HC Deb 24 June 2002 vol 387 cc652-3W
Diana Organ

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what costs have been incurred by the Rural Payments Agency as a result of the extra information required of farmers in Section 1, No. 5, of the Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002. [63628]

Mr. Morley

When a Beef Special Premium Form is received at the Rural Payments Agency, the contents on the form are entered on to the RPA computer system by staff keying in the information shown. When Section 1 question 5 consists simply of one line of text, the time taken may be measured in seconds. Where more information is received, clearly, the time taken will be longer. However, the main cost to the RPA arises from cases where Section 1.5 is not completed appropriately, that is, information given is not clear, or is evidently incomplete. It is the processing of the cases which led the RPA to re-examine the wording of Section 1.5. It is not possible to calculate accurately the cost of dealing with these.

Diana Organ

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have fully completed Section 1, No. 5, on the Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002 claim form; and how many have not complied and are stating only the holding address. [63627]

Mr. Morley

All Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002 claim forms where the only anomaly concerns the completion of Section 1, question 5 are being accepted and lodged with the Rural Payments Agency.

To date, the Rural Payments Agency has received just under 39,000 Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002 claims. It estimates that the current proportion of the forms having either no, or incomplete, information entered at Section 1, question 5 is 35 per cent. The agency will seek the additional information from producers where required.

Diana Organ

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the need for the changes that the Rural Payments Agency have made to Section 1, No. 5 of the Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002. [63626]

Mr. Morley

Article 10 of Commission Regulation (EC) No.2419/2001, which came into effect on 1 January 2002, requires that a livestock aid application shall contain where applicable, an undertaking by the farmer to keep claimed animals on his holding during the retention period and information on the location or locations where the animals will be held including the period or periods concerned. This requirement has not changed from the relevant previous regulation.

For operational reasons, the level of detail and the method of collecting it was changed for scheme year 2002. Following representations from industry representatives the Rural Payments Agency is currently reviewing Section 1, No. 5 of the Beef Special Premium Scheme 2002 form.