To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are awaiting payment under the single payment scheme for the (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire. (166121)

[holding answer 19 November 2007]: There are currently 11 outstanding cases for SPS 2005.

For SPS 2006 there are 352 claims where processing is not yet complete. 179 of these have received partial payments and RPA is continuing to process these claims to provide top up payments where applicable. Payment is yet to be made on the other 173. Many of these are complex cases involving probate, business partnership changes and domestic issues. It is likely that work on these outstanding claims will reveal some may not be eligible for payment. Where it is confirmed that payments are due, these will be made as soon as possible.

The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.

Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value is of outstanding single payment scheme payments for the (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007 payments in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire. (166122)

[holding answer 19 November 2007]: The value of the outstanding single payment scheme payments for 2005 is £74,566, for 2006 it is approximately £1.7 million once the processing of these claims is complete. These figures exclude any corrections arising from the review of SPS Entitlements Statements currently taking place.

The payment window for SPS 2007 opens on 1 December 2007.

Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the SPS is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.