19 Feb 2009 - Ref 11/09
Rural Payments Agency – release of CAP payment data
The Rural Payments Agency is now required to release further information about Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments..
The previously unpublished data is being issued under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) had previously issued a Decision Notice that required the Rural Payments Agency to release unpublished information concerning payments made in earlier years, to a campaigner for transparency about CAP.
The Agency now has to release further data to this same person for payments made from October 2005 to October 2007. The information will include data on Single Payment Scheme payments. It will not include the Single Business Identifier (SBI) but will include:
Full name of recipient.
Address of recipient.
Postcode of recipient.
Amount of payment.
Date of payment.
Name of CAP scheme under which the payment was made.
CAP scheme code.
Notes to Editors
1 The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency of the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It is the single paying agency responsible for
CAP schemes in England.
2 In view of the fact that the information provided to the complainant will contain the raw data provided to the Commission and may contain SPS payments subsequently discovered to be incorrect, RPA will provide a disclaimer to this effect when the information is released to the complainant.
3 In December 2008 RPA released information concerning all those who received any CAP payment between October 1999 and October 2005. This information did not include details of payments made under the Single Payment Scheme.
4 RPA already releases information on CAP payments under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. For details see: www.cap-payments.defra.gov.uk
5 Following a change to the European regulations on funding the CAP in 2008, RPA is required to publish further information on subsidies. You can find more details at
www.cap-payments.defra.gov.uk. Further data on payments made between 16 October 2007 and 15 October 2008, including SPS payments, is due to be published on this website in April.
6 Individuals requiring information on their rights as a data subject are advised to log on to www.rpa.gov.uk and click on ‘Access to information’, then ‘Personal data’. RPA's public service guarantee on data handling, which sets out an individual’s rights in respect of the handling of their personal data, is also available online. Those who do not access to the internet, are advised to call the Customer Service Centre on 0845 603 7777.
Media Enquiries
Caroline Forcer, RPA Press Office, 0118 968 7680
e-mail: caroline.forcer@rpa.gsi.gov.uk
Page published: 19 February 2009