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Rural Payments Agency: Digital Technology

Asked by Edward MorelloLiberal DemocratDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 25 July 2025UIN 68701

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Rural Payments Agency on upgrading its digital services to reduce errors and delays for users.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner

The Rural Payments Agency is supporting Defra’s Digital Data Technology Services team, the Livestock Improvement Transformation Programme, and the Farming & Countryside Programme on a suite of work to upgrade, improve and replace IT systems.

The Rural Payments Service currently supports tens of thousands of customers, handling their agreements and payments for land-based schemes.

We continue to look for opportunities to improve in advance of any new IT replacing it. Recent examples include upgrade of the infrastructure underpinning the Rural Payments Service to improve system performance and the introduction of an online service for customers to amend their bank details.

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