CAP policy change sees costs rocket

The price of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments system has more than doubled since the deal was signed in 2003, according to MPs.

The cost of the contract with technology supplier Accenture has risen from £18.1m to £37.4m, says a report published this week by the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee.

‘We were alarmed to learn about the scale of the cost overrun on the revenue side of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) IT contract with Accenture,’ says the committee report.

‘We are concerned that the nature of the contract agreed between the RPA and Accenture apparently allowed for the costs to increase so dramatically.’

The scheme has suffered from insufficient management and scrutiny, says the committee.

‘We believe that, while difficulties are not uncommon in projects of this nature, with better planning and monitoring many of the problems could have been avoided,’ says the report.

RPA witnesses told the committee that the cost increase was the result of EU policy changes, introducing the Single Farm Payment, a year after the work with Accenture was started.