Further to the Intra-UK Allocations Review and the UK Government response confirming a £5.2m increase for the farm support budget for Wales for the period 2020-2022, will the Minister state whether the additional monies have been received, and if they will be available as a £2.6m top-up to BPS 2021?
On 21 December, I announced a total direct payment ceiling of £238 million to provide the same level of direct payments to farmers in 2021 as was provided in 2020. This allocation takes into account the anticipated ‘top up’ to BPS 2021 in the simplified BPS calculation methodology and means the additional funding provided following the review will be passed on in full to farmers through BPS 2020 and BPS 2021 payments. The Chancellor confirmed Wales will receive only £242 million in replacement funding for the Common Agricultural Policy. This leaves Wales £137 million short of the funding we expected to receive next year.