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Rural Payments Agency

My Lords, we too were surprised and shaken to hear for the first time on Tuesday 14 March the news that the bulk of the payments could not be made by the end of March. I share completely what the noble Lord has said about that. I regret that, although I would love to do so, I cannot give the House a date by which all the payments will be made. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be able to do so from the Dispatch Box today. However, that would be irresponsible of me. We have put the new chief executive in place and, in his first report to the Secretary of State and me last week he said that he wanted more time before he could make a judgment on that crucial figure. All I can say to the noble Lord—and it is not much comfort—is that payments are being made as we speak. They certainly have not stopped, but I cannot give him a date by which they will all have been made.