The member for Wells (Con) heard about the burden of stress caused by the application and payment process, and chose to highlight issues when he won the Westminster Hall debate ballot.
Fellow MPs and the Defra Minister attending the debate will cover BPS issues including numbers of completed payments, accurate RPA communication and the 2016 application.
The NFU’s Westminster and BPS teams have supported Mr Heappey and his colleagues in preparing for the 90-minute debate – the length of this session will give ample opportunity for government and opposition MPs from across the country to discuss wider rural issues.
NFU county delegate for Somerset, James Small, led the meeting with his MP and said: “We welcome James Heappey’s choice of debate picked up from the open and honest discussions we’ve had on the concerns of Somerset farmers.
“The RPA's implementation of the BPS scheme in 2015 has been beset by problems resulting in delays and additional stresses to hard pressed farmers across the country. We are pleased to see that it’s being given the national attention it deserves.”
NFU Vice President Guy Smith added: “For the thousands of working farmers still waiting for their BPS payments two months after the opening of the payment window it will be reassuring to hear Westminster takes this issue seriously. Any attention given by MPs as to how we can better get these payments out in a timelier manner both this year and next year will be appreciated by the farming community.”
How to tune in...
@NFUtweets and @NFUPolitical will be covering the debate as it happens on Twitter.
Watch the debate live (from 1.30pm), or later, on Parliament TV - here.