As we are now nearly a month into 2016 I have settled into my new office at Bateman Hosegood and I hope most of you have received your Basic Payment Scheme payments. The RPA managed to pay nearly 51% of claimants by the end of December 2015 and they aim to pay the vast majority by the end of January. For those of you that have your payment you will receive a claim statement and entitlement statement in the post so please ensure you check the areas claimed to confirm you were paid the correct amount.

If any of you have received an inspection from the RPA and they have deducted an amount of your payment due to a breach in cross compliance, please remember that you can appeal against the deduction from the RPA if you do not believe they are correct. Bateman Hosegood have been very successful in winning appeals against the RPA so if you feel you have a valid case please give us a call.

It has also come to our attention recently that it is very important to have a professional valuation carried out for probate. A full red book valuation report can save you arguments against the district valuer and also money on inheritance tax to pay. So whilst you may not feel it is necessary to pay the expense of a full RICS compliant valuation when a member of your family passes away, it can be very worthwhile in the long run.

Over the next couple of months details will continue to be released on the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme application process and also grants that are due to come out through the year. Please like our ‘Bateman Hosegood’ facebook page and follow us on twitter @BatemanHosegood to keep up to date on these matters.

If you have questions on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact me on 01884 839980 or alternatively email me at claire@batemanhosegood.co.uk.