Delays in implementing a bespoke IT system led to the
Rural Payments Agency (RPA) failing to pay subsidies to farmers on
time, according to a National Audit Office report.
The RPA project to deliver a system capable of processing
subsidy payments was beset by development problems. Implementation
costs were expected to be £75.8m, but had reached £122.3m by the
end of March this year.
The system that was delivered lacked the ability to provide
management information.
The RPA had originally set a deadline of December 2004 for work
on the system to finish. However, by December 2004 the RPA had
identified 23 changes that needed to be made to the system to take
account of changes in European Union regulations and actions by the
UK government.
Once the changes had been made, the RPA also had to process more
farmer payments than previously, with 120,000 payments due rather
than 90,000.
The EU has since fined the UK government for failing to pay
subsidies to farmers on time.