To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will re-consider the entry requirement for the single farm payment to ensure that only those who are genuinely farming are entitled to that payment. (95782)

[holding answer 23 October 2006]: The eligibility requirements for the single payment scheme, including the definition of a farmer, are set in EU legislation and I know of no plans to change them. However we will in due course consider if a de minimis should be applied to single farm payments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to make interim payments under the single farm payments scheme for the year 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. (98700)

[holding answer 31 October 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement on 22 June 2006, Official Report, column 1478, that delivery of the 2006 single payment scheme will be very challenging and that he did not want to commit to a particular payment timetable until the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency has had an opportunity to make a realistic assessment of the prospects. That remains the position.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the proportion of farm income which was derived from the single farm payment scheme in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West in each year since 1997. (98722)

The single payment scheme came into effect in the UK on 1 January 2005 and in that year was estimated to total £2.4 billion after deductions for modulation. Total payments to UK farmers less levies were estimated at £3.0 billion while total income from farming was £2.5 billion.

Estimates at a regional level are made by apportioning the total using standard gross margins. These are not available for Lancashire and are not yet available for 2005 for the North West.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the European Commission's audit of England's 2005 single farm payment. (97627)

We are at an early stage in the European Commission's scrutiny of the 2005 single payment scheme (SPS) and have yet to receive any findings on which to base an assessment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the likely financial correction to be imposed by the European Commission for the delays and difficulties in administering England's 2005 single farm payment; how he reached this figure; and if he will make a statement. (97628)

There is a well established process for discussion on, and refinement of, any proposals for financial corrections that the European Commission may decide to make in due course. Experience of such proposals under the old CAP regime would suggest that that process would then take some time to reach a conclusion. However, in line with normal Government accounting arrangements, provisions and contingent liabilities totalling some £131 million have been shown in the 2005-06 departmental accounts, this being a prudent estimate based on the limited knowledge to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expected expenditure is on the single farm payment in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and what the original budget allocated was in each case. (97649)

The UK national ceiling for single payment scheme (SPS) is €3.945 billion in 2006 and €3.961 billion in 2007. Actual expenditure in each year will depend on the extent to which farmers apply for payment against their SPS entitlements and the level of deductions that pertain to those applications, including the effects of eligibility and cross-compliance penalties, EU and national modulation and, possibly for the 2007 scheme, financial discipline.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have not received the single farm payment for 2005 because of enforced penalties for late submission of claim. (97679)

In 2005, 134 farmers applied after10 June which was the final deadline for submission for the single payment scheme and therefore received no payment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many penalties for late claim single farm payments enforced by his Department have been appealed against. (97680)

The Rural Payments Agency has received 10 stage 1 appeals under the single payment scheme appeal procedure against penalties applied for the late submission of 2005 single payment scheme application forms.

Of the nine appeals that have been reviewed two cases were successful and seven were unsuccessful.

None of the unsuccessful cases have progressed to the second stage of the appeal procedure although two cases remain in time to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many penalties for late claim single farm payments his Department enforced in the latest period for which figures are available; what the (a) largest and (b) average penalty was in that period; and if he will make a statement. (97681)

There have been 4,824 late claim penalties in respect of single payment scheme claims received in 2005, to a value of £3,252,879. The information on the largest penalty and the average penalty is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will ensure that the Rural Payments Agency makes substantial part payments to farmers in England for the 2006 payments due under the single payment scheme before the end of the 2006 calendar year; and if he will make a statement. (98407)

[holding answer 1 November 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement on 22 June 2006, Official Report, column 1478, that delivery of the 2006 single payment scheme will be very challenging and that he did not want to commit to a particular payment timetable until the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency has had an opportunity make a realistic assessment of the prospects. That remains the position.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response he has made to the National Audit Office report on the single farm payment scheme. (99131)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has welcomed the NAO’s thorough report. The Department and Rural Payments Agency will draw on its findings and recommendations, along with those in the forthcoming reports from the Public Accounts Committee and Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, in taking forward work on the single payment scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on decoupling of single farm payments. (99611)

The single payment scheme is already decoupled. However, in discussions with the European Commission and other Members of the EU Agriculture Council, UK representatives, led by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, continue to press the case for completing the process of decoupling by removing the remaining coupled direct aid schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in Essex are still waiting for their single farm payments; and when he expects all outstanding payments to have been made. (97702)

[holding answer 30 October 2006]: The single payment scheme is not administered on a regional basis, so it is not possible to identify specific payments outstanding to farmers in Essex.

