Category: Policy & Business

English farmers will be able to take their future BPS payments in a ‘lump sum’ retirement payment this year.  Defra has (finally) released its response to the consultation undertaken last year (see article https://abcbooks.co.uk/lump-sum-and-delinking/)  This was originally expected in the autumn, but has been repeatedly delayed.  The response now published (see https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/direct-payments-to-farmers-lump-sum-exit-scheme-and-delinked-payments) re-affirms the option will be available this spring and sets out the rules in more detail.  Precise scheme rules will only be known when the secondary legislation to enact the scheme is passed.  We probably now know enough for sensible business decisions to be made, however.  More details have also been released on the ‘decoupling’ of BPS payments which was consulted on at the same time.

Lump Sum Payments

A summary of the scheme is as follows;

• The Lump Sum scheme will open in April 2022 and run until 30th September 2022.  More detail will be provided at this time, including how businesses that have changed through mergers and splits will be treated.  It will not be a competitive scheme – anyone who meets the criteria will get the payment.  It is envisaged that the Lump Sum is only going to be available in 2022 – if it is not applied for this year, the opportunity will be lost.   BPS claimants will be able to request a statement setting out how how much Lump Sum they are eligible for
• Lump Sum payments would be made in November 2022 (or as soon as the requirements of the scheme on land transfers – see below – have been met)
• To qualify, applicants must have made a BPS claim in May 2018.  There will be exemptions for those that have inherited a farm or succeeded to an AHA tenancy since 2018 as well as rules on mergers and splits of businesses between 2018 and now
• The payment will be based on the average BPS paid in the three years 2019, 2020 and 2021 (the reference period).  The figure for 2021 will be before any Agricultural Transition deductions.  This average sets the ‘reference amount’.  This will be capped at £42,500 (this is equivalent to around 185 hectares or 460 acres).  There will be a standard multiplier of 2.35 to arrive at the value of the lump sum.  Therefore the payment will be limited to £100,000
• If the applicant has already reduced their entitlements compared to the reference period, their lump sum will be reduced proportionally
• Those who take up the Lump Sum will not be able to apply for any new agreements under other support schemes such as the SFI or CS.  The Lump Sum will need to be paid back if these schemes are entered into
• Applicants must give up their farmland if they apply to the scheme.  They can keep residential and commercial property, non-agricultural land and up to 5 hectares of agricultural land.  The land that must be transferred is that which was held on the 17th May 2021.  If some of this has already been transferred, the transfer meets scheme rules, and the applicant has kept the entitlements, this would be eligible for the lump sum payment.
• The transfer of land includes sale, granting a tenancy (which must be for more than 5 years), gifting it, or relinquishing a tenancy.  Where there is an AHA with succession rights, the transfer to a successor will be eligible for the scheme.  It will also be possible to put land held at the 17th May 2021 into woodland planting and claim the Lump Sum.  Sole traders will not be able to transfer to a spouse or civil partner
• Applicants will have until 31st May 2024 to complete their transfer (useful if notices have to be given on tenancies or sales negotiated).  It will be possible to apply for the Lump Sum this year and still claim the BPS in 2022 or 2023 if the transfer is not complete.  Any BPS payments made in 2022 or 2023 would be deducted from the Lump Sum – it would be treated as a ‘prepayment’ on the Lump Sum.  
• The rules on Partnerships and Limited Companies have been made more flexible since the original proposal.  Where Partners or Shareholders (either singly or jointly) have at last a 50% interest in a business they will be able to apply for the Lump Sum.  All entitlements held by the business would be cancelled.  However, any remaining Partners or Shareholders will be able to enter into new land management agreements
• The tax treatment of the Lump Sum payment has been clarified.  Legislation will be introduce to ensure that the payments are treated as capital rather than income.  Therefore, they will be taxed under Capital Gains Tax (or Corporation tax for companies) and be eligible for CGT reliefs.  This treatment will also apply to any ‘interim’ BPS payments still claimed in 2022 and 2023 whilst the transfer of land is being sorted-out.

To help with ‘generational renewal’, Defra is also planning a New Entrants scheme.  More details are promised later in the spring.

