Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the 1,103 claims to the Flood Recovery Fund made by farmers in Cumbria, Northumberland, Lancashire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Greater Manchester, (1) who is responsible for approving those claims, (2) how many have been paid, and (3) what is the total value of those claims.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Whilst the Farming Recovery Fund is not competitive, farmers wishing to apply to the Fund have to submit a formal application with evidence to support their need for a grant to contribute to the restoration of farmland badly affected by Storms Desmond or Eva. Payments are made to farmers once the work has been carried out and a claim has been submitted.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is responsible for determining the eligibility of Farming Recovery Fund applications, issuing grant funding agreements to eligible applicants, and receiving, processing and paying claims for costs incurred under those grant funding agreements.

The RPA received 1,103 applications for a total value of grant of £11,429,194 by the closing dates for the scheme. As of 5 May 2016, 209 applications have been approved with a total value of £1,947,738. A further 20 applications, with a value of £265,440, have been either rejected as ineligible or withdrawn by the applicant.

Of the projects approved, 29 have been completed and have submitted claims with a value of £202,268. 13 of these claims have been paid with a total value of £78,504.