§ Dame Peggy Fennerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current delay in payment by the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce dairy section, Reading; what estimate he has made of the implications of the delay for the cash flow of small companies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonFor butter and skimmed milk powder purchased into intervention, the board makes payment in accordance with EC regulations between 120 and 140 days after the date of takeover. For other internal market schemes and for export refunds, the board's aim is to make payment within 28 days of the receipt of a properly documented claim. This time scale is in line with the best commercial practice. During the last 12 months the board has consistently met this target in the dairy sector. In the case of export refunds, this has been despite continuous increase in claims, numerous changes in EC regulations, and the need to prepare a new system of computer handling of claims in order to increase the board's efficiency further. If my hon. Friend has some specific case in mind, I would be grateful if she could let me have details.