Single Payment Scheme

The Minister stated in a letter to the Select Committee that the original contract signed in January 2003 identified that there was to be a mid-term review and that the Commission's proposals had been published, and we were told that"““the impact of reform would not be significant on the overall IT solution””." It was anticipated that there would not be that much difference, yet the annual cost more than doubled, from £18 million to £37.4 million.