§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the postponement of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) due date from 31 December 2001 to 31 January 2001 is for this year only; whether the next payment will be due on 31 December or 31 January 2002; or whether it is likely that the due date will be further postponed in 2002. [HL639]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)The change in payment dates under the Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) is contained in EU Regulations agreed by the Council of Ministers and applies until further notice. From 2000 onwards payments must be made between 16 November and 31 January (up to 1999 these were made between 16 October and 31 December). Payments on set-aside used for the production of non-food raw materials must be paid between 16 November and 31 March. MAFF and the other UK agricultural departments aim to make payments as soon as possible within those time periods. In England in 2000 half of all payments were made within the first two weeks after 16 November.