant itself will remain available to applicants until 30 September 2024.
8. Slurry Infrastructure grant round 2
The online eligibility checker for the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant will remain open until 17 January 2024.
The grant pays between £25,000 and £250,000 to improve slurry storage to go beyond the legal minimum. The grant is only applicable to slurry stores in England.
For those interested in the grant, it is crucial to consider the wider guidance in detail which can be found at: GOV.UK | Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2: applicant guidance.
For those who believe they have a suitable proposal and wish to consider the application process, the online checker and initial application process can be accessed at: GOV.UK| How to apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant round 2.
If you are unsure about the grant and whether it is suitable for you, you can read our NFU page outlining the details of the grant.
9. Future Farming Resilience fund reminder
Remember if you have not already engaged with this fund, you have access to free and confidential business support to help you during the transition period, however you must have received BPS payments.
Funding has been awarded to both local and national organisations to provide support to help you navigate and understand the changes taking place throughout the Agricultural Transition Period (until 2028).
The grants aim to provide support that helps businesses adapt to the new regulatory environment through helping them identify how these changes will impact them, and what they can do and when to do it in order best benefit their business.
It is important to remember that this offer is aimed at looking at the farming business, not necessarily the access to support payments. For more information please refer to our FFRF (Future Farming Resilience Fund) guide.
If you are unsure about engaging with a provider, please refer to the information online. Defra states that you are welcome to get introductory help and information from multiple providers and you can attend as many opening webinars or workshops as you like, but you can only receive detailed one-to-one support from a single provider.
Further guidance on the Fund is available here: GOV.UK | Farming Resilience Fund: free business advice for your farm.
10. Annual animal health & welfare paid vet visit reminder
As part of its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, since February 2023 Defra has been offering eligible livestock keepers a funded vet visit.
Since late August 2023 Defra has made a number of changes to improve the user experience and clarified the use of the review.
There is now no expression of interest stage needed by you and there have been changes to the testing for BVD where required. Also there is now no requirement to be a BPS claimant to access this support.
You can also ask the vet to provide a VAN (Vet Attestation Number) for the report to allow it to be used for the new veterinary attestation requirements introduced recently in December.
For more information please refer to our page at: Everything you need to know about the SFI annual health and welfare review.
Eligible farmers can find out what the review includes and how to sign up at: GOV.UK | SFI annual health and welfare review.
The annual vet visit is the first element of the government’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway which is being developed to support continuing improvements in farm animal health and welfare in England.