Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which aspects of The Agricultural Transition Plan 2021-2024 are planned to help young farmers to gain a foothold in the industry.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan this Government will provide funding to create lasting opportunities for new entrants to access land, infrastructure and support to establish successful and innovative businesses.
Funding for this new entrant scheme will be allocated from savings resulting from reducing direct payments helping new farmers to access opportunities in the sector in future.
The details and eligibility criteria of the new entrant scheme are being developed through a consultative co-design process with stakeholders. The co-design steering group includes representatives of local authorities with council farm estates, new entrant farmers, providers of innovation support for new farmers, cooperative and community land organisations and private landowners. We will also be engaging a wide range of stakeholders through workshops on key issues between February and May 2021. We will report more details of the scheme in the summer of 2021 and aim to launch the scheme in 2022.
During the agricultural transition the Government also intends to offer eligible farmers the option of a lump sum payment in place of future Direct Payments if they wish to leave the industry. By making it easier for those farmers who wish to retire to do so, the lump sum payment should free up more land for new entrants to start up. We plan to consult farmers on the details of our lump sum scheme shortly.
In addition, the Government is working with the Skills Leadership Group to introduce a professional body for agriculture and horticulture creating clear career pathways and promoting the sector as a progressive career choice to those wishing to enter the industry.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the environmental effect of restored peatland; and what steps he is taking to ban the sale of peat.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Research has shown that restored peatland achieves a variety of natural capital objectives, including carbon sequestration, water regulation and quality, optimising biodiversity, preserving archaeology, and minimising wildfire hazards. A 2019 BEIS report stated that a near natural bog can remove the equivalent of 3.54 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year, and a near natural fen can remove 5.44 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year. We are working towards reducing England’s peatland annual greenhouse gas emissions through restoration, and the Government has committed £640 million through the Nature for Climate Fund part of which will deliver 35,000 hectares of peatland restoration by 2025.
The Government also continues to be committed to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture in England. The biggest user of peat is the amateur sector and this is an important part of our policy focus. We signalled to the industry that if we have not seen sufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020, then we would look at further measures that could be taken, and we are currently considering what these potential further measures could look like.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to his Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Treasury has already allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the devolved administrations for preparations for leaving the EU so far. This includes the £1.5 billion of additional funding HM Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19. A full breakdown of how this was allocated to departments can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on 13 March 2018. This money will be paid out in Supplementary Estimates 18/19 later this financial year:
Defra is effectively deploying its allocated funding to prepare and deliver its ambitious programme of EU departure activities in readiness for all scenarios.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proposals his Department plans to bring forward to support Cheshire farmers in preventing the spread of TB; and what support is available for TB-infected farms.
Answered by George Eustice
There have been TB hotspots in Cheshire and we acted swiftly 2 years ago to introduce 6 monthly TB testing to get on top of the disease, a move supported by industry.
We have consulted on extending the 6 monthly testing to other hotspots in the edge area, which could include other parts of Cheshire.
All farmers who have livestock compulsory slaughtered receive compensation for the animals they have lost.