Mr. LiddingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many claims for payment under(a) the beef special premium scheme 2001 and (b) the suckler cow premium scheme 2001 have been refused by the Rural Payments Agency; if she will publish an analysis of the reasons for such refusals; and if she will make a statement. [77324]
§ Margaret Beckett(a) 3544 claims for payment under the beef special premium scheme 2001 have been refused entirely, 7203 claims for payment have been partly refused for payment under the beef special premium scheme 2001.
(b) 851 claims for payment under the suckler cow premium scheme 2001 have been refused entirely, 7659 claims for payment have been partly refused for payment under the suckler cow premium scheme 2001.
The above claims contain animals whose eligibility could not be established under the Commission Regulations, which govern the bovine schemes. The RPA regrets the delays and the impact on farmer's cash flow, but cannot ignore the discrepancies discovered through cross-checks, or indeed any other verification method employed by the Agency. Failure to act on the findings identified will result in significant disallowance.
The Commission have indicated that all cross-checks should be carried out prior to payment as they view these checks as a key control to the fund. If RPA were found to be making unsafe payments it would inevitably face disallowance.
When applicants disagree with the refusal decision it is open to them to provide the RPA with additional information, which they feel, should be taken into account.