Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
I wish to update Members of the Senedd on the number of full and balance BPS payments which are being made today.
Over 93% of claimants have received their full or balance BPS 2021 payment. Payments have been made to over 15,000 farm businesses. To date, Welsh farm businesses have benefited from payments worth £227m, which includes £159m paid as BPS Advance payments on 15 October.
I introduced legislation at the beginning of the year which simplified the requirements of BPS for 2021. This resulted in a more straightforward application for farmers, a streamlined administration process for officials and allowed early BPS Advance payments to be made in October.
Rural Payments Wales (RPW) has once again made an impressive number of BPS payments at the start of the payment window, exceeding those made last year, whilst continuing to operate in the challenging circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, including industry stakeholders who have worked with my officials to deliver the simplifications to BPS and enable us to continue to deliver the excellent number of BPS payments to Welsh farm businesses at the beginning of the payment window.
My officials will continue to work hard to process the remaining outstanding BPS 2021 claims as soon as possible. I expect all by the most complex cases to be completed by 30 June 2022