As we have written in the past, the Lump Sum will probably only be of interest to a quite small number of English farmers.  Now more details are available, at least they and their advisors will be able to work through the options and see whether it makes sense on a case-by-case basis.  Further information and details on how to request a forecast statement of the Lump Sum can be found at – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lump-sum-payments-for-farmers-who-leave-or-retire-from-farming-and-delinked-payments

De-Linking

As previously outlined, this will not happen until 2024.  It appears that a claim (of some sort) will have to be made at May 2023.  This might mean some claimants keep hold of the minimum claim area of 5 Ha in 2023 just to preserve the right to De-Linked payments.  Defra has announced that the reference period for these payments will be the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 (a different reference period to the Lump Sum).  The average of these years will set the reference amount.  This amount will be simply multiplied by the annual deduction to get the payment for the years 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027.   It can therefore be seen that, if a farmer made a claim in 2020 and 2021, but has subsequently given up (most of) the land, they will still get two-thirds of the payment relating to that land in the four years from 2024.  De-linked payments will be treated as revenue for taxation purposes.  Whether delinked payments can be inherited or transferred is not yet known.

With the delinking of payments, entitlements will have no further use – the 2023 year will be the last time they are used.  If entitlements have been purchased (or inherited) there may be a loss for Capital Gains Tax after 2023.

Also, the cross-compliance system will come to an end.  Defra promises an update shortly on the future regulation of the agricultural sector.

The Bank of England increased UK base rates on Thursday 3rd February from 0.25% to 0.50%.  This is in response to rising inflation.  Further increases are expected.

The payment rates for the SFI Pilot have been revised.  Some of the payments have remained the same whilst others have seen an increase.  The table below shows the updated rates alongside the previous payment for comparison.  Some Pilot agreements will have already started, others are still being agreed but the new payments will apply from the start of all agreements.

Where agreements have commenced, an updated agreement can be obtained by signing in to Rural Payments service to ‘Generate’ and ‘Download’ and updated version.

The application window for the first round of Landscape Recovery pilot projects is now open and will close on 24th May 2022.  Landscape Recovery is the third component of ELM.  It is for farmers and land managers, including groups, who want to take a more radical and large-scale (500-5,000 Ha) approach to producing environment and climate goods on their land, such as establishing new nature reserves, restoring floodplains to help reduce the risks from flooding, or creating woodland and wetlands.  The first round will focus on;

• Species Recovery – Recovering and restoring England’s threatened native species e.g. recovering priority habitats, improving habitat quality and increasing species abundance.  Projects under this theme will be administered by Natural England
• River Restoration – Restoring England’s streams and rivers, improving water quality, biodiversity and adapting to climate change e.g. restoring rivers to a more natural state, improving resilience to climate change, this could be by reducing flood risk.  Projects under this theme will be administered by the Environment Agency

The application process is competitive.  All ‘bids’ will be scored against assessment criteria.  Defra and expert advisers will evaluate the applications and aim to get back to all applicants with a decision by 8th July 2022.  The selected projects will initially be awarded project development funding.  Up to 15 projects will be taken forward within the total project development budget available of £7.5m.  Over the course of the project development phase, which will last up to two years, there will be the opportunity to negotiate public and private funding for implementation.  If a project meets Defra’s requirements at the end of the development phase, it will be awarded long-term funding.  Implementation agreements are expected to be long term, 20 years plus.

Application is via Defra’s eSourcing Portal, for further information and guidance on applying go to: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-landscape-recovery-funding-to-protect-native-species-and-improve-rivers?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=6b4aa2ed-04c7-4476-b410-2b245a7fc0f8&utm_content=daily

Grassland derogations for livestock manure in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) will be offered again in England in 2022.  The derogation allows up to 250kg of nitrogen per hectare, if the nitrogen comes from grazing livestock manure.  The limit is usually 170kg per Ha.  The derogation is only available to those whose holding is at least 80% grass.  The application window is pretty short and will run from 1st February to 28th February.  A new derogation needs to be applied for each year by telephoning the Environment Agency  on 03708 506 506 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) with details of the amount of manure nitrogen produced by grazing and non-grazing livestock on the holding in the calendar year.  For more information visit the Defra website at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/grassland-derogations-for-livestock-manure-in-nitrate-vulnerable-zones .

