The Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) scheme is delivered by Natural England on behalf of DEFRA.
Natural England was allocated £13,600,000 in 2008-09 (the same amount as in 2007-08) to cover its direct costs in delivering the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) under the common agricultural policy. The HLS scheme is but one component. In addition to this allocation, some £22,400,000 (£28,726,000 in 2007-08) was allocated to Natural England to cover the costs of DEFRA's Genesis IT system which is the IT system used to manage and administer the RDPE. These running costs include depreciation, cost of capital and third party support.