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THE news that Defra have spent over £80,000 on plants for their offices over the last four years would have been funny if it weren't so serious. The figure was given to the Taxpayers Alliance by Defra under the Freedom of information Act.

As they have relatively few offices around the country this works out at a lot of money per office.

When the press asked Defra to comment on this figure their spokesman said it was only a "tiny proportion" of their overall budget. This may be true, but I worry that it highlights a wider problem of a lack of efficiency and cost-control.

As someone who has still not received their Single farm payment for last year this is all the more galling.

It does seem unfair that when Scottish and Welsh farmers received their payment before Christmas and even a lot of English farmers received their payment some months ago that others have had to wait so long.

I have rung Defra several times to enquire as to its whereabouts and have been given the answer that "someone has to be last" and that interest will be paid from July 1, if payments aren't made by then.

Of course I do not blame civil servants for any of this - it is clearly the fault of government ministers. The "progressive hybrid" system dreamt up by the government, whereby the SFP was based partly on historic payments and partly on land with the proportions changing each year was staggeringly complicated.

Now several years on, the bureaucracy and cost this decision has caused cannot be understated.

We are always on the look out for new members. If you share our passion for British food and would like to join the WFU, or would simply like to find out more about the work we do, then call our secretary Ann Cross on 01398 361212.

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