DEFRA Cuts: RPA to slash costs and jobs
The Rural Payments Agency is to slash costs in the wake of this week’s spending review by doubling the number of farmers who apply online for their annual single farm payment.
Some 16,224 farmers – equivalent to about 15% of applicants – submitted online claims in 2010. The agency hopes to increase this to more than 32,000 farmers in 2011 as it embraces paperless applications to reduce administration costs.
“Using more online services will enable us to cut costs while delivering improvements,” said Simon Lunnis, the agency’s operations, mapping and customer relations adviser.
Applying online was quicker, easier and more reassuring for farmers, he added. It speeded up claims, reduced postal problems and was more accurate because applications could be checked and verified by computer as they were submitted.
Poor internet access in some areas could prevent all farmers from moving online, acknowledged Mr Lunnis. “We would certainly like to double the uptake in 2011 but clearly there are issues regarding the availability of broadband,” he said.
Even so, farmers using the online system could check their claim status and respond to information requests online. Entitlement statements and claim statements, including for previous years, could be viewed and stored online.
Paper versions of completed applications must still be submitted by to the RPA by post. But some 98% of farmers who submitted online claims would do so again and 96% would recommend doing so to others, according to RPA feedback.
The agency hopes to follow the example of the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). More than 70% of cattle movements are now notified online and cattle deaths can also be reported using the internet.
BCMS no longer sends out pre-populated passport forms to farmers who have registered the majority of births online in the past 12 months. In a further move, the routine production of cattle passport statements will cease from November 2011.