The Commons Efra Committee has concluded the Rural Payments Agency failed in the implementation of the Single Payment Scheme largely because Defra asked it to do too much in too short a time.
A report released yesterday also says that Defra did not pay enough attention to the RPA’s warnings about the risks of what was being proposed.
The committee pulls no punches in apportioning individual responsibility for the SPS fiasco, suggesting that if accountability is to mean anything then the people responsible for the failure should consider their positions. Some of those most closely involved in its implementation “have moved on unscathed or stayed in post” it says. Most notable amongst them of course is foreign secretary Margaret Beckett.
The Efra conclusion is in line with the National Farmers’ Union’s assessment of the situation.
NFU president Peter Kendall said: “It comes as no surprise to me to see the contents of this report because we told Defra and the RPA this payment method was bound to cause problems. We said it was over-complicated and over-bureaucratic but our comments fell on deaf ears.
“Committee chairman Michael Jack says if accountability is to mean anything then the position of the people responsible for this debacle needs to be questioned. As far as I’m concerned the senior people responsible have moved on and are no longer concerned with farming issues and most of my members are grateful for that.
“We have a new secretary of state for Defra who is well aware of what farming offers and the contribution it can make. The RPA may still be limping but it is showing some signs of improvement. It is truly terrible this saga has cost farmers about £20 million of their money and untold stress. We don’t yet know what it will cost Defra in fines.”
Kendall is still reeling from the news that £557,331 was spent on private consultants as part of the recent Hunter Review of the RPA. “The review recommends the RPA is left to get on and sort out the mess and that it reports back in due course - please can someone tell me why over half a million pounds of public money had to be paid out to reach that conclusion?
“David Miliband has said quite openly that he will not be able to look farmers in the eye until the SPS is sorted out. We’re still a long way from that, but I’m holding him to his commitment to see things put right,” he said.
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