HL Deb 16 November 2001 vol 628 cc109-10WA
Lord Harris of Haringey

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made on the abolition of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and towards agency status of the Rural Payments Agency; and whether they will publish their framework document, corporate plan and business plan. [HL1395]

Lord Whitty

The Rural Payments Agency was launched as an Executive Agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 October 2001. It received accreditation as an EU paying agency on the same date. The chief executive is Mr Johnston McNeill.

Since that date and until today, when the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce (Abolition) Regulations 2001 came into force, the agency has been operating as a joint enterprise between the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce and the department under a single management structure headed by the chief executive.

I have already informed the House of the Agency's performance targets (Official Report, 17 October 2001, col. WA 97). Arrangements are being made for copies of the framework document, the corporate plan and the business plan for 2001–02 to be placed in the Library of the House.