The Basic Payment Scheme will continue in Wales at current levels in 2024, whereas in England it will be replaced by delinked payments which will be paid each year until 2027.
Wales
In Wales the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will continue to be provided at current levels in 2024 with a provisional allocation of £238m.
As the opening of the 2024 BPS window is fast approaching, preparations can begin to be made in readiness. Here are a few ideas to help you get a good head start.
- Ensuring an up-to-date cropping plan is in place.
- Note down any new ineligible areas such as buildings, tracks, and hardstanding along with dimensions and the location on a map.
- If selling land and/or entitlements, the purchaser’s SBI number and trading title is needed.
- Do you have any surplus entitlements? If so, then think about selling these.
Please note CXCS will continue the application process for existing Welsh BPS clients unless we are instructed otherwise.
England
In England the 2023 scheme year was the last year of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). From 2024 BPS will be replaced by delinked payments which will be paid each year until 2027. The amount you receive will decrease each year as progressive reductions are applied. 2027 will be the last year of delinked payments.
Delinked payments
To receive delinked payments, you must:
- Be eligible – this means you must have claimed, and be eligible for, BPS payments in England in the 2023 scheme year (except for some inherited land). Read the BPS rules for 2023 for information about eligibility for BPS.
- Have a reference amount.
Your reference amount will normally be your average BPS payment in the reference period, which is the BPS 2020 to 2022 scheme years. If you did not claim BPS in the reference period, you will only have a reference amount if BPS reference data has been transferred to you.
Your BPS 2023 claim does not need to be for the same amount of land, or for land in the same part of England, as you claimed in the reference period. Your BPS 2023 claim needs to be for at least 5 eligible hectares, with 5 BPS entitlements in the same BPS payment region as the land.
As long as you are eligible for delinked payments, the value of your payments for 2024 to 2027 will not be affected if your farm size changes, or if you change what the land is used for, after BPS 2022.
You can receive delinked payments even if you choose to stop farming after the BPS 2023 application deadline (15 May 2023). You will not be eligible for delinked payments if you have received a payment under the Lump Sum Exit Scheme.
How delinked payments are calculated
Use the government’s progressive reductions calculator to see how progressive reductions may affect your payment for the 2024 scheme year. Different progressive reductions will be applied for years 2025 to 2027 as delinked payments are gradually phased out. These reductions have not been announced yet.
It is planned that delinked payments will me made in 2 instalments each year – an advance payment of around 50% from 1st August with the balance payment from 1st December.
For further help and advice please contact our BPS team on 01981 590514.
