English BPS Entitlements User Guide
What is needed to claim BPS payments?
You must be eligible and have eligible land
To be eligible to claim payment under the Basic Payment Scheme a claimant must:
Be an "Active Farmer" (the Active Farmer requirement has now been removed from the English scheme and has been relaxed in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It still applies in full for the Welsh scheme);
Have at least 5 ha of eligible agricultural land;
Hold enough entitlements to match their eligible agricultural land. These must also be the appropriate entitlements for their English region, and then the correct type of entitlements for the land they farm within that region (i.e. Non-SDA, SDA or SDA Moorland) when making a claim. New Entrants or Young Farmers may be able to apply to the National Reserve to be allocated new entitlements, see how here;
Be undertaking eligible "agricultural" activity on the eligible land that they are declaring to activate entitlements via a BPS claim;
Have the land at their disposal on the 15th May (or the next working day if this is a weekend) in the year of the claim, and remain eligible for the full calendar year;
Have declared any individual field to be at least 0.1 hectares to activate BPS entitlements (except for common land).
Submit a BPS claim (online or on paper) by the 15th May deadline.
Meet Cross Compliance rules for the whole of the scheme year across the whole holding.
What would you do on the land?
To ensure you also receive the additional "Greening" element of the BPS payment (approx. 30% of the total), the Claimant must also comply with the Greening rules, which are summarised as follows:
Farmers with 10 or more hectares of arable land (i.e. land cultivated for crop production, fallow land or temporary grassland) need to follow the crop diversification Greening rule.
Farmers with more than 15 hectares of arable land must follow the crop diversification and the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) Greening rules.
Farmers with less than 10 hectares of arable land don't need to do anything differently – they are exempt from the crop diversification and EFA area rules.
Farmers with permanent grassland must follow the permanent grassland Greening rules.
What payment can you expect?
The 2019 BPS entitlement values and greening payments which are subject to the Financial Discipline Mechanism were confirmed by the RPA on the 5th November 2019, as shown below:
English Region
Entitlement post FDM
Value post FDM
Non-SDA €182.70 €78.69 €257.65 £229.54
SDA €181.34 €78.11 €255.73 £227.84
Moorland €49.76 €21.43 €70.17 £62.51
(It has been a flat rate for each English region since 2015)
The BPS value and Greening value rates form the Entitlement value of the payment per hectare. The final value figure has been converted from a Euro value to Pounds Sterling, using the 2019 exchange rate of €:£0.89092 which was fixed over the month of September.
The 2019 figures were subject to the Financial Discipline Mechanism (FDM) reduction (to create an "emergency" fund), which was confirmed to be 1.432635% by the RPA. This reduction will be applied to all payments made above €2,000, and will be refunded in a future year if the funds are not used.
Rates before the FDM were:
2014 £/ha excluding 1.3% FDM
2015 £/ha excluding 1.39% FDM
Non – SDA £ 195.41 £ 181.37 £ 215.61 £ 230.97 £ 231.70 £ 232.88
SDA £ 156.49 £ 180.07 £ 214.06 £ 228.88 £ 229.93 £ 231.15
Moorland £ 27.41 £ 47.58 £56.56 £ 63.48 £ 62.70 £ 63.42
How do you sell entitlements?
If you are looking to sell English entitlements please see our Seller's guide here and some of the entitlements wanted here. If you are looking to sell Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish entitlements please contact Julia Clark (email).
How do you buy entitlements?
If you are looking to buy English entitlements please see our Buyer's guide here and some of the entitlements available here. If you are looking to buy Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish entitlements please contact Julia Clark (email).
How do you make your BPS claim?
If you would like further information on how to complete your BPS claim see here or contact mburton@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk.
What to watch out for if you are a landlord, outgoing or incoming tenant involved in transferring entitlements
Problems can arise between landlords and outgoing or incoming tenants, agreeing a transfer of entitlements although both parties tend to have their own agents negotiating a transfer price for them. See here for what you should watch out for.
What to watch out for if your farm consultant or agent is buying or selling your entitlements from/to another of their clients
For a more in-depth guide you can apply for your free copy of the ebook – UK BPS Entitlements – User Guide more details of which are given below, or to download your free e-book click here. Please note: The e-book is an interactive digital book that cannot be printed. If you would like to order a hard copy paperback version of the User Guide for £25 (no VAT) including postage please email kdean@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk.
Payments should be sent to Townsend Chartered Surveyors client account, sort code 12-20-26, account no. 06046475 with reference "UG HC" and your name. If ordering a hard copy, please provide details of your postal address.
If you would like to sign up to receive updates on current entitlement trading and information email kdean@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk.
The UK BPS Entitlements User Guide
This is the first definitive guide for those involved with UK entitlements not only in respect to buying and selling, but also how they affect decisions taken by farm businesses and managers of land.
The Guide provides historical insight into agricultural subsidies in the UK which date back to 1932, and how they have evolved into the entitlement system we know today. Following the 2016 UK Referendum it has never been so important to fully understand how the EU Basic Payment Scheme entitlement system works, why it is in place, and how it will influence any new UK subsidy system. One needs to know how previous schemes were developed and worked, and how these may influence the way the UK authorities interpret and manage not only the current scheme, but also design new ones. The authors have made use of their considerable experience running nationwide quota agencies for over 30 years and being involved in the practical implications for farmers and land owners, resolving disputes with the RPA, court and arbitration test cases and the effect entitlements have on all aspects of rural property management. The Guide provides a synopsis of the current entitlement system in the UK, and what should be considered when buying, selling and managing entitlements. This is essential reading for farmers, land owners, land agents, land managers, farm consultants, agricultural solicitors and accountants and those advising farming businesses and landowners.
"Whether you are a practicing farmer, an accountant, a rural surveyor, a student, a land agent – or even an agricultural journalist – this book will become an invaluable tool for understanding the intricacies of agricultural support in the UK."
Philip Clarke – Executive Editor, Farmers Weekly
"Townsend Chartered Surveyor's expertise in this complex area is well-respected and this new, much needed, publication will become a 'bible' for all practitioners dealing with entitlements, the support system and the Rural Payments Agency. As the UK's largest multiprofessional organisation devoted to the law and business of the countryside, the Agricultural Law Association are pleased to endorse this book."
M R Holland MRICS – Agricultural Law Association
"Entitlements to the CAP's Single and now Basic Payments were created under EU law as another novel asset offering income but with a thicket of rules – and traps. In this guide, Hugh Townsend offers the experience of his specialist practice in handling these varied issues as found in each of the four parts of the UK."
Jeremy Moody – CAAV Secretary & Adviser
To view some sample pages click here.
Still have some questions or queries?
Email entitlements@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk or ring us on 01392 823935.