Wales lifts £100 cap on farm appeal fees from 2026

From 1 January 2026, appeal fees for agricultural subsidy and grant disputes in Wales can be set by Welsh Ministers without the old £100 maximum. The change is made by the Agricultural Subsidies and Grants Schemes (Appeals) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, a Welsh Statutory Instrument recorded on legislation.gov.uk as 2025 No. 1271 (W. 206). It was made on 3 December 2025 following Senedd approval. This is a useful moment to learn how devolved rules are made and how appeals work in practice.

Welsh Government guidance already signals what people should budget for. From 1 January 2026, Stage 2 appeal fees are planned at £290 for an oral hearing and £220 for a written hearing, with no increase for appeals relating to TB compensation. The guidance also says the fee will be refunded if an appeal is accepted in full.

What’s changing in law is simple but important. The 2025 Regulations update the long‑standing 2006 appeals rules so that, for appeals about older pre‑2023 Act schemes (for example the Basic Payment Scheme and CAP‑era rural development programmes), Ministers may charge “such fee as [they] may determine” instead of being limited to £100. In short, the legal cap for those legacy schemes goes.

Your route to challenge a decision does not change. There is still a two‑stage process: a free Stage 1 review by Rural Payments Wales and an optional Stage 2 hearing before an Independent Appeals Panel, which then recommends a decision to Ministers.

Refund rules are worth noting if you’re teaching or planning an appeal. Current appeals guidance says Stage 2 fees are refunded when an appeal is partially or wholly successful. The Sustainable Farming Scheme Q&A says that from 1 January 2026 the refund applies when an appeal is accepted in full, so check the wording that applies to your case.

Here’s the devolution angle in plain English. The Senedd gives Ministers powers in primary law, in this case the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, and Ministers then make detailed rules by regulation. These appeal changes required an affirmative Senedd vote before being “made” on 3 December 2025, which shows how Wales runs its own system of farm support and oversight.

Glossary to use with students or your team: Devolved lawmaking means some decisions are taken in Wales rather than Westminster; agriculture is one of those areas. A Welsh Statutory Instrument is a piece of secondary law made by Welsh Ministers, such as these 2025 Regulations. Rural Payments Wales (RPW) administers schemes and handles appeals. The Independent Appeals Panel is a three‑member panel that hears Stage 2 cases and advises Ministers.

Scenario one you can test in class: you run a mixed farm and receive a Basic Payment Scheme penalty in November 2025 that you think is wrong. You request a Stage 1 review within 60 days of the decision letter. If you remain dissatisfied and move to Stage 2 after 1 January 2026, you would expect to pay the new £220 written‑hearing fee, with a refund only if your appeal is accepted in full.

Scenario two for discussion: your woodland grant came from a closed 2014–2020 EU rural development scheme. Those cases still sit inside Wales’s appeals system, and from January 2026 the previous £100 cap for these legacy schemes falls away, with Welsh Government currently planning £290 for an oral hearing.

What does this mean for fairness and access? The Government says higher fees reflect the real cost of running the Independent Appeals Panel-estimated at £875 per day for three panel members-and that a panel day typically accommodates three oral appeals or four written appeals. This helps you understand why written appeals remain cheaper and when an oral hearing might be worth it.

If you’re teaching this, try splitting the class between “law” and “policy” teams. The law removes a fee limit and lets Ministers set the charge; the policy sets the amounts and refund wording. Ask students to find the instrument on legislation.gov.uk, the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023 on Law Wales, and the appeals guidance on GOV.WALES, then explain why the affirmative procedure matters for scrutiny.

Quick recap to share with colleagues: from 1 January 2026, Welsh Ministers can set Stage 2 appeal fees without the former £100 cap for legacy CAP‑era cases; Stage 1 stays free; the two‑stage route remains. Welsh Government plans £290 for oral appeals and £220 for written appeals, with a refund where an appeal is accepted in full.