Detailed guide: BPS 2017

How BPS 2017 payments are calculated

To find out how payments are calculated, read the ‘Payments, Reductions and Penalties’ section of the Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017. Page 89 explains how RPA calculates payments.

You may also need to read information about greening administrative penalties that apply from BPS 2017.

Common land grazing rights
(PDF, 636KB, 54 pages)

– to find out how the value of the common land part of the BPS payment is calculated read the example below.

The BPS 2017 exchange rate is: €1 = £0.89470.

Entitlement values for 2017

Payment region	Entitlement value
Non-SDA (Severely Disadvantaged area)	€180.46
SDA	€178.90
SDA moorland	€49.63

Greening payment rates for 2017

Payment region	Greening payment rate
Non-SDA (Severely Disadvantaged area)	€77.69
SDA	€76.92
SDA moorland	€21.32

Commons eligibility checks 2017

RPA regularly checks and updates its digital maps. This includes common land.
Land cover eligibility on common land is checked using the latest enhanced satellite images and a limited number of supplementary physical land checks. These checks are different from RPA’s usual land eligibility checks. The main differences are:

• RPA is checking the eligibility of the land cover on commons and not land boundaries

• RPA is surveying the eligible area of a common separately to the enclosed land farmed by the common land graziers who declared grazing rights on the common for BPS

• Graziers claim for a common by declaring their grazing rights rather than applying directly for an area of land. This means that there will be no penalties for over-declaring if RPA discovers the eligible area is less than previously used

When and where to check for changes

RPA needs to make sure that all land data on their systems is no more than 3 years old. These checks are carried out on an ongoing basis. This means each common will not be checked every year.

After a common is checked, if the eligible area has changed, RPA will write to those customers who declare rights on it. RPA will publish the new eligible area and updated information on these checks on GOV.UK.

The changes might affect the value of customers’ BPS 2017 and agri-environment and woodland claims and payments.

This is because the ‘notional area’ used to calculate a customer’s 2017 BPS payment may be less than last year. Therefore, their 2017 BPS payment may be lower than they are expecting.
Read more information about how the ‘notional area’ of the common is calculated on page 28 of the
Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017
(PDF, 4.33MB, 118 pages)

.

What to do if you do not agree with the updates

Customers who want to query the revised eligible area need to discuss their query with the other commoners, and relevant Commons Association or equivalent organisation, to reach an agreed view.
It is important that individual customers do not make any changes to the land cover on the common, such as removing scrub, without discussing it with the other graziers/commoners. This is because it might affect the scheme agreements in place with other commoners.

Once customers have reviewed and discussed the findings with the other commoners, if they still want to query or disagree with RPA’s findings, they can call RPA on 03000 200 301.

RPA will focus on making payments using the updated eligible areas and then will review any queries received. This is to avoid delays in making payments.

Example calculation:

How the value of the common land part of the BPS payment is calculated.

The common has:

• an eligible area of 300ha; and

• grazing rights being claimed under BPS for 200 sheep and 70 cattle.

RPA must calculate the livestock unit (LU) value of all the rights being claimed for the common:

• Each sheep is equivalent to 0.15 LU, so the calculation for the sheep grazing rights being claimed is:
  200 sheep x 0.15 LU = 30 LU

• Each adult cow is 1 LU, so the calculation for the cattle grazing rights being claimed is: 70 cattle x 1 LU = 70 LU

• The total LU being claimed for the common is therefore:
  30 LU + 70 LU = 100 LU

• The area to be allocated for each LU claimed for the common is calculated as: 300ha / 100 LU = 3.0ha/LU

• If the farmer declared 40 LU of rights to activate entitlements on their BPS 2017 application they would be allocated 3.0ha/LU x 40 LU = 120ha of the total eligible area of the common.

• This area will be used to activate entitlements in the same way as any other land declared by the farmer on their application. The examples shown above under ‘Main BPS payment’ and ‘Average entitlement value’ show how this is done.

The above examples are based on a single common and do not take account of any split rights.

Rural Payments service

You can use the Rural Payments service to:

• Register for rural payments
• View your BPS 2017 application summary
• Update your personal and business details
• Give someone else (like an agent) permission to act on your behalf
• View your BPS entitlements
• See and print digital maps of your land parcels

Now the 2017 application period is over, you cannot use the service to:

• edit land use

• add or delete common rights

• make an active farmer declaration for BPS 2017

RPA will let you know when you can do this for BPS 2018.

