RPA told to '˜up its game' as farmers still await payments

Guy Smith, vice president of the National Farmers' Union, has outlined his concerns about both 2015 and 2016 farm payments, as he challenged the Rural Payments Agency to raise its game.

National Farmers’ Union vice president Guy Smith said the RPA must iron out a number of problems that still exist with the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments.

He said the atmosphere among farmers was “fraught” with NFU members saying that they did not have confidence in the Agency to sort out outstanding issues from the last payment window around remaining payments, mapping and dealing with appeals.

Mr Smith, who farms in Essex, said payment delays were still causing “real stress and serious hardship” within the farming community.

“Travelling round the country talking to farmers and agents, it is staggering just how many feel that BPS 2015 is far from complete or resolved,” the senior union official said.

“Fifteen months on from when these claims were submitted and just three months away from the opening of the 2016 payment window, the atmosphere is best described as fraught. As we enter a third year of low commodity prices, cash-flow problems are becoming compounded and the impact of delayed BPS or HLS/ELS payments becomes more pronounced. This is causing real stress and serious hardship.

“We already gather the annual cross check between BPS and agri-environmental schemes is running later than it has historically taken place.”

Mr Smith said of particular concern were livestock producers in the uplands and with common land who need to restock their sheep flocks in the autumn sales and who are waiting for BPS monies.

Mr Smith also said that the NFU had always doubted there were only 13,500 underpayment cases to be resolved and feared there were many more the system had not picked up.

“I would urge the RPA to issue entitlement statements for the first year of BPS to help farmers understand and confirm their entitlements starting point,” he said.

“This is critical if entitlements have been added from the national reserve or taken away due to the rules in place. Farmers need to know this basic information before their BPS 2016 payments arrive.”

He added: “Ultimately, there are a lot of questions. The RPA needs to up its game on communicating to farmers the outcomes of 2015 land-based inspections and the outcome of the payment reconciliation work and support if farmers wish to challenge the RPA’s confirmed position, so they can at least know the status of their previous claims.”

The Yorkshire Post has asked the Rural Payments Agency to comment on the concerns.