Farm Subsidies

Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what additional costs the Government (a) have incurred and (b) are projected to incur as a result of missing the 30 June deadline for single farm payments.

Barry Gardiner
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 may 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 Rural Payments Agency 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.