• Bridging Payments will be available to People who have not yet received their BPS 2018 payment and/or an advance payment for their Countryside Stewardship (CS) 2018 claim by the end of March.
• These payments will be made in April at 75% of the current estimated value of their claims.
• A single, combined payment will be made where both payments are to be made in the same currency.
• Letters have started to go out to applicants

Bridging payments  WILL NOT be available to farmers whose current BPS/CS claim values is showing as zero i.e. (there is an unresolved dispute).

This DOES NOT cover Environmental Stewardship (ELS/HLS) applicants.  There remain a substantial number of applicants who have yet to be paid.

The plan is to make 95% of these payments by end July.  The RPA cannot make a 2018 payment if a 2017 payment is outstanding.

CS Payments

Almost 3,800 agreement holders have or will receive bridging payments for CS relating to 2018 payments.

RPA have confirmed that those agreement holders that were not eligible for a bridging payment, outlined in their letter are now the priority to release monies to.

ELS/HLS Payments

RPA have reassured stakeholders they are on track to deliver 95% of final 2017 payments by the end of July 2019.

There have been around 9,500 2018 payments made (sitting at around 50% of the total).

The NFU continues to lobby for bridging payments for outstanding 2018 payments.

Thank you to NFU for updating The Farmer Network with this information.