At the close of the SPS payment window there were 594 claimants waiting for their money, the agriculture minister Jim Paice has told parliament.
On Tuesday, the Rural Payments Agency had paid a total of £1.75 billion under the 2010 scheme to 103,604 applicants, or around 99% of the total. Outstanding monies are believed to total "up to 25 million".
The closing figure follows a hectic end to the payment window which saw the RPA change policy from making full and accurate payments based on data held on their IT system, to making a combination of system and manual payments, in order to release monies before June 30.
In March, the 95% threshold to avoid EU fines had not been met, prompting strongly-worded lobbying by the NFU. The 594 figure compares with less than 300 outstanding for the 2009 scheme this time last year.
Mr Paice told parliament: “These figures demonstrate that RPA has succeeded in paying over 99% of eligible claimants within the payment window and met the EU benchmark of 95.238% of the total value of payments to be made, so avoiding the prospect of late payment penalties.”
The minister said ‘significant progress’ had been made on the IT and data problems which have dogged the RPA since the chaotic implementation of SPS in 2005. However, he added: “Nevertheless, I recognise that a significant number of farmers had to wait longer than usual for the payment, which I regret.
“I recognise also that there remains much for the agency to do in terms of making payments to both the remaining 2010 claimants, including top ups to those who received an initial hardship payment, and those who are due additional sums for the 2005-2009 schemes.”
He said that a “challenging and realistic” timetable for 2011 scheme payments would be put in place and published in the autumn.
The NFU continues to assist those members who have not received their 2010 SPS paymen. The NFU is very concerned by the number of cases that it has seen in recent days.
- Visit our SPS channel here.
No comments have been made.