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This guidance covers some of the queries that you, as an applicant or agreement holder, may have about the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in relation to agri-environment scheme agreements (Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES)).

It covers BPS land eligibility queries about certain management options within mixed and non-woodland agri-environment agreements.

For guidance on BPS and woodland grant scheme agreements, read Guidance on woodland grant schemes and BPS: operations note 42. Also read the Basic Payment Scheme rules relevant to the year of your application.

BPS eligibility for land in agri-environment agreements

If you apply for BPS, you must declare on your BPS application:

• all of the agricultural land on your holding
• any non-agricultural land you use for a Rural Development Scheme agreement, such as CS, or certain nationally funded woodland creation schemes

Your land is eligible for BPS if it is:

• agricultural land (arable, permanent grassland or permanent crops)
• used primarily for an agricultural activity for the whole of the relevant calendar year
• at your disposal on the relevant BPS application submission deadline, usually 15 May

Land managed in an agri-environment scheme that continues to meet the BPS definition of agricultural land remains eligible, as long as it:

• meets the relevant BPS eligibility requirements
• is declared on the BPS application under an appropriate agricultural land-use code

Non-agricultural land is not usually eligible for BPS. However, land that has (or will) become non-agricultural, and is managed under certain agri-environment scheme agreement options, can still be eligible for BPS if it was used to claim the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2008.

BPS eligibility for non-agricultural land in agri-environment agreements

Where the agri-environment management option requires that the land is taken out of agricultural use, this normally means it is not eligible for BPS. This is because it is no longer agricultural land that is being used for an agricultural activity. However, this non-agricultural land may remain eligible for BPS payments if:

• it was used with entitlements to claim under SPS in 2008
• its managed under one of the agri-environment scheme options in Table 1 in this guide

You should declare this non-agricultural land on your BPS application under the land use code RD01. It only remains eligible for BPS for as long as it continues to be in one of the agri-environment options listed in Table 1.

If the management required under the agri-environment options listed in Table 1 means the land is not taken out of agricultural use, it should still be agricultural land used for an agricultural activity. You should declare it on your BPS application under an appropriate agricultural land use code, and not under RD01.

Non-agricultural land that does not meet this criteria is not eligible for BPS. You should declare it on your BPS application under an appropriate non-agricultural land-use code.

Land that has (or will) become non-agricultural because of the agri-environment management requirements will normally be considered as non-agricultural land from the start of the agri-environment agreement. This applies even where you can continue to graze or crop the land until the land use changes from agricultural to non-agricultural.

Carrying out an agricultural activity does not automatically mean the land is agricultural.

Registering or amending agri-environment land in the Rural Payments service

All agricultural areas and non-agricultural areas that you manage (or intended to manage) under an agri-environment scheme agreement on a holding that are 0.01 hectares or larger must be registered with RPA and linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI). Read the RLE1 guidance for more information.

Non-agricultural land in an agri-environment agreement that is not already registered and was not used to support entitlements in 2008 is not eligible for BPS payments using the RD01 option.

Land cover and land use

Agricultural land and non-agricultural land must have an appropriate land cover.

Land cover is not the same as land use. RPA classifies land by looking firstly at the physical nature of the land these categories are referred to as land covers.

The 4 land cover categories are:

• arable land (including temporary grassland and fallow land)
• permanent grassland
• permanent crops
• non-agricultural land read the section Non-agricultural land in the Rural Payments service

RPA then looks at the activities the land is used for. These sub-categories are referred to as land uses.

The land use declared on your BPS application needs to reflect the land cover shown in your digital maps in the Rural Payments service.

If the land cover and land use do not correspond, reductions may be applied to the agri-environment scheme claim.

You can check the land cover of all the land parcels linked to your SBI in your digital maps in the Rural Payments service. Sign in and from Business overview click on Land and then View land. You can read further information on changing land cover in the RLE1 guidance.

Non-agricultural land in the Rural Payments service

The land cover for non-agricultural land that is managed (or intended to be managed) under an agri-environment scheme needs to show correctly in the Rural Payments service. This includes non-agricultural land that is eligible for BPS under the RD01 land use code.

To register or update the land cover, fill in an RLE1 form and sketch map. Read theRLE1 guidance for more details, in particular Part D: Add a permanent non-agricultural area or feature or Part D: Change land cover.

On the sketch map, write the relevant land use code to identify the appropriate type of non-agricultural land cover for the land parcel(s). For example:

• WO12 (woodland)
• WO25 (ungrazeable scrub)
• IW05 (shingle)
• IW06 (fen, marsh or swamp)
• IW07 (bog)
• MW02 (tidal area)
• MW03 (reed bed)
• MW04 (intertidal habitat)
• MW05 (saline habitat)
• CF02 (vegetated shingle)
• CF03 (sand dunes)

Do not use RD01 on the RLE1 form or sketch map. Its only relevant to your BPS application.

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