Huge payouts in staff overtime over farm subsidy IT system
ByGemma Mackenzie
Staff overtime on the system has cost more than £1.8m since 2015.
Staff overtime costs for the Scottish Government’s beleaguered farm payments IT system have totalled more than £1.8 million since 2015.
The £178m system has been plagued with problems since its launch, resulting in delayed payments and the introduction of temporary loans to farmers and crofters.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing confirmed the staff overtime costs in response to a parliamentary written question by Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles.
He had asked how much staff overtime to deliver the Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) had cost each year since 2015-16.
In his response, Mr Ewing confirmed the following costs: £531,000 for 2015-16; £430,000 for 2016-17; £471,000 for 2017-18; and £404,000 for 2018-19.
He said the 2018-19 figure was subject to amendment as the final accounts for the year were not yet finalised.
Mr Rumbles said: “I want to thank the staff that have put in the extra work to deliver the funding that is vital to our rural economy but this complete blunder never should have happened in the first place.”
Huge payouts in staff overtime over farm subsidy IT system
