Minister expresses ‘regret’ over late subsidy payments to farmers

Just 594 claims valued at £25m are still to be settled, although Farming Minister Jim Paice says some of those will not be valid and others may be waiting for probate.

Mr Paice said it was “particularly pleasing” that more than 99 per cent of eligible claims were paid within permitted timings as focus this year had been on ensuring the accuracy – rather than speed – of payments to “draw a line” under IT and data problems which have dogged the Rural Payments Agency,

“Significant progress has been made on legacy data correction activity so providing greater confidence for farmers about their subsequent scheme year payments,” said Mr Paice. “Nevertheless, I recognise that a significant number of farmers had to wait longer than usual for the payment, which I regret.

“I recognise also that there remains much for the agency to do in terms of making payments to both the remaining 2010 claimants, including top ups to those who received an initial hardship payment, and those who are due additional sums for the 2005-2009 schemes.

“The remaining backlog of potential error cases also needs to be reviewed and overpayments notified to claimants and recovered.”

Bosses at the RPA, which has been blighted by problems for years with many farmers either paid late or the wrong amount, will draw up a strategic plan in the summer as Ministers seek to finally turn around its fortunes.

Its previous failings have already cost taxpayers millions of pounds in fines to the European Union, and Anne McIntosh, chairman of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, recently wrote to Ministers calling for all RPA bonuses to be halted until performance improves “significantly”.