GovWire

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may offer Countryside Stewardship (CS) mirror agreements for existing Higher Tier agri-environment agreements that are due to expire on 31 December 2024, or with options that will expire in 2024 (5 in 10 agreements).

A new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agreement will be the same as an existing agreement (mirror) so you cannot add, replace or remove options.

CSHT agri-environment mirror agreements will last for the same length as your current agreement (either 5 or 10 years).

They are not available for:

• CSHT woodland-only agreements
• agreements with no Higher Tier options remaining after any ineligible options are removed

During the controlled rollout of applications for the new CSHT offer, farmers, land managers and foresters will be invited to receive pre-application advice from Natural England or the Forestry Commission (or both). This will be done in a prioritised order from January 2025, with invitations issued on a rolling monthly basis. The immediate priority groups for access to Higher Tier are set out in the scheme guidance and in our blog post.

To ensure that there is no break in continuity for you during this period of controlled rollout, we would like to invite you to end your current CSHT agreement and apply for a new 5-year mirror CSHT agreement, which would start on 1 January 2025. This will provide you with continuity in payments and support your ongoing delivery of environmental outcomes until you can apply for a new CSHT agreement.

1. Check if youre eligible

You may be eligible for a CSHT mirror agreement if your current agreement is delivering the expected environmental outcomes and you have one of the following agreements:

• a CSHT agreement that is due to expire on 31 December 2024
• a current CSHT 5 in 10 agreement

You must also meet the following requirements:

1.1 Land transfers

If you intend to transfer land, you must complete the transfer before the mirror agreement can start. You can do this through the Rural Payments service or by completing an RLE1 form if youre unable to do this online.

1.2 Breaches

If you have an outstanding breach on your current agreement, you must:

• respond to all information requests from RPA and Natural England relating to the breach
• take any required action to correct the issues found

There must be no other non-compliances with the scheme rules.

1.3 Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) or scheduled monuments (SM)

You must have SSSIs and SMs on your land under your management control.

1.4 Management control of the agreement land

You must have management control of the land in your mirror agreement for the duration of that agreement. By signing the agreement declaration, you are confirming this.

2. Check if your existing agreement is eligible

2.1 Ineligible options

You cannot include the following options in a mirror agreement:

• all capital options
• organic conversion options (OR1, OR2, OR3, OR4, OR5)
• AB13: Brassica fodder crop
• BE7: Supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees
• GS16: Rush infestation control supplement
• woodland options (WD2: Woodland improvement) in mixed agreements

RPA will remove any ineligible options in your current agreement.

2.2 Woodland agreements

RPA will remove any woodland options in your current Higher Tier mixed agreement that have a combined area greater than 3ha (or 1ha for SSSIs).

2.3 Consent for SSSIs

RPA cannot finalise your mirror agreement offer unless you have consent for ongoing management activities on a SSSI. If you need new consent, contact Natural England as soon as you receive your agreement offer.

RPA must receive a copy of the consent before your new agreement can start.

3.Assessing suitability for a mirror agreement

Natural England will initially assess your agreement to see if it is suitable for a mirror agreement.

3.1 Environmental outcomes assessment

Assessments of environmental benefits are based on the options in your current agreement.

A Natural England adviser will complete a technical assessment to check:

• the options in your current Higher Tier agreement remain appropriate for the CS priority target features on the holding
• at least 80% of the Priority Habitats on your holding (if applicable) are under appropriate, beneficial options
• the options in your agreement are achieving the indicators of success and will continue to do so
• land management on any SSSI features is still appropriate, and continued consent does not need any new options, prescriptions or capital works

3.2 If your agreement is eligible

Following the technical assessment, the Natural England adviser will decide whether your agreement:

• meets the rules of the scheme
• provides the environmental outcomes it was set up to deliver

The adviser may arrange a field visit to confirm this. They may not be necessary if Natural England already has enough knowledge of your agreement.

A visit will be needed for agreements that include SSSI land.

If your agreement is suitable, RPA will send you an invitation for a replacement CSHT agreement. This will mirror the current agreement and will start on 1 January 2025.

You will need to follow the current scheme rules, including terms and conditions.