BPS advance payments to be issued on 1 August, RPA confirms

Responding to industry feedback, this year the RPA is making the majority of payments on a single day
Responding to industry feedback, this year the RPA is making the majority of payments on a single day

Farmers can expect BPS advance payments to be issued on 1 August, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed.

Responding to farming industry feedback, this year the RPA is making the majority of payments on a single day.

Advance BPS payments will be up to 50 percent of the total annual BPS payment, with the remaining balance expected from December.

The RPA said the vast majority of farmers would be paid on time, but there would be a small number of farmers whose claims require additional checks.

In 2022 – the first year advance payments were made – payments started in July and concluded in August.

Paul Caldwell, chief executive of the RPA said: "We recognise the importance of these payments to the rural community, which is why we listened to the sector and are making the majority of payments on one day to provide certainty to farmers.

"This also marks the second year of the permanent change to two payments, with the first instalment brought forward to the summer, and I’m pleased this is having a positive impact on farmers’ cashflow."

In 2022, Defra announced that payments would be made in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period.

Since 2021, BPS payments have been reducing each year as they are phased out completely by the end of the agricultural transition period in 2027.