Lack of cohesion led to farm payments IT struggle

The criticism comes on the day when the Rural Payments Agency is due to start making payments to farmers under the new Basic Payments Scheme. Farmers have been anxious about getting paid on time after an online-only application process was abandoned in March when a new multi-million pounds IT system failed.

The support of the Government Digital Service is criticised in the NAO report for its “patchy” support to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for building its digital capability. Ultimately, a computer system called Verify, to be used for farmers to register for payments, was not ready for widespread use when it went live and there was no ‘plan B’ in place if it failed.

But, the switch, to “paper-assisted digital applications” as an eventual contingency has increased the likelihood that most farmers will receive subsidies in December, the report states.

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: “The Department, the Rural Payments Agency and Government Digital Service have not worked together effectively to deliver the Common Agricultural Policy Delivery Programme. There are serious lessons in this episode for all three.

“This means that costs have increased and systems functionality has not improved at the rate expected, either in the back office or the user-facing front end. This does not represent value for money at this stage.

“One consequence of this is that the Department faces difficulties paying farmers accurately and at the earliest opportunity. While the Department is now making progress towards its target of paying BPS claims for the majority of farmers in December, significant challenges remain for the Programme.”

A government spokesperson promised an improved service for farmers next year, saying: “The new Common Agricultural Policy is widely acknowledged as the most complex ever and a new IT system was needed to handle this additional complexity and to make claiming as simple as possible for farmers.

“While there was a problem with one part of the online interface that enabled farmers to put data directly into Rural Payments, the system has always worked and has successfully started making accurate payments to thousands of farmers on the very first day of the payment window.

“The Rural Payments system will be further improved next year to make it easier for farmers to apply for their CAP payments.”