EU farm subsidy errors persist

There are still problems with the distribution of EU farming subsidies to English farmers, three years after mass delays in payouts, MPs have said.

An internal review found more than 10,000 farmers were overpaid in 2005, and 7,000 in 2006 but "little action" had been taken to recover the money.

Delays meant "uncertainty" for farmers and some money may have been spent, said the public accounts committee.

The government said the payments scheme had improved in 2007.

The Rural Payments Agency had been charged with allocating about £1.5bn a year under the EU's single farm payment scheme (SPS) - but there were long delays in payouts.

'Turned around'

The scheme, a major change to the way farmers received EU payments, was introduced at the same time as a new centralised computer system to process applications - and as staff numbers were being reduced.

Those factors were blamed for problems with the 2005 payments, which should have been paid to 96% of farmers in England by March 2006, but only 15% got them on time.