RPA announce overdue Stewardship payments to be made by end of July

The RPA has announced that customers with overdue annual revenue claims will be paid full amount they are owed by the end of July.

A significant number of agreement holders have not yet received full payment for work they have undertaken under both Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship Schemes, with some outstanding payments dating back to 2015.

This is a Treasury-funded payment, which will be made to customer while their annual revenue claims are processed. The RPA is writing to all unpaid customers this week to provide an update on payments. Once individual claims have been processed, the RPA will write again to customers to confirm any adjustments to be made to the final payment.

RPA Chief Executive Paul Caldwell said:

"Today we are announcing that outstanding revenue claims for agri-environment schemes will be paid in full."

"We are determined to build on the improvements that we have already put in place, keep up a regular cycle of timely payments, and restore confidence in these schemes which are so important for our environment."

The future Environment Land Management (ELM) scheme, which will replace Stewardship once we leave the EU, will undergo tests and trials with farmers and industry groups before being rolled out. It is expected to be fully operational in late 2024.