Timely payments for thousands of farmers but many made to wait

Close scrutiny is being given to the performance of the much-maligned Rural Payments Agency (RPA) over its ability to pay farmers quickly and accurately after months of delays and mispayments in previous years.

So far the government agency has announced that more than 54,000 farmers in England - 63 percent of those eligible - have received their 2017 Basic Payment Scheme money.

Farm payments boss admits customer service must improve

The RPA’s chief executive, Paul Caldwell said: “We are making strong progress against last year’s performance and remain focused on getting remaining payments out as quickly as possible, as I understand how important they are for farmers.”

The agency has been criticised in the past for making late payments to farmers with common land, but the agency said that payments made since the 2017 window opened on December 1 had been for “a range of claim types and sizes”, commoners included.

Some £3bn in subsidies are paid to farmers annually under the terms of European Union policy, but this year they are worth even more. The RPA said that a combination of factors, including a favourable exchange rate, means basic payments will be worth 25 percent more on average this year, compared to 2015.

Farm payments boss admits customer service must improve