The Rural Payments Agency has been urged to provide certainty for over 8,000 farmers who are still waiting for their BPS claims in the form of bridging payments.
The call by the NFU comes as farmers await the RPA’s performance update, where it will announce if they have hit their target of 90% of BPS claimants paid by the end of December.
The NFU says, while hoping the RPA has met its target, that 10% of farmers will still be left waiting.
NFU Vice President Guy Smith commented: “We have not forgotten that thousands of farmers are still waiting and this causes real problems with cash flow when running a farm business. The vast majority of those still waiting are doing so through no fault of their own. It is the RPA’s process that is causing the delay.
“Accordingly, we are calling for bridging payments as soon as possible for those unpaid. Defra should at the very least match for English farmers what has been done in Scotland and Wales when it comes to bridging payments.”
In November last year, the NFU said the RPA must pay over 90% of BPS claims by the end of December as uncertainty begins to surface over the agency's effectiveness of getting payments out on time.
The RPA promised to pay over 90% of claims by the end of December.
The uncertainty follows news of the chief executive of the RPA publicly acknowledging the agency's shortcomings on how it manages farm support payments.
Guy Smith said many farmers also feel that they have not been paid "correctly".
He added: “This is adding to the already unacceptable amount of outstanding workload at the RPA due to 2015/2016 issues still unresolved. Again we are calling on Defra to make sure its delivery agency has the necessary resources to function properly.”
