The New Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) Guidelines
The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) replaced the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) on 1 January 2015. As a result, the Government have released a new set of guidelines that help to explain the rules of the new scheme, including:
- who can claim
- what you need to have before you can claim (eligible land and entitlements)
- what you need to grow and do on your land
This guidance replaces the leaflets sent to farmers in 2014 (the introductory leaflet in April and the August, October and December CAP reform in England updates). All of the BPS information from those leaflets is in this guidance – but some of it may have changed if new decisions have been made, for example, by the European Commission (for example, on the eligibility of land with trees on and when farmers can sow grass on fallow land used as part of an Ecological Focus Area).
Please note: DEFRA confirmed that, as part of the initiatives to streamline eligibility for the Basic Payments Scheme in 2015 under the Active Farmer rule, a minimum limit of 36 acres has been applied to farms. This may affect those small breeders operating on less than 36 hectares and who were previously eligible to receive Single Farm Payments under the old Scheme.
To download the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) Guidelines please click here or visit the BPS page on Gov.uk