Cross-border holdings
Date published: 25 March, 2022
For recent changes to this guidance, please see the bottom of the page.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is a holding?
- Who manages the schemes in different parts of the UK?
- Where to find scheme rules and guidance?
- How to apply
- When to apply
- Applying for Basic Payment Scheme entitlements from a national reserve
- Minimum claim size
- Previous versions
- Download guidance
Introduction
Farmers with a ‘cross-border’ holding (land in two or more parts of the UK: Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales) which is managed as one business, need to claim Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in each part of the UK where they have land.
What is a holding?
A holding is all of the land a farmer manages and uses for agricultural activities in the UK (Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales). It can include more than one County Parish Holding (CPH) number and land farmed at more than one location.
Who manages the schemes in different parts of the UK?
These ‘paying agencies’ manage the schemes and make payments:
- Scotland – Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID)
- England – Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
- Northern Ireland – Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
- Wales – Rural Payments Wales (RPW)
Where to find scheme rules and guidance?
You can access BPS rules and guidance for each part of the UK using the links below:
Please note that there may be different rules for BPS in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales.How to apply
Farmers with a ‘cross-border’ holding must enter the land in each country, on that country’s form, and they should return each country’s form to the local office of the country that processes their claims.
To apply for BPS in Scotland you must submit a Single Application Form (SAF). The primary route for submitting your SAF is via our online application. A hand written paper SAF will only be considered by RPID in a very limited range of exceptional circumstances.
The easiest and quickest way to complete the form is through registering and logging in to Rural Payments and Services.
When to apply
To avoid a penalty farmers must send all BPS applications and supporting documents by the application deadline set by the country that processes their claims.
For information about submitting a Single Application Form in Scotland, as well as possible Reductions and penalties please see the Basic Payment Scheme guidance.
Please read the guidance for each part of the UK for information about application deadlines.
Applying for Basic Payment Scheme entitlements from a national reserve
Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and Wales each have a national reserve (sometimes referred to as a ‘regional reserve’).
Only new entrants and young farmers, will be able to apply for BPS entitlements from these national reserves.
To obtain entitlements, farmers need to apply to each country’s local office. In Scotland you can apply to the National Reserve on your Single Application Form. For more information, please see the guidance on our Rural Payments and Services site.
Minimum claim size
Farmers must meet the minimum claim size set by the country where their holding is based.
| Minimum claim size | |
|---|---|
| England | Five hectares |
| Scotland | Three hectares |
| Wales | Five hectares |
| Northern Ireland | Three hectares |
If farmers do not meet the relevant minimum claim size, they can’t claim for BPS in that country.
Previous versions
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