It is now possible to transfer land and entitlements online in England in readiness for this year’s BPS applications.  Claimants have until 16th May (the 15th is a Sunday) to complete the transactions.  It is also possible to ‘add land by email’ now; useful where land cannot be transferred online.  The email should include:

• ‘Add land’ in the title
• the SBI and name of the business requiring the land
• the scheme you require the land adding for i.e. BPS or CS
• the land parcel reference numbers for each field
• a name and contact number

Emails need to be sent to [email protected].  The RPA will need to receive emails by 3rd May to ensure they are completed in time for claimants to make their applications by 16th May deadline.

In Wales, the transfer notification facility for 2022 entitlements is also available on RPW Online.  Note though, RPW must be notified by 15 May 2022 in order for the recipient to make a claim on entitlements they are receiving for the 2022 BPS scheme year.

The Government wishes to increase access to nature and ensure protected landscapes can deliver more for ‘climate, nature and people.  This comes in its response to the Landscapes Review undertaken by Julian Glover, which looked at whether the protections for National Parks (NPs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) are still fit for purpose (see https://abcbooks.co.uk/national-park-review/).

The response stops short of the recommendation in the Review to set up a new body, but does include the proposal to establish a ‘Landscapes Partnership’ to build on the existing collaboration between National Parks England and the National Association for AONBs.  This would be complemented by roles for the National Trails and National Parks Partnerships with the aim of sharing knowledge and tackling common objectives such as nature recovery and improved public access.  There is also a proposal to create a single set of statutory purposes for ANOB teams and National Park Authorities, providing more consistency and a unified statutory framework for all protected landscapes.  It is acknowledged that the current statutory purpose to ‘conserve and enhance’ is not strong enough.  This will be strengthened to ‘actively recover nature in these areas’.  The response also includes proposals to;

• rename AONB’s as National Landscapes, to reflect the significance of them and give them equivalent recognition in law, support and resources as National Parks.
• improve the monitoring and reporting in Protected Landscapes
• build on lessons learnt from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme to develop the new ELM schemes
• increase engagement with all parts of society, focusing on connecting young people with nature, increasing the ethnic and socio economic diversity of visitors, and helping people with disabilities to enjoy Protected Landscapes.

Some of the Government’s proposals will involve changes to primary legislation and a 12-week consultation is now underway for these measures, closing on 9th April.  The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/landscapes-review-national-parks-and-aonbs-implementing-the-review  .  The Government’s full response to the Landscapes Review is available via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landscapes-review-national-parks-and-aonbs-government-response.  There may be concern in AONBs, which are being ‘upgraded’ to near-National Park status, that some of the problems of being in a National Park may follow.  These are chiefly around the focus on ‘conservation’ in its widest sense – with development or change for almost any reason, being very difficult to achieve. 

 

 

The second round of the Future Farming Resilience Fund will be available until September 2022.  The fund, which offers farmers free business advice to help them prepare for the agricultural transition in England, was due to close in March 2022.  But according to Defra, the take up has been slower than expected due to the late harvest.  The 19 providers have been given a six month extension, although not all have taken up all of this time and they can only take on a limited number of businesses so those interested should apply sooner rather than later.

The advisors offer support in different ways.  Some are delivered via workshops or webinars, others offer free one-to-one business reviews and plans.  Refer to Defra’s website to see the providers and the new end dates https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2022/01/14/more-time-for-farmers-to-apply-for-free-business-advice/

The final phase of support under the Future Farming Resilience Fund will be available over a longer timescale.  It should be launched later in 2022 and will run until 2025.

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) will open in Scotland on Monday 24th January 2022.  For most applications the closing date will be 29th April 2022, although there are few exceptions;

• collaborative applications will have until 31st May 2022
• stand-alone slurry store applications have until Friday 24th June 2022 – these options could help farmers prepare for the new slurry regulations being introduced; see article https://abcbooks.co.uk/scottish-water-legislation/ 
• applications for Improving Public Access (IPA) have a separate application window, this will run from Monday 28th February 2022 to 29th April 2022 – NatureScot will be running a webinar in February for applicants applying for IPA

For 2022, most applications will require a full Farm Environment Assessment, covering the whole holding.  Most will also require one or more management plans and new mandatory templates are being provided for 2022; Wader options will require a wader management plan.  For those applying for management of an SSSI or deer management it is advised to contact NatureScot before preparing an application.  Further information is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/agri-environment-climate-scheme/