HC Deb 19 June 2003 vol 407 cc360-1W
Mr. Ruffley

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people in(a) the Bury St. Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Essex and (e) Cambridgeshire are awaiting IACS payments; and what the average waiting time for payment was in the last year for which figures are available. [120410]

Alun Michael

Data are not held at constituency level so there is no specific information available for the Bury St. Edmunds constituency. However, there are currently no payments outstanding for Suffolk, there are also no payments outstanding for Cambridgeshire. There is one payment outstanding in Norfolk and one in Essex under the 2002 Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS), both for reasons beyond the RPA's control. For 2002 main AAPS payments, the regulatory payment window ran from 16 November 2002 to 31 January 2003. 85.88 per cent. of claims by number were paid by 8 December 2002, and 98.25 per cent. by 31 January 2003.