Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government when the full details of the next round of the Sustainable Farming Incentive will be announced, and when that scheme will open to applications.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We will provide further details about the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive in summer 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what quantitative estimate they have made, using the data they hold on Basic Payment Scheme payments now delinked, of the amount saved by the current reductions to delinked agricultural payments between now and the end of the period to which they apply, compared to the payments originally anticipated for the same period at the introduction of delinked payments.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

When delinked payments were introduced in 2024, no decision had been made about the reductions that were to apply to these payments for years after 2024.

We estimate that the reductions to be applied to delinked payments for 2025 will lead to a further £550 million reduction in these payments compared to 2024. This money is being re-invested in full into our other schemes for farmers and land managers in England, within an overall farming budget of £2.4 billion for 2025/26.

The reductions to delinked payments for future years have not been decided yet and will be announced in due course.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the savings from the reductions in delinked payments will be allocated to payments to farms participating in the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Reductions to delinked payments allowed this Government to unlock a record level of funding for Environmental Land Management schemes, as part of the £5 billion for farming secured over 24/25 and 25/26 financial years.

In line with its obligations under the Agriculture Act 2020, Defra regularly publishes an annual report, setting out commitments in the previous financial year. Defra intends to publish the annual report for the financial year 2024/25 later this year. The annual report for financial year 2025/26 will be published next year and will include Farming and Countryside programme spend broken down by each scheme.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average environmental cost of producing and installing a power pylon within the range of 36 to 190 metres in height, including a breakdown of the costs of the materials for the bases required to support these pylons.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The Government does not hold data on the average monetary or environmental cost of producing and installing an electricity pylon. Such assessments are undertaken by the relevant planning applicant and considered as part of the decision-making process by the Secretary of State. A wide range of context specific, qualitative and quantitative factors determine said value.

The environmental impact of proposed pylon developments is assessed on a scheme-by-scheme basis with the method, content and scope of assessment dependent on the likely significance of the proposed scheme’s environmental impact based on its size, nature, location and the relevant legislative and policy frameworks.