10 steps to a successful BPS claim
© Tim Scrivener The news that farmers will not be able to submit their online Basic Payment Scheme applications until April is causing some consternation. But there is plenty applicants can be doing between now and then to ensure they are as ready as possible.
1. Register with the rural payments service
Without this first step you cannot make a claim.
You must register, even if:
- You made an SPS claim last year (“they know who I am”)
- You are only claiming environmental stewardship payments this year
- You retired and sold up (unless you have transferred entitlements).
The only circumstances under which you do not need to register are where you have given another person (for example an agent) full empowerment to register for you. It is worth checking this has been done. Register using the RPA’s telephone helpline (03000 200 301).
2. Map your land parcels online
Check, update and map your land parcels as and when you can. And yes, it will need patience and persistence as you build your claim over a number of online visits. Not all “functionality” is available yet and the system is frustratingly underdeveloped and slow. Soon you will be able to add land parcels, merge or split fields and amend boundaries.
The good news is that you do not need to map environmental stewardship features, although you do need to map areas and features that are ineligible for BPS payments or part of your ecological focus area.
3. Read the BPS guidance
Hard copies are being posted to all farmers. Have the handbook with you as you work through your online application. It really will make things easier.
The handbook tells you, for example:
- What features are eligible and which are ineligible (p24-27)
- How to claim rights of common (p15-16)
- What non-agricultural activities are allowed on land supporting a claim (p22-23).
4. Calculate surplus entitlements
This is an important step. Any entitlements that are not matched with an eligible hectare in 2015 will be lost.
Below are a few points to bear in mind if you have to transfer entitlements, or have them transferred to you.
The transferring party must be registered with the rural payments service, even if they are retiring from farming and not planning to make a claim.
The party receiving entitlements must be registered with the rural payments service and must be recognised on the system as an active farmer.
That means the active farmer element of the application process will need to be completed by the transferee before the transfer. This may catch some people out.
If the party receiving entitlements operates an activity on the negative list (for example, permanent sports grounds), they will need to go through the re-admission process.
For farmers with less than 36ha of eligible land, being accepted as an active farmer will mean obtaining an accountant certificate. No entitlements can be transferred to them until the RPA has received the evidence.
The six-week transfer period no longer applies; entitlement transfers will happen within about 24 hours of the button being pressed by the transferrer.
Again, a good dose of patience is needed. Until you are able to update all your land data and map ineligible features, you will not have your final eligible area total to compare with your entitlements information. But you can prepare by gathering information about any areas that will be ineligible.
Reasons may be:
- Utility works are taking place on part of the farm this year
- You’ve installed solar panels in one of your fields
- Other non-agricultural use is planned.
- If you do have surplus entitlements, you should put a transfer plan into action as soon as the system allows (see “Transferring Entitlements”, right).
5. Give your agent the right information
If you have a third party (agent/friend/other) helping with your online application, make sure you give them accurate and complete information about, for example, your greening measures (features and land use), recent boundary changes and any temporary ineligible features on your land.
6. Deal with dual use
If you and another farmer claim under different schemes (BPS/environmental stewardship) against the same parcel of land, you must document the agreement between you. The agreement should set out the respective rights and responsibilities of each of the parties so they, and an inspector, can see clearly that each claimant is fulfilling the scheme rules.
7. Young farmers, take action
If you plan to claim the young farmer payment, read p52-54 of the BPS guidance. It may be that business agreements will have to be amended to document the change in control of the business. Give yourself plenty of time to obtain a certification form from a solicitor or accountant. This needs to be with the RPA by midnight on 15 May.
8. Inactive farmers, get active
All BPS claimants will have to declare their active farmer status as part of the application process (see p7-12 of the BPS guidance). This “functionality” is expected to be available in early March. If you do not automatically qualify as an active farmer, and have less than 36ha of eligible land, you will need to obtain an accountant certificate to confirm that either:
- Your agricultural receipts were at least 40% of total receipts in the most recent financial year or
- The value of your SPS claim in your most recent financial year amounted to at least 5% of total non-agricultural receipts.
9. Let the RPA know about business changes
If you have restructured your business or changed its name, use a form CReg10 to let the RPA know in the usual way and in good time. This cannot yet be done through the online rural payments service.
10. Save your old SPS data
The RPA’s old “Rita” computer will be switched off on 31 March to make room for the new BPS system. Make sure you download and save or print off previous years’ SPS claim and entitlement statements.
This is not so much about making your BPS claim, but making sure you have information for comparison (for example, about the number of SPS entitlements you were recorded as holding). You will also have the information at hand should there be any queries in the future.
Julie Robinson is an agricultural specialist with Roythornes Solicitors
BPS registration made easy
Registering for the Basic Payment Scheme is straightforward – so long as farmers or their agent have the correct information to hand, says Rachel Bush, Bidwells agribusiness consultant.
First, the person who is calling the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) should be legally empowered to do so, explains Miss Bush. Applicants should then ensure they have the following details to hand:
- Personal identifier (PI) number where available
- Single business identifier
- Holding number (CPH – from the top of the SP5 form)
- Vendor number (also known as the payee reference number on the SPS remittance form)
- The number of entitlements owned
- The amount paid on the 2014 claim
- Bank account and sort code for payments received.
Farmers who have previously registered with the RPA will be asked to answer three security questions – memorable date, location and event – which will speed up the process above. Farmers who have not previously registered will be asked to set security Q&As.
Miss Bush says: “Don’t worry if you can’t find all these details, just ask to move to another question.
“You’ll also need an email address – and having pen and paper within easy reach is always handy, too. Other than that, it is fairly straightforward. In most cases, the RPA have proved very helpful on the phone.”