THE Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has today announced that around 30,000 farmers will receive their 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments on Tuesday (1).

The payments, representing at least 35 per cent of those who claimed, and the RPA said it is also on track to pay the vast majority of claimants by the end of January.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: "The RPA has worked tirelessly to process claims and I am delighted that through their dedication such a significant number of farmers will benefit from receiving their payments at the earliest possible opportunity.

"Volatile markets had made 2015 a difficult year for many of our farmers and both my, and the RPA’s continued priority, is to make sure the remaining payments are made as quickly as possible during the payment window.

"The added complexities and burdens of the new Common Agricultural Policy have proved challenging for everyone, which is why I am continuing to stress the need to simplify the rules and regulations in Europe for the benefit of our farming industry."

Mark Grimshaw, RPA chief executive, said: "We have been working seven days a week to ensure we deliver in an accurate and timely manner, drawing on resources from across government, to process claims so that full BPS payments to farmers start to be paid on the first day of the 2015 payment window."

Natural England has also announced that 79 per cent of Environmental Stewardship advance payments worth more than £114m have been made, with all advance payments expected to be delivered before Christmas as in previous years.

The RPA is also writing to farmers who are unlikely to be paid by the end of January to help them manage their cash flow. Typically claims with a greater degree of complexity, such as those with commons; cross border claims; probate cases; and those deemed complex because of their size, are likely to take longer to process and pay, as they did under the Single Payment Scheme.