As far as we are aware no farmer who farms common land in England has received their 2015 BPS payment. We know that RPA are doing their best to expedite payments, but nevertheless this is extremely disappointing. Hard-pressed commoners are left waiting for their BPS money without any clear indication when they will receive it.
We, and other practitioners with expert technical knowledge on common land are in regular dialogue with RPA through the BPS on Common Land Working Group which we convene. We have urged the RPA to improve their communication with commoners and give them a clear indication of when they can expect to be paid. so they can plan and better manage their cash flows. We are hearing of real cases of hardship and we will continue to press them hard on this issue.
We also urge commoners to respond quickly to requests from the RPA for further information about their BPS claim on common land. Delays in producing this information will hold up payments for all the other claimants on the common.
