Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

My Lords, following on from what has just been said, I started to think about the potential problems of the Rural Payments Agency. I know from my wife’s experience on the farm that all cannot be well with the RPA, despite the Minister’s replies at Question Time today. For instance, despite the RPA having changes to the maps of my wife’s place for many months, it sent them back to her on 23 December asking her to check all the areas and return them within seven days—not seven working days; seven days, over Christmas. I am sure the Minister will appreciate that this does not help the work-life balance. There were a considerable number of changes, but I managed to check them, and did find a couple of faults. This was not entirely the RPA’s fault, as it is quite difficult, when you are sent only partial maps, to spot that one field’s change may also affect another, and it is easy to slip up on forms. I trust that e-mailing them back on the seventh day was taken as sufficient evidence of hitting the seven-day deadline. I do not know when we will receive a response. Entry-level schemes and various other things depend on those maps, and so far we have been prohibited for many months from entering such schemes, at some considerable loss of income, because the RPA could not get the maps out. So all is not well there. Despite the answer to the question raised by the noble Lord, Lord Carter, I can tell the Committee that we have not received a payment since November 2004. That hits cash flow badly. If the RPA is going to be thrown into further chaos by these provisions, some arable farmers may have a lot of trouble. It is essential that the RPA is handled carefully throughout this, and with the minimum disruption. I was concerned when I heard all these points being raised.