More than 92% of farmers received their 2019 Basic Payment Scheme
(BPS) money in the
first two weeks of the payment window.
The latest figures from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) show that 92.4% of payments
were made by end of Friday 13 December, worth £1.6bn. This builds
on the 59,600 farmers who received payments totalling £1.2bn on 2
December, the first day of the payment window.
Additionally, those who claimed in 2019 on their Countryside
Stewardship (CS) and
Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements will receive
one full payment this year, as part of a wider improvement plan
to deliver a better service to farmers and land managers.
This means that ES and CS final payments have
started to arrive with customers four months earlier than last
year, with £77.8m ES and
£4.3m CSpayments made so far. Eligible
customers should expect to receive their payment within the
payment window which runs between December 2019 and June 2020.
RPA Chief
Executive, Paul Caldwell, said:
We are committed to ensuring timely payments to farmers and
land managers, so that rural businesses can plan for the year
ahead.
We remain focussed on continuously improving the delivery and
performance of BPS, CS and ES schemes, and this
year CS and EScustomers will receive
their one full payment against their annual claim.
Payments are made direct to bank accounts via BACS transfer so
farmers should make sure the RPA has the most up-to-date
account details on the Rural Payments service.
Stopping fraudulent activity
Claimants are also urged to remain vigilant against fraud. They
should remember:
- Your bank, police or the RPA will never ask you to
reveal your online password, PIN or bank account details or ask
you to make a payment over the telephone.
- Never disclose personal information to someone you don’t know
or open unknown or unexpected computer links or emails.
- If in doubt, call the organisation back, ideally on a
different telephone, using a number you are familiar with or you
know to be official. You can find this on the organisation’s
website, correspondence or statement.
Contact Action Fraud on 0300
123 2040 without delay for advice and to register your concern.
