BPS Payments and Errors

The RPA had paid around 70% of English farmers by the end of January – some way short of what most people would consider a ‘vast majority’.  It leaves around 26,000 still to be paid.  Of these around half had already received a letter stating their payment would be delayed.  The other half were in limbo, but many have now received an e-mail from the RPA, stating that their claim is still being worked on.  Many, if not all, of these messages indicate the reason for the delay is due to an inspection.  Certainly not all of the farms concerned have had a physical inspection, so either the message is incorrect, or the issue is to do with remote sensing.

For those that have received payment, it is worth checking the amounts.  There seems to be a large number of incorrect payments being made, especially on the claims that have been settled most recently.  It has been indicated to us that these relate to mapping issues.  Where there are outstanding queries or amendments, the fields have simply been removed from the claim, and the remainder paid.  This seems odd, as payment rules require all checks to be completed before payment can be issued.  However, perhaps some short-cuts are being implemented to get more money out the door.   We will keep readers informed of any developments.