Section 17 - Payment entitlements
113.This section elaborates on the type of provision that the Scottish Ministers may make in relation to payment entitlements under section 15. Payment entitlements are part of a system where eligible persons, typically farmers, are allocated an entitlement to a payment under a scheme and are able to claim support for that entitlement provided that they meet a variety of conditions in relation to it. It is envisaged that the Scottish Ministers will use the power to create a new system of payment entitlements which is similar to that which already exists in relation to the BPS.
114.Under the existing system, a farmer participating in the BPS is allocated ‘payment entitlements’. To receive a payment for any given year, the farmer must activate an entitlement against their ‘eligible land’ at the rate of one entitlement per hectare. This is done in an annual claim in the single application form for the particular year. New entrants to farming are eligible to participate in the BPS after receiving an allocation of entitlements from the national reserve, of entitlements that the Scottish Ministers hold. Payment entitlements under current arrangements can also be traded, which enables businesses to buy or sell entitlements, and this provides an alternative route into BPS eligibility for new entrants.
115.Section 17(1) sets out several key aspects of payment entitlements (though this is not an exhaustive list) about which regulations may be made to enable the creation of a replacement system for the one described above. However, the new power may be used to adjust or create a different system that is tailored to the Scottish context.
