THE disaster-prone Rural Payments Agency was under fire again last night after Government officials ordered another review into problems first highlighted six years ago.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was accused of having something wrong with its "management psyche" in its handling of the single farm payments scheme.

A recent National Audit Office investigation of the RPA revealed it had "scant regard for protecting public money". Thousands of farmers were left waiting for months for money to which they were entitled when the system collapsed in 2005.

Michael Jack, chairman of the Commons committee which holds the ministry to account, said concerns about the management, IT and staffing of the system were raised as long ago as 2003.

Four years later a review by David Hunter said Defra needed to work more closely with the RPA to reduce the burdens placed on farmers.

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The Hunter Report said the agency needed to "raise its performance in some areas – getting a better handle on management information, sharpening some of its targets and, in line with the rest of the department, bearing down on its running costs".

A new review has just begun, headed by Katrina Williams, Defra's director general of food and farming. Mr Jack raised particular concern about why two firms of accountants – PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Deloittes – had been hired to work on the report.

He questioned what he could achieve that two internal reviews, and countless reports by the National Audit Office and cross-party Commons committees could not.

In a withering attack on the lack of progress made, Mr Jack said last night: "Here we are towards the end of 2009 going over it all over again."

In a direct challenge to Defra's permanent secretary Helen Ghosh, he said: "This is a £2 billion payment business, it is big business, and it is serious. It underpins the wellbeing of a great number of farmers who receive this.

"You would have thought that somebody would have focused on this a bit earlier. What was wrong with the Defra management psyche?"

Ms Ghosh insisted there was "absolutely nothing wrong" with Defra's management.

But she admitted that the "priority" had been to pay farmers more quickly this year, and 80 per cent of all claimants have already received this year's money. It suggested less attention had been paid to putting the agency on a stable footing.

"If you go back and say what are the key things which have caused a lot of costs and issues, it is the IT system," she said. "It was not fit for purpose."

She said the computer system could now "cope with the single payments" but it will not be able to deal with the next change facing the programme in 2013. "It is good enough for now," she said. Greater focus now had to fall on the "comparatively small proportion of overpayments" which she said needed to be "sorted out because of the impacts on farmers".

In three years alone, demands have been made for more than 6,500 businesses to repay tens of millions of pounds. On average each bill has been for £2,000-£4,000. Other issues on the RPA's accounts and leadership also need to be addressed, she said.

Tony Cooper, chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency, said he was "very optimistic that the review will be very helpful".

Ms Williams insisted it would not be an "open-ended review" and should conclude by March next year.