So just why are we waiting? ask unpaid producers
Farmers who are yet to receive even a partial single farm payment are unhappy that they have not been given a clearer idea as to why their payments are being held up.
Farmers Weekly has been contacted by several of the 5000 farmers who are yet to receive any payment, who complain that they have been given a list of reasons why they might not have been paid, but they do not know which one applies to them.
The standard letter suggests that they have not received any payment because they are on the verge of getting a full payment, or because their case falls into one of several “complex” categories.
“The most frustrating thing about this whole situation is the total lack of any real information from the RPA,” said one farmer from Bedfordshire.
“I would have assumed that if our claim was ‘complex’ then they would have been in contact, so can only hope that we will be receiving our full payment soon.”
An RPA spokesman said it was not possible to give a breakdown as to how many claims were in each category, but he stressed that completing validation of the 5000 claims which have yet to receive a full or partial payment was the agency’s top priority.
“They will be paid as soon as possible and we are advising customers to get in touch only if they have been asked to by RPA to help answer any outstanding questions regarding their claim,” he said.
“Unsolicited calls to ask when a payment will be coming to them cannot be answered and such calls will only slow up processing.”
By close of play on 16 May, the agency had paid out a total of £1.3bn to a total of 91,376 customers.
Of the 91,376 claimants, 67,964 are understood to have had a full payment.
Three NFU board chairman gave evidence to the NAO on Tuesday (16 May).