Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of UK farms received Basic Payment Scheme in each of the last five years.

Unfortunately we cannot provide accurate estimates of the proportion of the whole farming population in England claiming Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Estimates of the entire farming population are collected using criteria which do not correspond to those governing how BPS claimants are classified, and therefore no direct comparison can be made.

Over the last five years (2016-2020) the following numbers of farms/businesses in England received a payment from the BPS:

2016 - 85,837

2017 - 85,127

2018 - 84,020

2019 - 83,947

2020 - 83,852

BPS is a devolved matter and the information provided relates to England only and is for registered farms/businesses.