Web site to detail all farm subsidy payments

UK CAP Payments site designed to improve transparency

Many farmers have not received payments through the Single Payments Scheme

A new online service detailing payments made to UK farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has gone live.

UK CAP Payments is designed to improve the transparency of payments, and to ensure that the public is aware of what subsidies have and have not been paid.

"This is an important step forward in making information about public money and how it is spent more freely available," said farming minister Lord Rooker.

Details of payments under the Single Payments Scheme, which was set up by the Rural Payments Agency to distribute farming subsidies created by CAP, will be included from April next year.

A report (PDF) by the Public Accounts Committee published in July found that faults in the IT system led to many overpayments and underpayments to farmers.

The Committee also found that the Rural Payments Agency is still not able to offer adequate advice to farmers on the progress of their claims of underpayment.

From 2009 the UK CAP Payments web site will offer details of all payments under the Single Payments Scheme for the previous year.