“This change is fair and proportionate,” Huw Irranca-Davies told Members in Cardiff Bay as the Senedd considered and approved new rules on farm appeal fees. The Agricultural Subsidies and Grants Schemes (Appeals) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 - SI 2025/1271 (W.206) - set the stage for higher charges on appeals from the new year.

From 1 January 2026, the Welsh Government says Stage 2 appeals will cost £290 for an oral hearing and £220 for a written hearing. Fees will be refunded only if the appeal is accepted in full, and the increase will not apply to TB compensation appeals. Ministers say the change applies to all appellants regardless of the scheme.

Legally, the instrument removes the long‑standing £100 cap on what Ministers can charge for appeals tied to pre‑2023 Act schemes - the Basic Payment Scheme, CAP financing/monitoring and rural development - allowing Welsh Ministers to set a fee level. That cap sat in the 2006 appeals regulations.

The appeals process itself stays two‑stage. Stage 1 is a free internal review by Rural Payments Wales. Stage 2 brings in an Independent Appeals Panel and, under current guidance, costs £100 (oral) or £50 (written) with a refund if an appeal is wholly or partly successful - a position that will be overtaken by the higher fees and tighter refund rule from 1 January 2026.

For readers in North Wales and the Cheshire–Merseyside border economy, this matters in practice. Many sheep and cattle units in Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham buy feed, veterinary services and professional advice from firms based in Chester, Wirral and further into the North West. From January, advisers will need to budget the higher Stage 2 fee into the decision on whether an appeal is worth pursuing.

Ministers argue the package brings the system up to date ahead of the shift to the Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2026. Irranca‑Davies told the chamber the regulations support “a resilient and prosperous agricultural sector” while aligning appeals with the 2023 Act.

If you’re weighing an appeal, the practical steps don’t change: the 60‑day clock starts from the Stage 1 decision letter, you can choose an oral or written Stage 2, and payment is made by BACS to the Welsh Government. Keep thorough records and assume the panel will test your evidence against the letter of the scheme rules.

The Government has set out why fees are rising: the Independent Appeals Panel of three members costs about £875 a day. Officials say the panel typically hears up to three oral appeals or four written cases per day and that no Welsh Government overheads are built into the fee.

All this sits alongside the managed transition from BPS to the new Sustainable Farming Scheme, with ministers stressing continuity of support through 2025 while the new regime beds in. That reassurance matters for cross‑border family farms planning cash flow into the spring.

Bottom line for farm businesses in North Wales and the neighbouring English counties: the £100 ceiling is going; Stage 2 will cost £220–£290 from 1 January 2026; Stage 1 stays free; and TB compensation appeals are exempt from the increase. If the sums at stake are significant, the new maths may still make an appeal worthwhile - but take advice first.