The Rural Payments Agency has reduced its bank helpline opening hours due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
From Wednesday 13 January, the RPA will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9am and 2pm.
"We’re committed to maintain vital services for our customers," the agency said in a new update published today.
"However, to safeguard our people during these exceptional times, we’ve had to reduce the bank helpline opening hours.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and ask that you please bear with us during this time.
"We will keep reviewing the situation and publish further updates when available."
The RPA said it would continue to deliver the services to agricultural and rural communities across the country while the majority of its staff work from home.
When schemes open, it said it would publish further updates as necessary, including any contingency arrangements it may need to make to support farmers.
"Following government guidance, our inspectors will continue with most inspection work to ensure that we meet our regulatory targets and do not cause any delay to payments," the RPA added.
"They will continue to follow our strict health and safety procedures that we put in place last year and will carry out risk assessments before each inspection."
