We’ve created an online calculator to help you see how progressive reductions could affect your Direct Payment in England, for scheme years 2021 to 2024.
Defra and the RPA have produced a progressive reductions calculator that shows how your Direct Payment may decrease over the agricultural transition period.
What are progressive reductions?
We plan to phase out Direct Payments in England from 2021 to 2027. Our approach is designed to help everyone manage the transition away from Direct Payments as smoothly as possible. The same amount will be available to the farming sector in every year of this Parliament, though the way it is distributed will change. Funds will be redirected straight back into Countryside Stewardship and our new schemes.
Progressive reductions will be made to Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments from the 2021 scheme year, paid from 1 December 2021, and then to delinked payments when these replace BPS. We currently plan to delink payments in 2024. All BPS payments will be reduced from 2021, but there will initially be bigger reductions in higher payment bands. These bands will work like income tax bands.
We have announced the reductions we intend to apply for each of the years 2021 to 2024. We intend to continue to make gradual reductions to the payments in the later years of the agricultural transition, with the last payments made for the 2027 scheme year.
For more information about the 2021 to 2024 reductions to Direct Payments, the other support available during the transition period and delinked payments please see 'The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024' and our 'Farming is Changing' leaflet.
If you would like more information about schemes and grants funded through the reductions to BPS, please visit our Rural payments and grants page.
As always you can contact us if you need help or advice.
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
Helpline: 03000 200 301