§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of stewardship payments, by number and by value, is overdue by (a) up to 30 days, (b) 30 to 60 days, (c) 61 to 90 days and (d) over 90 days. [HL638]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)Information is not available in the form requested. There is an administrative target of payments within two months of receipt. As at 31 January, the percentage of claims paid within two months was 79.12 per cent. Because the closing date for receipt of claims was extended from 30 November to 31 December last year, we cannot yet say what proportion of the remaining claims will be paid within the target period. We have experienced some IT difficulties which affected the claims processing capacity but MAFF staff are working to clear the remainder as soon as possible.