Common Agricultural Policy: Single Farm Payment

Baroness Byford
asked Her Majesty's Government:

In relation to the 2005 single farm payments, how many farmers have received no payments to date; and whether they are able to give any indication when these matters will be resolved. [HL1606]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker)
The Rural Payments Agency has estimated there are 194 single payment scheme claims in respect of 2005 that have not received any payment to date. Seventy of these cases are pending the resolution of issues such as probate. The remainder of these 2005 claims are potentially eligible to be paid and are currently being processed. These claims are being paid as soon as possible, but it is not possible to put a timeframe on when they will all be completed.

Baroness Byford
asked Her Majesty's Government:

What categorises a single farm payment as complex; how many of the outstanding claims are due to Rural Payments Agency management systems queries; and how many of these claims are being reworked. [HL1607]

Lord Rooker
The Rural Payments Agency has estimated that there are 194 single payment scheme claims in respect of 2005 that have not received any payment to date. Seventy of these cases are pending the resolution of complex issues such as probate. The RPA is also checking approximately 20,000 2005 cases, which include those involving queries raised by farmers to establish whether the correct entitlement is held and payment has been made.

Baroness Byford
asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many dual claims cases from the 2005 single farm payment scheme are outstanding. [HL1608]

Lord Rooker
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has completed the validation of 2005 single payment scheme claims that generated dual claim tasks, the aim of the validation being to determine the correct claimant of the land in question and therefore the beneficiary of the subsidy. However, in some cases it has not proved possible to resolve disputes between the various parties. In these cases the claims of all such parties have been penalised accordingly. This has resulted in further correspondence being submitted to the RPA which is currently being considered. Some claimants may choose to use the appeals procedure to challenge the penalties applied as a result of a dual claim.