1. Portfolio/Number/Name:Administration - A/C1 - CAP Reform |
2. Programme/Activity: Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP) Reform will replace 6 existing and substantial subsidy schemes with 2 and cut applications from 120,000 per year to around 30,000. The business benefits are expected to include a reduction in the cost of administering Pillar 1 CAP schemes in Scotland and improved business efficiency by having an IT system which fully supports the business need. It will also free up resources that can be used to administer new Land Management Contracts schemes which are being developed. It will also benefit farmers by providing a subsidy support system that requires less form filling and administrative effort. |
3. Efficiency | 3.1 Current target; £m | | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Cash | 0 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
Time | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3.2 Efficiencies delivered; £m | | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
Cash | 0 | - | - |
Time | 0 | - | - |
4. Accountable Officer for delivery | John Elvidge |
5. Project Manager | Ian Stewart |
6. EGDD Portfolio Manager | Rowena Simpson |
7. Description of efficiency and actions to be taken | 7.1 What is the efficiency improvement? How will the efficiencies be made? The efficiency improvement will be achieved by delivering subsidy payments to the same number of farmers whilst spending less money on making these payments. The cash-releasing saving will be made by reducing expenditure in 3 separate areas. These are: - ERAD: CAPM Division will require 9 less staff to administer CAP Pillar 1 schemes by May 2006.
- ERAD: Agricultural staff will require up to 13 fewer professional staff and up to 43 fewer administrative staff to administer the CAP Pillar 1 schemes by April 2006.
The savings from staff units in ERAD will equate to £1.1 million. - ERAD: IS Division will lose around 14 (probably contracting) staff by March 2006 - these are funded via an annual bid to the Scottish Executive Information Systems Steering Group ( SEISSG).
The savings from a reduction in the SEISSG budget will equate to £1.3 million. |
7.2 What are the main actions that are needed to secure the delivery of this efficiency improvement? A significant administrative change is required within ERAD to prepare for the implementation of the new subsidy schemes, including significant IS changes. Continued focus is needed from the CAP Reform Implementation Programme Board to deliver the development and change programme efficiently so it can become business as usual from April 2006. |
8. Associated costs | 8.1 Are there any development or redundancy costs associated with the delivery of this efficiency? There has been a significant short-term development cost associated with implementing the changes required by CAP Reform. However, implementing CAP Reform is an inescapable legal duty on Scottish Ministers and, therefore, these development costs have not been netted off the efficiency savings. The efficiency savings are the recurring efficiency savings to the cost of administering Pillar 1 payments. There are no redundancy costs associated with the delivery of this efficiency saving with staff reductions being achieved through natural wastage or through redeployment to other business areas. |
9. Measurement | 9.1 What are the inputs that will be measured? The input being measured is the expenditure on administering Pillar 1 CAP schemes in Scotland. |
9.2 What are the outputs that will be measured? Outputs and efficiency gains will be measured by comparing the current cost of delivering each pound of Pillar 1 subsidy against the same costs post implementation of CAP Reform. |
9.3 What is the baseline for inputs and outputs? The baseline for inputs is expenditure on administering Pillar 1 CAP payments in 2004-05 and the baseline for outputs is the number of farmers in receipt of Pillar 1 CAP subsidy payments in 2004-05 and in subsequent FEOGA years. |
10. Quality cross-check | 10.1 What quality indicators are being used to ensure that quality of service is maintained or improved? Quality of service benefits will be measured through the annual and ongoing CAP customer satisfaction survey. |
11. Monitoring | 11.1 What are the arrangements for monitoring the delivery of efficiencies? Existing financial monitoring procedures will be used to measure progress on a monthly basis. These will be reviewed quarterly to ensure that efficiency targets are being met. |
12. Reporting | 12.1 What are the arrangements for reporting the delivery of efficiencies? Overall progress towards the target savings is the responsibility of the CAP Management Board. Progress is identified through the collation of management information on CAP administration, and timesheets are used to identify work on specific schemes by Agricultural staff. Figures are reported to the CAP Management Board and Agriculture Programme Board and published annually. |
13. Dependencies | 13.1 Explain if your efficiencies are dependent on legislation or other structural changes being achieved. Savings will follow the successful delivery of the CAP Reform Implementation Programme which includes a dependency on the other UK Paying Agencies. Delays by them could prolong the development programme and thus have an impact on the timescale for the delivery of savings. Any changes to EC legislation or decisions on CAP implementation made by Scottish Ministers could reduce savings. It is assumed that outstanding work relating to the legacy schemes, such as appeals and debt recovery, will be completed rapidly. Any delay in this will result in savings being delayed. |
14. Use of efficiencies | 14.1 How are the efficiencies released from improvement activity being used to improve front-line services? The efficiency savings released from this project will help the Scottish Executive to live within the flat cash settlement it received from the Spending Review. Some agricultural staff resources saved under reform of Pillar 1 CAP will be deployed under new arrangements being put in place for other Partnership Agreement commitments (the Land Management Contract Menu Scheme). |