To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of applications to the Farming Recovery Fund have been paid to farmers affected by flooding since December 2015.

The Farming Recovery Fund was set up as part of a wider £250 million package of government support set up to help communities affected by the devastating December floods. £9,076,248 of RDPE funding was approved to support 1,015 projects to restore damaged agricultural land. Applicants have until the end of December 2016 to carry out the restoration work and claim their grant, although a small number have requested extensions to that deadline.

As of 7 October 2016, claims have been submitted by 495 applicants, for a total value of £3,668,896. 338 of those claims have been paid out, with a total value of £2,306,386, which is approximately 26% of the total grant approved.

The Rural Payments Agency recently wrote to all applicants who have not submitted claims with guidance on completing the claim form.