§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 30 November 2001,Official Report, column 1172W, on industrial action, if she will list the measures her Department will use to ensure that all payments are made within the 16 November to 31 January window. [21359]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 6 December 2001]: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is currently taking a range of measures to ensure that delays on the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) are kept to the minimum, including:
- Encouraging overtime working
- Redeploying all RPA staff with relevant experience on to the AAPS
- Back filling staff redeployed with casual/agency staff Increasing the number of staff authorising claims
- Using validation reports to determine which claims can best be handled by less experienced staff so that better use is made of those with more experience
- Switching staff periodically from casework to payment authorization
- Deploying staff returning from FMD duties.