Rural Payments Open for Applications March 22, 2016 12:00 am It is now possible to complete and submit a 2016 BPS application on line in England. Farmers & agents can sign into the Rural Payments service at https://www.ruralpayments.service.gov.uk/. Customer Reference numbers (CRNs) and passwords from last year are still valid. If you can’t remember yourpassword it is possible to create a new one from the ‘Signing in Page’. If you have forgotten your CRN you will need to phone the RPA on 03000 200 301. Applications Around 20,000 applicants will receive a paper application form. If you want to use the online system for 2016 you need to phone the Rural Payments Helpline on 03000 200 301. They will then activate the online system, (this will be possible from 27th March) but note this will deactivate the paper application. If you subsequently wish to apply by paper you will need to contact the RPA to reverse the process. If you have applied online previously, or if you are an agent and signed and submitted a paper SP5 form on behalf of your client in 2014 you will not receive a paper form in 2016 for that business. If you would like a paper form, you can request one from the RPA but in an effort to get as many online applications, these will not be readily available, you will be ‘questioned’ as to why one is required and it is unlikely to be received before early April. Online Process Detailed guidance on how to apply is available from the RPA, see below for the links, but as a quick starter; from the ‘Business Overview’ page you can navigate to all the different elements to build a BPS claim. After checking the Personal Details, Business Details and ensuring the Permissions are set correctly it is probably best to start with ‘Applications’. From this element it is possible to print off a pdf copy of the ‘form’. This is very similar to the BP5 form, with Field Data sheets pre-populated with last year’s information. This can then be checked against the 2015 claim and also used as a working document to take with you when meeting a client. Once information has been collected, to update areas and land use on the system, from the ‘Business Overview’ page you need to navigate to Land and then to Land Use. From here you can edit the cropping and the part field size, effectively columns C7 and C6 on the claim. You can also update EFA features which will filter through to Part D of the ‘form’. It is not possible to change the total field size or the maximum eligible area online (or on paper). A paper RLE1 must be submitted, however you need to ‘anticipate’ this change online and amend the part field size via Land Use. Where an RLE1 was sent in last year and the change has not been completed an exclamation mark will appear next to the land parcel in the Land Summary. You do not need to send in another RLE1 form, but you may need to ‘anticipate’ the changes in land area in the Land Use section. There are checks built in to the system; some parcels may have ‘Undeclared’ or ‘Overdeclared’ highlighted next to them. This may be because you have changed the area of the field via an RLE1. It is still possible to submit the form, but they are highlighted so that you can check that you are happy with the areas before you submit. It is possible to make further changes to your application. From the ‘Applications’ page it is possible to ‘Activate less BPS area’ and ‘Use less EFA than available’. There would be very few situations where you would need to reduce your activated area, people have in the past used this as an ‘insurance’ policy. But it may be necessary to reduce EFA areas where an EFA hedge is adjacent to a field being used for EFA Fallow, Nitrogen Fixing Crops or Catch/Cover crops. In these cases the area of EFA Fallow, Nitrogen Fixing Crops or Catch/Cover crops must be reduced to take account of the area taken up by the hedge i.e. by 2.5 square metres for every metre length of EFA hedge. You can also apply for the Young Farmer Payment at this point in the application. Once you have got to the stage of being ready to submit, it will probably be prudent to print out another ‘form’ to check through, to do this you will need to ‘generate’ a new one from ‘ View and Print Summary’ found via ‘Applications’. Once submitted it will be possible to print out a form with the submission date and time on it. Even once submitted it is possible to go back a create a new one, the system will take the latest form submitted. The deadline for submissions is 16th May 2016 and for all accompanying paper documentation. Guidance The following guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bps-2016: BPS 2016 Scheme Rules BPS 2016 Land Use Codes How to Claim BPS Online (this will be sent out hardcopy) Common Land & Shared Grazing Land in more than on part of the UK Active Farmer Readmission: Accountant Certificate Cross Compliance Rules BP5 Continuation Booklets – Part C, D & E RLE1 Guidance Copy of the on screen help Video tutorials about how to apply online There is also help for online applications at the following locations; Carlisle, Exeter, Newcastle, Reading, Workington, Bristol, Cambridge, Crewe, Lincoln, Hereford, Skipton, Solihull, Truro and York-Sand Hutton. Appointments must be booked – tel. 03000 200 301. Paper forms cannot be left at these locations.
