Today (Tuesday, October 14), £157.8 million has been paid to over 15,500 Welsh farm businesses as Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) 2024 advance payments are made.
More than 96% of claimants received a BPS advance today, worth approximately 70% of their estimated claim value
Rural Payments Wales (RPW) continues to make advance payments beyond this date, as individual BPS claims become eligible for an advance.
Full and remaining balance BPS 2024 payments will be made from December 12, subject to full validation of the BPS claim.
Farm businesses
It is expected all but the most complex BPS claims to be fully validated, and payments made before the end of the payment window on June 30, 2025.
Deputy First Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies with Responsibility for Rural Affairs, said: “I am pleased that thousands of farms across Wales have now had the BPS advance payments for 2024.
“I hope this gives farming businesses and families across Wales reassurance and stability for the year ahead.
“Rural Payments Wales will be working hard to ensure full and remaining balance payments are made as early as possible once the payment window opens in December.”
BPS
According to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), from 2025, farmers will have the option of choosing either SFS or BPS.
If a farmer chooses to participate in the SFS, they will have no option to revert back to BPS.
The BPS will be phased out during the Transition Period. The BPS Entitlement Value, Redistributive Payment and the Young Farmer Payment will be phased out incrementally over a five-year period with a 20% taper in equal steps, the first 20% reduction applying to the BPS in 2025 with the final BPS claim in 2028.
There will be no BPS application or payment available in 2029.
For BPS entitlements, the Welsh government propose:
- Farmers who choose to participate in SFS will surrender their entitlements;
- To close the National Reserve;
- To restrict the transfer of BPS entitlements to those who transfer and/or lease entitlements with the land and farmers currently leasing in entitlements for land they currently claim under BPS. BPS entitlement transfers in cases of inheritance and succession will also be permitted;
- To remove the two-year entitlement usage rule.
