Farmers due £25m after CAP updating failure

THOUSANDS of farmers are owed a total of more than £25 million because of errors by the Environment Department in paying out subsidies this year.

Some 13,000 farmers are having payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reviewed over concerns they have been penalised for discrepancies due to a failure updating official systems.

The European Commission has also imposed penalties of £65.8m in the past year on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for failing to control and administer payments properly under the subsidies system.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned that penalties are likely to increase in future years, with some applied after the UK has left the EU, because of more complex CAP schemes and problems administering new systems for payments.

Sir Amyas Morse, the comptroller and auditor general, has not signed off the Defra accounts for 2015-2016 as a result of the problems, qualifying his opinion on them. An assessment by the NAO found Defra had experienced difficulties paying farmers accurately.

Sir Amyas said: “The department continues to struggle with managing the complex CAP scheme in a way that ensures accurate, timely payments to farmers.

“As a result, it has incurred EU penalties of £65.8m related to the CAP scheme in 2015-16, and estimates it owes 13,000 farmers a total of at least £25.3m.

“Exit from the EU will not, in the short term, reduce these penalties. The department needs to ensure its strategy for tackling these challenges is effective.”