Don't forget the 15th of May

In year's past, the 15^th of May was clearly etched in everybody's minds to ensure that their Basic Payment Scheme claim was submitted to the RPA prior to the deadline.

Since BPS became a De-linked payment and the annual claim did not have to be submitted, this date has become less talked about, but it is still equally important for those who have Higher Level Stewardship Agreements and Mid Tier and Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship Agreements. The 15^th of May deadline is still in place for the Annual Revenue claims and all forms need to be submitted prior to midnight on 15^th May.

For those who have Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier Agreements, then your Annual Revenue claim form needs to be completed via the RPA portal. For those who have Higher Level Environmental Stewardship Agreements, the claim form for these are as they have always been and should have been sent out by the RPA either in the post to you or have been emailed to you to the email address which is on the RPA portal.

If you have not received either a paper form or an email copy of your HLS claim form, then please do get in touch with the RPA immediately as they will need to forward another copy to you. It is imperative that they are checked, completed and returned – either by post or by email prior to the RPA prior to the 15^th May to ensure that there are no penalties applied.

Penalties are costly as the late return of the Environmental Stewardship claim forms incur the following:

If submitted between the following dates:

• Between 16^th May and 31^st May - a 5% penalty
• Between 1^st June and 30^th June - a 10% penalty
• Between 1^st July and 31^st August - a 25% penalty
• After 1^st September then no payment will be made at all.

Therefore, it is imperative that you ensure that your Annual Revenue claim form for any Stewardship Scheme is completed and returned to the RPA prior to midnight on 15^th May. If you require any assistance or guidance with regard to the completion and submission, then we will be more than happy to help and therefore please do get in touch.