New entrants wait for BPS cash after RPA computer says ‘no’

Up to 30 new and young farmers are still waiting to receive funding to kickstart their fledgling farm businesses more than 10 months after their payment claims were accepted, due to a Rural Payments Agency (RPA) computer glitch.

Defra invited new and young farmers in England to apply for entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) from the national reserve before 17 May last year.

Eligible farmers had to prove their status as “new” or “young” farmer (aged 40 or under) and provide evidence of farming at least 5ha of land, provided they had not made a previous claim on that land.

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The 2022 BPS entitlements pay £233/ha, with an additional payment uplift of 17.5% for young farmers.

An error with the RPA’s IT system at the “awaiting payment stage” is preventing the payments from being processed to up to 30 farmers.

Michelle Clayton, owner of CCA Rural, manages land mapping and BPS claims on behalf of small farmers in Derbyshire.

She has been trying to resolve this non-payment issue for three clients since last June.

She said the issue is causing her clients stress and financial hardship.

“The impact is huge. These struggling young farmers are trying to access funding for their small farms and the RPA is not responding.”

The payment delay is having a knock-on effect on this year’s applications, as the payment window for all BPS claims closes on 15 May.

However, because the entitlements have not been added to each client’s account, they are unable to make a claim for 2023.

 An RPA spokesperson said: “Ninety-nine per cent of farmers have received their BPS payments, but there are a small number of claims related to new entitlements which have required further work for us to complete.

“We have been in contact with those affected throughout this process and are working to ensure the payments are released within the next month.”