§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what efforts are being made to speed up the processing of suckler cow premium payments. [122521]
§ Alun MichaelStaff at the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) continue to work overtime at offices around the country to ensure that Suckler Cow Premium Scheme queries which are currently preventing payment are investigated and resolved as quickly as possible. To date, 90 per cent. of Suckler Cow producers have received an advance payment representing 80 per cent. of the premium due.
Balance payments on all the bovine subsidy schemes have been delayed because of the need to implement changes in EU legislation introduced for the 2002 120W scheme year. These changes introduced new penalty procedures that apply when either the scheme rules or cattle identification requirements have been breached
Before making balance payments the RPA has had to build a new computer database and significantly enhance existing computer systems to cope with the changes. These are complex changes and despite being given high priority have taken a considerable time to implement. However, the RPA can now confirm that the software required to pay the majority of producers is now in place and Suckler Cow Premium Scheme balance payments have begun. To date, over 38 per cent. of producers have received their payments. Every effort is being made to ensure that the remaining balance payments are processed as quickly as possible.