The RPA has announced the latest BPS payment figures following a further payment run on Sunday 25 January.
In summary, the RPA have paid a further £66m to 3,472 claimants, with payments averaging c£19,000 each. Please also note the latest on ES payments and also the frustration that some farmers have not been paid due to not being registered or their bank account details.
There is expected to be further weekly payment runs at weekends going forward.
The NFU's concern is all those not paid, as can be seen from the headline figures below, there are as many without any notification of payment timing as have received the latest round of letters from the RPA:
• Claim Population: 87,000
• Paid (but no breakdowns) 61,200
• With a letter and not paid 13,000
• No letter or payment 12,800
The RPA statement in brief:
• BPS 2015 payments stands at 61,172 - over 70% of those eligible
• Over £845 million, of an estimated total fund of £1.43 billion, has now been paid out for the 2015 Scheme.
• The RPA said it's doing everything it can to pay the remaining claims as quickly as possible. This includes contacting those who still need to register or provide information. There is currently £1.5million of payments ready to pay waiting for those farmers to either register or confirm correct bank account details.
• Environmental Stewardship: Natural England has now processed over 29,000 Environmental Stewardship final payments (65%) worth over £220 million which is a month ahead of previous years.
