Farmers in England still waiting for £1bn in BPS cash

Farmers in England are still waiting for £1bn in support payments, despite a government announcement that the “majority” of eligible Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claims were paid in December, farm leaders have warned.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has announced that by the end of the month payments had been made to 44,400 farmers, which is almost 51% of the claimant population.

This means the RPA has met its initial commitment of paying at least 50% of eligible claims in December.

See also: Farm leaders claim BPS payments have slowed to a ‘disappointing dribble’

But the union has pointed out that in total only £425m has been paid out so far, which means that there is almost exactly £1bn still to reach the other 44,000 farmers waiting for their cash.

While the RPA claims it has made payments to businesses of all sizes – ranging from £500 to £150,000 – the average payment so far works out at less than £10,000, which does suggest that the bulk have been smaller claims.

NFU vice-president Guy Smith said this had implications for the whole of the rural economy, not just for farmers.

“We should remember that when this £1bn eventually gets to those who need it, it will not just hang around in farm bank accounts but will pay bills that will benefit the wider rural economy”
Guy Smith, NFU

“We should remember that when this £1bn eventually gets to those who need it, it will not just hang around in farm bank accounts but will pay bills that will benefit the wider rural economy.

“Additionally, there is the impact this will be having on overdrafts – £1bn at an average borrowing rate of 3.7% equates to over £90,000 in interest everyday being sucked out of the rural economy.”

Ross Murray, president of the Country Land and Business Association, added: “It is crucial that the RPA speeds up all outstanding payments.

“If it proves impossible to pay some businesses before end of January, they must be completely clear about the process and timeframe in which they will be paid.

“We will continue to do all we can to help the RPA to ensure that applications are processed as swiftly as possible.”

Defra secretary Elizabeth Truss said: “I can confirm the RPA has met its commitment to pay the majority of eligible claims in December and remains on track to pay the vast majority of claims by the end of January.

“We understand the importance of these payments to our hard-working farmers and the RPA will continue to work flat out to ensure the agency meets its commitment to pay the remaining claims as quickly as possible.”

The RPA has previously admitted that more complex claims will take longer to process and are therefore likely to take longer to pay, as they did under the Single Payment Scheme.

It has promised to provide an update to those claimants who are unlikely to be paid by the end of January and an estimate as to when they will be paid to help them manage their cashflow.

The NFU has said it wants the RPA to consider making a part payment to anyone who will not be paid by the end of January and has called on Defra to give them the resources needed to do it.