The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is the biggest recipient of direct payments in Scotland. The environmental charity received basic payment scheme (BPS) and greening payments amounting to £1,421,322 in the 2018 CAP budget year. When money from schemes funded under the Rural Development Programme is included, the RSPB’s income rises to £3,163,433.

Only one other direct payment claim amounted to over £1m, which was £1,112,676 paid to Frank A Smart & Son Ltd. SRUC took in £403,342, while the National Trust received £349,805 and the Woodland Trust got £271,986 in direct support.

The latest figures, published by Defra, show payments made to all claimants for the period 16 October 2017 to 15 October 2018.

In Scotland, 112 farm businesses had direct payments over £200,000, with five at over £0.5m.

Across 17,865 claimants, the average Scottish farm received £25,432, more than double the same average in NI. It is also the highest average per farm anywhere in the UK, with the Welsh figure at £15,200 and the English at £21,360. However, Scotland is paid the lowest rate per hectare compared with other areas of the UK.

Comment

The rest of the top recipients getting over £200,000 in direct support are largely made up of big landowners and estates. Previously, beef finishers and intensive farmers were among the highest-rewarded. But as Scotland moved to paying the bulk of support on an area-based system, those with the most land to claim are receiving the highest payments.