Rural Payments and Services

2016 AECS and IPA Application Rounds

The decisions on applications which have completed all stages of the 2016 assessment process are close to being finalised.

All applicants should be notified of the outcome of their application (successful or unsuccessful) by letter before the end of the year. A further update will follow closer to when the decision letters are to be issued.

2017 AECS and IPA Application Rounds

The next application round for AECS is expected to open in early 2017 and the Improving Public Access application round is expected to run from 20 March to 31 May.

Further information on the confirmed opening dates will be shared publicly soon.

While you can start to prepare your applications now, we would not encourage these to be submitted online until the 2017 application rounds are officially open.

The full scheme guidance, including requirements for the individual Management Options and Capital items, is under review and any changes to be made will take place prior to the opening of the next application rounds for both schemes.

We'll update you further once the updates have been completed.

You must check the updated guidance prior to submitting any applications and it is your responsibility to ensure the eligibility requirements are met.

Funding guarantee beyond Brexit

These schemes are funded through the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2014-2020.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution has announced that he will be passing on the guarantees from Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) in full for the SRDP, whereby as long as contracts are signed before the date of EU exit then payments will be guaranteed, even if they extend beyond that date.