You can now check a 4 week schedule of the Rural Payments service maintenance and downtime:
We also post system unavailability messages on our social media accounts each week. If the schedule changes, we'll update these channels as soon as possible.
The Civil Service has now entered the pre-election period.
This will last until the General Election concludes.
During this time there will be restrictions on communications activity and Government social media accounts will be quieter than usual.
The recent heavy rainfall has caused flooding in parts of the country.
If you've been affected and are concerned about how flooding may impact you, please read our extreme weather guidance 👇
Make sure you've updated all your land details, including land use codes, in the Rural Payments service before you apply for our schemes or make a claim. For help with how to do this, read here:
In our latest blog George from RPA’s Grants Service team tells us about the two-day training course he attended at the Allerton Project in Leicestershire.
Check it out 👇
IMPORTANT: The Rural Payments service will be unavailable for planned downtime to release new functionality and software upgrades from:
· 11pm Tuesday 28 May to 7am Wednesday 29 May
· 5:15pm Wednesday 29 May to 9am Thursday 30 May
You can download a list of animals on your holding using the ‘uploads and downloads’ function on CTS Online. This shows you the current list of animals on that day, so if you need the list for a particular date, set yourself a reminder in your calendar to download it on that date
Hedgerows are a cherished part of the English countryside and important ecological building blocks🍃
Legislation to ensure
#hedgerows
on agricultural land in England will be protected has come into effect from today.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive is expanding again based on feedback from farmers. We're:
🚜 Bringing together the current SFI and Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier offers
🌳 Widening eligibility
⬆️ Quadrupling the number of SFI actions from 23 to 102
Find out more 👇
In our latest blog, we introduce Donna Medd from the Grants Service Scheme Support Team. Here she talks about her background and what her role within the RPA looks like today.
Read the blog 👇
Be aware of fraud: we don't send emails or text messages with links to websites to ask you to confirm personal details or payment information.
If you receive such a request, don't open the link and delete the message.
Read more:
It's important to make sure your business details are correct in the Rural Payments service.
Follow the steps in this video if you need to update them 👇
Important: The Rural Payments service will be unavailable for planned downtime to release new functionalities and software upgrades from:
6pm to 9pm on Wednesday 22 May
Heavy rainfall has had a devastating and long-term impact on farming.
As a result, we’re providing flexibility in our agri-environment schemes to give farmers more time to meet their requirements.
Read more:
We are announcing a new grant for laying hen and pullet keepers in England 🐔
Keepers will be able to apply for funding for two types of projects that will help them improve the health, welfare, and productivity of their flocks.
Read more here ⬇️