Download or read book The Rural Payments Agency and the implementation of the Single Payment Scheme written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-03-29 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The EU Single Payment Scheme replaced 11 previous subsidies to farmers based on agricultural production with one payment for land management. The European Commission gave some discretion to Member States over how to implement the scheme, and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), which is responsible for administering the scheme in England, opted for the dynamic hybrid model which incorporates elements of previous entitlement and new regionalised area payments based on a flat rate per hectare. A NAO report (HCP 1631, session 2005-06, ISBN 9780102943399), published in October 2006, found that the RPA underestimated the risks and complexities involved in implementing the hybrid model, and the IT system was never tested as a whole before the scheme was introduced. It failed to adequately pilot land registration, and underestimated the amount of work involved in both mapping the land and processing each claim, having to rely on often inexperienced temporary and agency staff to clear the backlog. The difficulties were not picked up early enough, neither by the RPA nor Defra, for corrective action to be taken in time, resulting in the RPA's failure to meet its own payment targets. Delayed payments have cost farmers money in additional interest and bank charges, and caused distress to a significant minority of farmers, particularly hill farmers. The cost of implementing the scheme was budgeted at £76 million but rose to £122 million by March 2006, with further cost increases likely. Following on from a previous Committee report on the RPA (HCP 840, session 2005-06, ISBN 9780215027115), published in January 2006 and in light of the NAO findings, this report focuses on aspects of policy decision-making and political accountability raised by the problems with the Single Payment Scheme. The Committee concludes the Scheme has been a catastrophe for some farmers and a serious and embarrassing failure for Defra and the RPA, and Defra's fundamental failure to carry out one of its core tasks (that is to pay farmers their financial entitlements on time) differentiates this issue from the myriad of botched Government IT projects. There is a need for greater expertise within government in the delivery of such complex IT projects, and the report also criticises the quality of advice given by the Office of Government Commerce and the IT system designed by Accenture as the principal IT contractor. Defra determined the policies which it required the RPA to implement and Defra leadership was at fault for accepting RPA statements that implementing the complex hybrid model to deadline was "do-able". The Committee argues that responsibility for this failure goes wider than the dismissal of the RPA chief executive, and ministers and senior Defra officials should also be held to account, particularly Margaret Beckett (the then Defra Secretary of State), Sir Brian Bender, (the former Defra Permanent Secretary) and Andy Lebrecht (the Director General for Sustainable Farming, Food and Fisheries). It concludes that a departmental failure as serious as this should result in the removal from office of those responsible for faulty policy design and implementation, and it recommends that new guidance on Ministerial accountability is needed in the event of such serious departmental failure.
Download or read book Annual Report and Accounts written by Great Britain. Ordnance Survey and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue 2005 written by Stationery Office and published by Stationery Office Books (TSO). This book was released on 2006-08-10 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No public library discount on this title
Download or read book The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue written by Stationery Office (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 696 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Agriculture and Eu Enlargement Seventeenth Report of 2003 2004 Report Together with Formal Minutes Oral a Written Evidence written by Jack Michael and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture plays a larger role in the economies of the new Member states of the EU than it does in EU-15. There have thus been fears of the market being flooded by cheap agricultural exports and controversy about the extension of CAP payments. This report, therefore, looks at the impact of enlargement on agriculture both in the new Member states and in the UK. It concludes that structural fragmentation and the lack of capital investment mean that the new Member states are not in a position to undermine EU agricultural markets. However there are concerns about the quality of inspection and food quality. For the UK the Committee think that enlargement is more of a challenge than a threat, especially if the government does more to help promote UK food exports and investments.
