News and communications

The claim window for existing Countryside Stewardship (CS) revenue and Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements has opened on Thursday 14 March.

• Updated: 14 March 2024

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed that 97% of farmers have received their final BPS payment in the first few days of the payment window.

• Updated: 4 December 2023

Plans to make Direct Payments in two instalments announced to help farmers with cashflow

• Updated: 6 May 2022

Government publishes response to the Lump Sum Exit Scheme and delinked payments in England consultation.

• Updated: 8 February 2022

The Rural Payment Agency looks back on 2021

• Updated: 12 January 2022

£1.7bn of payments delivered to farmers in the first few days of the payment window

• Updated: 7 December 2021

Read this update for information about our schemes, including Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and the Basic Payment Scheme.

• Updated: 2 November 2021

The results of the public consultation on the operation of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on the New Forest common have now been published.

• Updated: 19 April 2021

Read this update for information about our schemes - Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and the Basic Payment Scheme.

• Updated: 6 April 2021

Farmers and land managers have until 17 May to apply for BPS; and claim for CS revenue and ES payments

• Updated: 18 March 2021

The Rural Payment Agency looks back on 2020

• Updated: 11 January 2021

Read this update for information about our schemes - Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and the Basic Payment Scheme.

• Updated: 4 January 2021

£1.67bn of BPS payments delivered in the first day of the payment window

• Updated: 2 December 2020

Environment Secretary, George Eustice unveils plans for the agricultural transition period at an Oxford Farming Conference bitesize session today

• Updated: 30 November 2020

RPA confirms rates for 2020 BPS payments

• Updated: 3 November 2020

Plans to reduce administrative burdens for farmers to enable them to focus on delivering environmental outcomes and transitioning to the new ELM scheme

• Updated: 27 July 2020

Farmers will benefit from simpler and more proportionate penalties for small over-claims of land under the Basic Payment Scheme in England.

• Updated: 7 July 2020

Farmers and land managers now have until 15 June to apply for BPS payments and to claim funding for their environmental and woodland work under other schemes

• Updated: 27 April 2020

New measures to help farmers get back on their feet and move on from floods following extreme weather and flooding across England

• Updated: 20 March 2020

Farmers and land managers have until 15 May to apply for BPS payments and claim funding for their environmental work

• Updated: 12 March 2020