BPS entitlement donations raise £20,000 for farming charities

An initiative to raise money through donating spare Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) entitlements has raised more than £20,000 for farming charities.

A cheque for £20,405 raised by Entitlement Aid will be handed over to farming charities including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, the Addington Fund and the Farming Community Network.

The initiative was set up encourage donations of surplus small numbers of entitlements. These largely came from those with fewer than five entitlements and who faced losing these under the CAP reform, which brought in the BPS.

See also: Farmers urged to act soon to donate spare BPS entitlements

The donated entitlements were transferred from a donor to 2015 BPS claimants who paid the market value, with the proceeds going to charity.

Professional fees for carrying out the transfers were donated by Central Association of Agricultural Valuers member firms who signed up to the scheme.

The initiative was supported by a wide range of other farming organisations, including Farmers Weekly, members of the British Institute of Agricultural Consultants, the Tenant Farmers Association, the NFU and the CLA.  

Surveyor Kevin Bateman of Devon-based Bateman Hosegood provided much of the impetus for the scheme. He said that it had taken a long time and was quite stressful through June 2105 when BPS forms were also due in, but it had been worth it.

“Our biggest benefactor was the National Trust, who gave 50 entitlements, and the smallest was a lady who gave 0.11 entitlements,” said Mr Bateman.