| Author (Corporate) | United Kingdom: House of Commons: Public Accounts Committee |
|---|---|
| Publisher | The Stationery Office (TSO) |
| Series Title | 55th Report |
| Series Details | (2006-07)HC 893 |
| Publication Date | 06/09/2007 |
| ISBN | 978-0-215-03617-9 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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The EU Single Payment Scheme replaced 11 previous subsidies to farmers based on agricultural production with one payment for land management. The European Commission gave some discretion to Member States over how to implement the scheme, and the Rural Payments Agency (which is responsible for administering the scheme in England) opted for the dynamic hybrid model which incorporates elements of previous entitlement and new regionalised area payments based on a flat rate per hectare. The Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) encountered severe problems in the implementation of the scheme in England and, by the end of March 2006, it had paid farmers only 15 per cent of the £1,515 million due compared with its target of 96 per cent. This caused significant hardship to farmers and taxpayers will have to pay extra implementation costs. Defra has had to secure an extra £300 million to meet the potential cost of disallowance of expenditure by the European Commission arising on the problems in administering the scheme. This report, by the Public Accounts Committee, examines the impact of the payment delays on the farming sector, why implementation failed, the role of Defra and the changes being put in place to rectify the mistakes made. |
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| Source Link | http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmpubacc/893/89302.htm |
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| Countries / Regions | United Kingdom |
