Farmers 'justifiably frustrated' at RPA online difficulties

After weeks of significant frustration to farmers, the RPA has announced it is abandoning its online only process due to technical difficulties.

NFU President Meurig Raymond has already spoken with Secretary of State Elizabeth Truss who has given reassurance that enough resources will be made available so BPS payments can be made in good time later this year. The RPA has reaffirmed this in its statement today in which it states it will be able to make payments in December to farmers.

The NFU said it is working with Defra and the RPA to ensure on-time payments to farmers remain a top priority for Government if they are to retain any confidence from the farming industry.

“We’ve been working tirelessly on behalf of members over the past few months pushing for a system which is robust and fit for purpose. It is clear that the situation has become untenable for our members who are justifiably frustrated, angry and anxious about the developing situation and lack of functionality and communication,” said NFU President Meurig Raymond.

“This has been made increasingly worrying and costly for our members as time is running out and the day-to-day business of farming cannot be put on hold nor can we waste any further time at this critical period in the farming year.

“The NFU has encouraged our members to register onto the new system in good faith, but we have been let down time and time again. We know that some farmers have already spent hundreds of pounds on agents’ fees and this is an unacceptable situation and the failure of the mapping capability of the systems has been a particular bugbear to our members. We are pleased to hear today the RPA commitment that they have saved the data that has already been entered onto the system and it will be used going forward.

“The RPA must now work with the NFU and farmers, sharing its planning and progress throughout the application window and beyond to the payment in December 2015. What we need now is a very clear timetable for the new application approach, and assurance that farmers can apply without increased risk of penalties or error and will be monitoring the situation closely in the coming weeks.”

CLA Deputy President Ross Murray said: “We are disappointed that landowners are now put in the position of having to revert to a paper based system. However, given the concerns about the capabilities and functionality of the IT system we are relieved that the RPA has listened to us and taken action, before it is too late.

“We will continue to meet with the RPA to ensure that every measure is being taken so that claims can be made on time and payments made at the earliest opportunity. We are also pressing Government for adequate resources to be made available for this change in process.”

Meanwhile, the EU Commission has today proposed an extension to the BPS deadline to June 15 – an extension of one month from the original May 15 deadline. Member States now need to confirm if they will take up the extension.

Steps to ensure that farmers and their agents can complete their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claims on time have been announced by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) today.

While the core and registration parts of the Rural Payments system are working well, there have been performance problems with the online interface that farmers and agents use. The RPA is now offering farmers and their agents the use of established forms and processes to complete their claims by the deadline. The RPA will then input this data on to the system.

The RPA has ensured it has the resources it needs to undertake this work on time. This means that it will be able to make payments to farmers from December 2015.

Apart from registering, farmers will not be asked to enter any further data online now. Data that has already been entered onto the system has been saved and will be used.

From 23rd March, two forms will be available to download from the RPA’s website. These are:

RLE1, which allows claimants to transfer land and entitlements and make changes to their land;

BP5, the BPS claim form.

RPA Chief Executive, Mark Grimshaw said: “My priority is to ensure that every farmer and agent has the help they need to make their claims on time. Using tried-and-tested RPA forms will make this happen.”

“Having listened to feedback, the RPA will now combine existing forms that farming businesses are used to, with data that the Rural Payments system already has. This will mean that everyone who is registered and wants to complete a 2015 Basic Payment Scheme claim can do so.”

The RPA will tomorrow (20th March) begin to email all farmers and agents who have already registered on the Rural Payments website to provide further detail on completing and submitting claims.

The new ways farmers can complete their claims are:

- Farm businesses with little change to their land will be fast-tracked by the RPA. They will receive an email in April that summarises the land and entitlement information already held, together with simple instructions on completing their claim by email. The RPA has identified approximately 39,000 farmers in this category.

- Farm businesses that need to map new features can use blank existing forms to prepare their claims, before they are sent a pre-populated form in April. They can submit their claim by post or through an RPA drop-in centre.

Any farmer who has not received an up-to-date map of their land from the RPA in the last six months will be sent one during April.

All agents will have received maps of their clients’ land from the RPA by the end of next week. Those dealing with the most complex cases will be offered additional support. The RPA is also working to give them direct access to the system.

Mark Grimshaw also said: “We welcome today’s announcement by Commissioner Hogan to offer an extension of the deadline for BPS claims to 15th June.”

All farmers and their agents can get tailored help at any of 50 RPA drop-in centres or by calling the RPA helpline on 03000 200 301. The RPA is also providing mobile units to help reach the most isolated and vulnerable farmers.

Farmers still need to register using the online Rural Payments service to begin the process of making their claim. So far over 80% of farmer businesses have successfully done this. It remains the only way that farmers and their agents can register to make a claim.