As at 17 October, 114,037 claimants (97.91 per cent.) had received a total of £1.510 billion (99.7 per cent.) in full or partial payments based on an estimated total number of claimants of 116,474 and an estimated total fund value of £1.515 billion.

Of approximately 2,400 customers who have yet to receive a payment, most have claims valued below €1,000 (£682). This figure includes 58 outstanding priority one customers (those due an estimated €1,000 or above) with complex cases involving issues such as probate, liquidation and business partnership disputes.

The Rural Payments Agency will endeavour to pay outstanding cases as soon as possible, although it is not possible to suggest a timeframe to clear all cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost was to (a) his Department and (b) farmers of delays in administering the single payment to farmers in Suffolk. (97990)

Additional costs, in the form of reduced EU funding, may arise in relation to payments under the 2005 single payment scheme (SPS) which are made after the end of the regulatory payment window on 30 June 2006. However, it is not yet possible to say what if any costs will arise in practice as that depends on the outcome of ongoing discussions with the European Commission and the amount and timing of outstanding payments across the UK.

As announced on 22 June 2006, Official Report, column 1478, the RPA is also paying interest payments to those claimants who had not received their full SPS payment by 30 June 2006 subject to a £50 de minimis. As at 11 October 2006, £318,201 in interest payments had been made.

Drawing on the advice received from the British Banking Association, the NAO has estimated that payments beyond February or March could have cost farmers between £18 million and £22.5 million in interest and arrangement fees on additional bank loans and increased short-term borrowings on overdrafts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of his Department’s proposed budget reduction is the result of (a) changes in Treasury accounting rules, (b) the administration of the 2005 single payment scheme and (c) underspending in previous years. (98208)

Like all large organisations, DEFRA faces new financial pressures each year which require us to constantly review and adjust our spending plans. The current financial year (2006-07) brought several such pressures that meant the Department had to reduce its original resource budgets by around £200 million (about 7 per cent. of our resource budget baseline funding). These pressures stemmed from:

surplus capital charge budget no longer being available to fund programme expenditure due to new tighter rules governing public expenditure (around 30 per cent.);

costs deferred from 2005-06, not as a result of underspending but arising from pressure on the budget that year (around 45 per cent.);

with the balance relating to pressures identified since the beginning of this year. This included cover for RPA’s running costs (around 11 per cent.), including administration of the single payment scheme for both 2005 and 2006.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much farmers in (a) the Wantage constituency, (b) Oxfordshire and (c) the south east have received payments from the single farm payment scheme in each year since it was introduced. (98246)

A breakdown of payments made under the English 2005 single payment scheme is not currently available but will be published in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the re-prioritisation of his Department’s spending for 2006-07 to meet unavoidable extra costs was due to (a) additional resources for the single farm payment scheme, (b) the response to avian influenza and (c) other reasons; what other reasons there were; and if he will make a statement. (98512)

As with other large organisations, DEFRA faces new financial pressures each year which require constant review and re-adjustment to our spending plans. The current financial year (2006-07) brought several such pressures that meant the Department had to reduce its original resource budgets by around £200 million (about 7 per cent. of the Department’s resource baseline funding and about 5 per cent. of the overall budget). These pressures stemmed from:

RPA’s running costs (about 11 per cent.), including administration of the single payment scheme for both 2005 and 2006;

Avian influenza (about 5 per cent.);

surplus capital charge budget no longer being available to fund programme expenditure due to new tighter rules governing public expenditure (around 30 per cent.);

costs deferred from 2005-06 (around 45 per cent.);

other miscellaneous pressures (about 9 per cent.).

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much contingency funding has been set aside for the payment of EU penalties in relation to the single farm payment scheme in 2005-06 and 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. (98689)

There is a well established process for discussion on, and refinement of, any proposals for financial corrections that the European Commission may decide to make in due course. Experience of such proposals under the old CAP regime would suggest that that process would then take some time to reach a conclusion. However, in line with normal Government accounting arrangements, provisions and contingent liabilities totalling some £131 million have been shown in the 2005-06 Departmental accounts, this being a prudent estimate based on the limited knowledge to date.