Written question asked by Lord Hanningfield (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Monday, 29 September 2008.

Common Agricultural Policy: Single Farm Payment

Question: How many farmers were overpaid or underpaid by the single farm payment scheme in each of the last three years in (a) England, (b) the east of England, and (c) Essex.

Answer: The number of farmers that were overpaid under the single payment scheme (SPS) in England was 11,454 in 2005 and 7,493 in 2006. Figures are not yet available for the 2007 scheme year. Detailed analysis of all payments made under SPS is not yet available and so it is not possible to give figures for the east of England and Essex. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) does not keep separate data on cases where a top-up payment was required after an SPS claim had been corrected, nor can such data now be readily identified. The RPA retains data on changes in claim values but there is no automatic relationship between these and underpayment data because manual or partial payment may have been made to the claimant.

Secondary information