As we prepare for the Christmas break, the Rostons team are already beginning to prepare for the Basic Payment Scheme 2017.
For all professionals involved with clients receiving Basic Payment, here’s an essential recap of some the main points and pitfalls of the scheme:
1. 2015 Payment
Several clients were unpaid due to errors on their 2015 payment calculation. Many are still waiting to be paid fully for this year and we suspect some claimants are not even aware they have been paid incorrectly. For example, an English non-SDA claim, providing sufficient entitlements are available, will pay out approximately £180 per hectare. Did you receive this?
2. 2016 Payment
By the time you read this, it is hoped that some (up to 90% according to RPA statistics) have received this year’s payment by December 31 2016. A typical example of the English lowland claim would be in the region of £215 per hectare (unfortunately a Welsh claim is much more complex, so we can’t provide a standard figure yet).
3. 2017 Claim
It is important now for businesses to get prepared for the 2017 claim. Advisors are already speaking with the farming community and it is important to ensure that all updates are made on the online system. Any additional land that has been taken on either by purchase or by a tenancy needs to be transferred in, together with possible entitlements. Likewise if any land has been lost, updates need to be made.
It is also important not to forget greening. It has not been confirmed just as yet as to whether the greening rules will change for the 2017 scheme year, but it appears the three main rules are still in place – Crop Diversification, Ecological Focus Areas and Permanent Grassland.
Entitlement Trading
We are now in the buzz of Basic Payment Entitlements for English and Welsh entitlements, with trade being currently at £200 /ha for English non SDA entitlements.
Welsh Entitlements are subject to their Euro entitlement value, however, multipliers are in the region of 1.2 – 1.6 x their 2016 Euro Value.
If you are aware of any clients that have taken on land that may not have entitlements, it may be worth mentioning to them to purchase. Likewise if there is any surplus entitlements they have available for sale, this is an ideal way of gaining a little bit more income for something that would otherwise be lost.