Download or read book Annual Report for Fiscal Year written by Commodity Credit Corporation and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 970 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 886 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Climate Change Water Security and Flooding Sixteenth Report of Session 2003 2004 Report Together with Formal Minutes Oral and Written Evidence written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committees report examines the actions that will be necessary to adapt to changes in flooding and water availability caused by climate change. There are a number of steps that the Government should take to reduce future flood risk, with a key consideration being the planning of new housing developments to avoid building on flood plains, where possible. Where this is necessary, developments should be designed to be as resilient as possible to flooding, utilising sustainable drainage systems and including areas such as parks in order to contain floodwater. Existing sewer systems will need upgrading and new systems must be built to cope with higher storm flows. Greater attention needs to be paid by the Government to the issue of water shortages due to drier summers, including considering alternative water pricing mechanisms to relate costs more directly to amount used, and ensuring building regulations pay greater attention to water efficiency. Water companies must also do more to reduce water leakages.
Download or read book Annual Report written by Scottish Crop Research Institute and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book GM Planting Regime written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following on the Government's decision to permit, in principle, the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the UK, this report examines the areas in which consultation on the planting regime to be used should concentrate. These are primarily, the level at which the threshold for contamination of GM crops in non-GM or organic crops should be set, and how liability for contamination should be approached. Findings include that, as there is no immediate prospect of commercial cultivation of GM maize, and as there is a lack of demand from consumers for GM products, the Government is no longer under tight time constraints for rapid resolution of these issues. However, now that the Europe-wide moratorium on new GM food, feed and crops has been lifted, it is important to establish co-existence and liability regimes. Earlier reports by the Committee on the use of genetically modified crops in the UK were published in June 2002 (HCP 767, session 2001-02, ISBN 0215003764) and November 2003 (HCP 1220, session 2002-03, ISBN 0215013891).
Download or read book Dismantling Defunct Ships in the Uk Eighteenth Report of Session 2003 2004 Report Together with Formal Minutes Oral and Written Evidence written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2004 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is estimated that, worldwide, about 700 large commercial vessels have to be scrapped each year, as they reach the end of their working life. Much of the material they are made from can be recycled, but many ships also contain hazardous materials, such as asbestos, PCBs and waste oils, which need to be disposed of safely. The Committee's report considers how defunct ships are dismantled and why most are currently dismantled in developing countries, mostly in Asia; health and safety protection for workers, and environmental protection standards; the international regulatory framework, including legislation such as the Basel Convention and EC regulations, IMO guidelines and enforcement problems; the principles of responsible ship recycling; the Government's approach to ship recycling and a UK ship recycling industry. Findings include that the Government has an important role to play in ensuring this issue receives sufficient international priority, particularly during the UK's forthcoming EU Presidency and chairmanship of the G8; as well at home in helping persuade UK-based shipowners to arrange for their vessels to be disposed of responsibly. As a first step, it should ensure that all naval and other publicly-owned vessels are dismantled to the highest health, safety and environmental standards.
Download or read book Annual Report of the Commodity Credit Corporation written by Commodity Credit Corporation and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Combat Poverty Agency Annual Report 2002 written by and published by Combat Poverty Agency. This book was released on with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book TSO Annual Catalogue 2001 written by Stationery Office and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 956 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Waste Policy and the Landfill Directive written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2005 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 400 million tonnes of waste is produced in England and Wales from industrial, commercial and household sources, with 375 million tonnes produced in England alone. Following on from its previous report on waste management issues (HCP 385-I, session 2002-03, ISBN 0215010876) published in May 2003, the Committee's report focuses on the progress being made to meet targets for recycling, and the impact of the EU Landfill Directive on reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, particularly in hazardous waste landfill capacity. Findings include that waste policy has a lower public profile than many other environmental issues, and its development is hindered by a lack of quality data. Concerns are raised about the level of hazardous waste that is unaccounted for, following the ending of co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste in the same landfill. Government funding for research into new treatment technologies is welcomed, but more investment is needed; and the planning system is a key influence on the country's waste management capacity. The Committee also recommends that the Landfill Tax should be increased to £35 per tonne; and that the introduction of local authority schemes to promote household waste recycling should be left at the discretion of local councils, with variable charging schemes only introduced if this can avoid disadvantaging low-income families.
Download or read book Journals of the House of Commons written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 952 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
