The RPA delivers best ever December payment performance
The Rural Payment Agency looks back on 2020
From:
11 January 2021
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has delivered its best ever December payment performance and paid just under 98% of Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claims despite the challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Payments during December were made to around 82,500 eligible claimants and were worth more than £1.77 billion in total, making it the best performance since the scheme opened in 2015.
In addition the RPA brought forward more full Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) payments in December, with just under 68% of eligible CS revenue and just over 57% of ES claims paid, totalling £67 million. There was also an increase in the number of CS 2021 agreements issued with over 63% of applicants receiving their offers by the end of the year.
Final round of Small Grants scheme issues £21m to farmers
15 December 2020 |
Applicants have until 31 May 2021 to buy and install all their items, and submit their claim for payment
More than 3,800 farmers are set to benefit from £21m in new equipment as part of the third and final round of the Countryside Productivity Small Grants (CPSG) scheme.
Farmers are now being encouraged to speak to their suppliers to confirm the items they wish to order are available before accepting their grant.
Applicants have until midnight on 31 May 2021 to buy and install all their items, and submit their claim for payment.
This deadline has been extended by two months to allow for potential delays caused by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Date Time
£21 million awarded to farmers to boost productivity
More than 3,800 farmers are set to benefit from £21 million in productivity-boosting equipment from the third and final round of the government’s Countryside Productivity Small Grants (CPSG) scheme.
The Rural Payments Agency notified successful applicants of their awards in late November and is now encouraging farmers to speak to their suppliers to confirm the items they wish to order are available before accepting their grant by using the acceptance portal by 18 January 2021.
Under the scheme, farmers applied for grants of between £3,000 and £12,000 to invest in new and innovative equipment – from livestock monitoring cameras to precision farming technology – which help businesses save time and money and improve productivity.