§ Mr. DuncanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken to strengthen his Department's regional organisation following the delays experienced in 1995 in payments under the arable area payments scheme. [18476]
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWith the aim of avoiding any such delays on this or other schemes, and despite a general reduction in the Ministry's running costs budget of over 5 per cent., the regional organisation, which makes such payments, will benefit from an increased level of provision for the financial year 1996–97 compared with the current. Various improvement in IT and in management procedures are also in train.