Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many farmers were not in receipt of the Basic Payment Scheme payments by the end of January 2016; and whether any of those payments are expected to be paid to those living in areas affected by flooding in 2016.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Rural Payments Agency started making Basic Payment Scheme payments to farmers from December 2015. At the end of January 2016 we had paid 66,800 some £1 billion, leaving just under 20,300 not paid. We had paid 600 farmers affected by the floods by the end of January and are prioritising the remainder for payment as promptly as possible.

Farmers affected by flooding from Storm Desmond and Eva can apply for up to £20,000 grant funding from the Farming Recovery Fund (until 1 April) to help restore damaged agricultural land. Farmers wanting to apply for the grant can find the application form and guidance on GOV.UK or call the Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301.