From 15 May, it was not possible to:

• transfer entitlements to use in the BPS 2017 scheme year – either online or using an RLE1 form

• transfer land using the Rural Payment service (You can use an RLE1 form for land changes during the BPS 2017 scheme year, as long as the land was at your disposal on 15 May)

RPA will let you know when you can do this for BPS 2018 using the Rural Payments service, so you don’t need to send an RLE1 form.

How to use the Rural Payments service – help is available

There’s help onscreen in the service to guide you if you get stuck (you can also
download a copy of the onscreen help
(PDF, 2.45MB, 55 pages)

)

Updates to digital maps on the Rural Payments service

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is making a number of updates to digital maps, this started in August 2017 and will continue through into autumn 2017. For more information on these updates please see the RLE1 page.

To view your individual land parcels, go to: www.ruralpayments.service.gov.uk/. From the ‘Business overview’ screen, click ‘Land’ then ‘View land’.

We will use these land updates to calculate BPS 2017 payments.

Financial Discipline Mechanism Reimbursement

Each year the European Commission uses some of the BPS budget to create a ‘crisis reserve’. This is used to support the farming industry in times of crisis, such as disease outbreak. To do this – and to make sure that the overall European budget for BPS is not exceeded – a mechanism called ‘financial discipline’ is used. ‘Financial discipline’ means BPS payments across all Member States are reduced.

If the FDM funds have not been used to relieve a crisis, they are reimbursed to eligible farmers in the following scheme year. Farmers with a 2017 BPS claim worth more than €2,000 will receive a reimbursement from the 2016 FDM fund.

Payments will start from early October 2018. The payment is called ‘FDM reimbursement’ on the remittance advice, which is being sent after a payment is made.

The rate to use to calculate the reimbursement for 2017 is 1.310%. RPA takes a farmer’s claim value, removes the first €2,000 and any reductions if they apply (but not cross compliance penalties), then multiplies this by 1.310%. They take the resulting amount and remove any cross compliance penalties from it.

Here’s an example:

Some farmers may receive a further payment under FDM for previous years.

Planned maintenance of the Rural Payments service

There will be times when the Rural Payments service is unavailable because of essential planned maintenance and updates.

Check ‘Rural Payments: registering and updating your details’ to keep updated about availability of the Rural Payments service.

Scheme rules and other guidance

• 
  Basic Payment Scheme: rules for 2017
  (PDF, 4.33MB, 118 pages)
  
  find out how the scheme works

Other guidance and forms you may need

• Active farmer certificate – 2017.
• Active farmer readmission: accountant certificate – 2017
• Rural Payments: land use codes

• 
  Greening workbook for 2017
  (PDF, 287KB, 10 pages)
  

• The guide to cross compliance in England 2017

• 
  Winter varieties of Brassica crops for ‘crop diversification’
  (PDF, 112KB, 3 pages)
  

• 
  Young and new farmer form
  (PDF, 231KB, 8 pages)
  
  (including applications for entitlements) and
  guidance on completing the Young and new farmer form
  (PDF, 669KB, 11 pages)
  

Read the RLE1 form and guidance if you need to use an RLE1 form to change your online maps, or to transfer entitlements by paper.

Guidance to help you apply

• 
  How to claim BPS online in 2017
  (PDF, 3.26MB, 46 pages)
  
  gives extra information about claiming online
• 
  How to apply using a paper form
  (PDF, 907KB, 60 pages)
  
  gives extra information about applying on paper
• 
  Not applied online before?
  (PDF, 2.49MB, 2 pages)
  
  leaflet gives paper customers information to help apply online
• 
  BPS 2017: Hints and tips
  (PDF, 1MB, 24 pages)
  
  to help you make your application

Continuation booklets

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part C: Field data sheet
  (PDF, 171KB, 12 pages)
  

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part D: Greening: ecological focus areas (EFA)
  (PDF, 174KB, 8 pages)
  

• 
  BP5 continuation booklet – Part E: Common land grazing rights
  (PDF, 162KB, 8 pages)