Rural Payments Agency

I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Interests. The Secretary of State will wish to apologise for the full answer given by the Minister with responsibility for farms, the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight) at Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions on 9 March. He has apologised to me in person, but for the benefit of the House it should be placed on the record that his answer was incorrect and misleading in every particular. He said on 9 March that most of the payments had been made and that Scottish and Welsh farmers had been paid in full, when in fact no payments had been made to English farmers. Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to show her awareness of, and willingness to take action on, two related issues? The market in England has been distorted, in that Scottish and Welsh farmers have the cash in hand to pay more for farm animals than English farmers can possibly pay. Secondly, tenant farmers are suffering particular hardship because they have no assets against which to borrow.