Existing CS MT and HLS agreement holders will be able to end their agreement either:
at the end of your current agreement year and receive the full payment due for that year (subject to meeting the requirements of your agreement) before the end of your current agreement year, but not receive payment for the part of the current agreement year you’ve already completed.
There will not be any requirements for your new agreement to be the same as or similar to the agreement you’re ending. If you’re eligible to apply for CS HT actions, you may need specialist advice which you’ll normally get through Natural England or Forestry Commission.
The continual payment rate increases which have been applied to CS agreements (which are now applicable to SFI) have not been applied to existing HLS agreements. Like-for-like HLS options are now available to apply for through SFI or CS HT (eligibility dependent) and have increased payment rates.
The key to a good scheme is having options which work alongside your business objectives whilst providing the optimum financial return. Of the HLS schemes GFW have compared to the 2024 SFI offer and CS HT (if eligible) on a ‘like for like’ basis, the majority of comparable agreements have a significantly better return under a new scheme.
As this announcement was made during the Conservative Government, the change to Labour Government could impact scheme delivery in terms of its timing and procedure, and is open to alteration. Due to the disparity in payment rates between the SFI and CS HT schemes against existing HLS agreements it seems unlikely that the option to transfer out of a HLS scheme into a new scheme will not become available in the future.
