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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accessibility of the new Rural Payments Scheme online-only registration form; and whether they plan to extend the time limit set for registration as a result of delays arising from the new system.

The application window for the Basic Payment Scheme 2018 opened on 13 March and over 71,000 applications were submitted online by the 15 May initial regulatory deadline. In addition, a paper application was provided to those that chose not to use the online system. Applications can still be submitted up until 10 June, the final regulatory deadline, but penalties will apply.

The Government is not aware of any delays to the service and as such there are no plans to extend the deadlines.