§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the average delay between compensatory and subsidy payments to farmers being(a) awarded and (b) paid to farmers in each of the last 10 years; and what estimate he has made for the figure in 1998 to 1999. [57932]
315W
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 3 November 1998]: It is the Department's normal practice to notify the farmer in writing that a payment has been authorised and the average time between notification and despatch of the payment to the farmer in 1998–99 is expected to be 7 days. Corresponding figures for the schemes operated by the Department for the years 1988–89 to 1997–98 are not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.