§ Mr. Roderickasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many payments of the new compensatory allowances to hill farmers in Brecon and Radnor and in Wales have been made to date; how many applications for each of these areas have been received; and what assurance he will give that most claims will be paid within two months of receipt.
§ Mr. John MorrisI have been asked to reply. 9,990 claims for compensatory allowances, out of an expected total of some 13,500, have been received to date from hill farms in Wales. 989 have been sent for payment of which 575 have been paid and the remaining 414 will be paid very shortly. The comparable figures for Brecon and Radnor are 2,282 claims received, out of an expected total of some 2,500, of which 131 have been sent for payment and about 100 have been paid.
Farmers' unfamiliarity with the new claim forms has caused some difficulty in getting them completed correctly but I have every confidence that most claims, provided they have been completed correctly, will be paid within two months of receipt.