Rural pay agency ‘turning corner’

The head of the beleaguered Government department which handles subsidy payments to farmers has claimed his agency is beginning to turn the corner after reporting much improved payment records and customer satisfaction rates.

Mark Grimshaw, who took over the Rural Payments Agency in early 2011, said it had enjoyed a “record-breaking” year in 2011 and was now reaching parity with its counterparts in other EU member states.

The RPA is now promising to do even better this year, setting an ambitious payment pledge to pay 91 per cent of claimants and 84 per cent of value by the end of the year. The news came on the day the RPA published its business plan for 2012-13.

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Mr Grimshaw told the Yorkshire Post: “I was really disappointed about not being able to publish targets in November and this time I really did want to publish. They are very challenging targets but I believe that they are achievable.

“Thanks to the hard work of our people and the support of our industry partners and Defra, I believe we have now turned a corner on our way to becoming a trusted, efficient and effective organisation.

“Farmers and food producers rely on RPA support to make their businesses more competitive and, thereby, our rural communities more sustainable. For their sakes, there will be no let-up in our drive to improve performance for our customers and the tax-payer in 2012-13.“

The RPA report saw an average customer satisfaction rate recorded of at least 80 per cent across the year.

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It also committed itself to maintaining a focus on costs, something it has come under fire for in previous years with claim processing costs much higher than other member states.

Mr Grimshaw also said that morale was improving within the agency and was now “as good as it is in most Government organisations”.

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