Farm leaders and politicians applaud hard-hitting single farm payment report

Farm leaders and opposition MPs have applauded the environment, food and rural affairs select committee report which calls for accountability for the single farm payment debacle.

George Dunn, chief executive of the Tenant Farmers Association, said the report seemed extremely thorough.

“I think from all the various inquiries we’ve seen, this is the most informed, most thorough and most practical,” he said.

“It still sticks in farmers’ throats that Mrs Beckett got a promotion when she failed to implement the policy introduced as a result of cap reform. The committee appears to have confirmed everything we’ve been saying – that there was a failing at the top of DEFRA.”

Derrick Wilkinson, senior economist with the Country Land and Business Association, said the report uncovered a litany of managerial failures.

“The one thing that does jump out though from this report is the unseen victim,” he said. “People are still suffering because of this whole debacle – many are facing penalties because of bad advice given to them in 2005.”

NFU president Peter Kendall said the report came as no surprise because the union had told DEFRA and the RPA the payment method was bound to cause problems.

“We said it was over-complicated and over-bureaucratic but our comments fell on deaf ears.
 
“It is truly terrible – this saga has cost farmers about £20m of their money and untold stress. We don’t yet know what it will cost DEFRA in fines.”

Tory agriculture spokesman James Paice said: “When the words ‘catastrophe’ ‘disaster’ ‘failure’ and ‘debacle’ appear in the opening paragraphs of an official report it is clear just how bad the government’s performance has been. This accurately sums up DEFRA’s mismanagement of the single payments scheme and the scathing critique that follows is fully warranted.”

Liberal Democrat shadow environment secretary, Chris Huhne MP said: “Heads should have rolled after this shambles. It is astonishing that instead of being sacked Margaret Beckett was promoted to foreign secretary. The Prime Minister valued loyalty above competence, which explains why the government continues to fail to do its job properly.

“In Scotland and Wales, farm payments were made without problems because ministers tailored their ambitions to their abilities. In England, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs fell flat on its face by trying to run before it could walk.”

• What do you think of the report? Let us know on our forums.
  
• To read the report in full visit the EFRA committee website.
  
• To read about the impact of the SFP debacle see FWi’s special report on the Single Payment Scheme.