Sustainable Farming Incentive

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Robbie Moore

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the sustainable farming incentive.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

In summer 2024, we inherited a sustainable farming incentive scheme from the previous Conservative Government that had no budget control and no proper alignment of SFI actions to environmental sustainability targets. The farming schemes were underspent, meaning that millions of pounds were not going to farming businesses.

This Government implemented many improvements to the sustainable farming incentive 2026 to make it more focused, more transparent and fairer, so that as many farmers as possible could benefit from agreements. For example, we introduced the new rule that each farm business could have only one SFI26 agreement, which cannot exceed £100,000 per year. We also streamlined the number of SFI actions to remove complexity while still having plenty of actions available for all farm types.

We held the first application window earlier in the summer, which was open only to two groups: small farms and farms without existing environmental land management revenue agreements. Window 2 of the sustainable farming incentive 2026 opened on the morning of Tuesday 22 September 2026 and closed at 3.48 pm on the same day. It was open to all farmers and land managers with at least three hectares of agricultural land.

I recognise that some farmers who wanted to join SFI26 will be disappointed not to have secured an agreement this year. There was exceptional demand for SFI26, which demonstrates farmers’ desire to invest in the environment, because healthy soils and thriving habitats are fundamental to farm profitability, productivity, sustainability and resilience.

In anticipation of high demand, we allocated an additional £20 million to window 2 on top of the £50 million announced by the Prime Minister in August so that we could fund as many agreements as possible. We have therefore allocated a total of £310 million to nearly 19,000 new agreements across both application windows in SFI26, including £253 million and 12,200 new agreements through window 2.

We now have 70,000 multi-year environmental land management scheme agreements in place. Those agreements will invest a total of £930 million in environmentally sustainable farming over the next three years. That is nearly £1 billion of investment in nature-friendly farming as part of £11.8 billion in funding for sustainable farming in this Parliament.

We plan to offer an SFI scheme in 2027, and we will look to open the 2027 offer as early as possible to ensure that farmers can access funding. We are already looking to make changes to improve the SFI for next year, continuing our close work with farmers and stakeholders by listening to experiences and learning lessons from this window.

In keeping with the commitments made in “Farming Roadmap 2050”, we plan to offer an SFI scheme in 2027. As part of that, we will scrap the first come, first served application process. We will look to open the 2027 window as early as possible to ensure that farmers can access funding and we will work with farming representative organisations including the National Farmers Union to consider how we refine the scheme for SFI27. As set out in the farming road map published earlier this year, the Government are committed to a farming sector that is productive, profitable and resilient.

[Robbie Moore]

I cannot stress enough just how badly mishandled the sustainable farming incentive has been under this Labour Government. It has been a complete and utter mess, and our hard-working farmers and nature have once again lost out under this Labour Government. However, it was not without this Government having lots of warning well in advance. After 18 months of inaction following the Government’s choice to close the scheme in March 2025, for the first time ever the scheme was changed to operate on a first come, first served basis, making it competitive with no quality control. It was simply based on who could press “Send” first. The consequence was a build-up of nearly 40,000 farmers trying to get into the scheme when it finally opened, and only 12,200 were successful. The application window closed five and a half hours after it opened, after all the money had gone. Farmers had been designing their applications for months, and many are now under more financial and emotional strain.

Given that the value of the expiring agreements was more than £520 million and the budget for SFI26 was significantly reduced to £310 million, can the Minister explain where the £210 million has gone? With so many farmers being locked out of the scheme, clarity and certainty for next steps is needed now. Will he confirm when applications for SFI27 will open? Will he publish a forward plan now so that farmers can start preparing? What support will he give to those with expiring agreements to minimise gaps in cash flow? What budget has he allocated for SFI27 so that he can be certain that we will not see this same debacle all over again?

The farming Minister has now had a month to reflect on these issues. Our farmers want answers now—not more warm words or him giving out surveys, saying that he is in listening mode. Answers are needed right now to the questions that have been raised.

[Stephen Morgan]

I am not going to claim that this scheme is perfect or working as we want it to work, but we inherited this scheme from the previous Government, and we are fixing it. Under them, just a quarter of the funding went to 4% of farms, often large ones, with no targeting. We have already made changes to address that; there was a window earlier this year specifically for small farms and those that had not participated in the scheme before. If the Conservatives thought the scheme was not working, why did they not do anything to fix it in their years in power? If they did not think that it should be a first come, first served approach, why did they not change it?

I noticed that the shadow Environment Secretary, the right hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins) said at party conference:

“After 18 months of inaction, Labour chose to design this scheme, for the first time ever, on a first-come, first-served basis.”

That simply is not true, and I encourage the shadow Minister to correct the record. It is a bit rich for the hon. Gentleman to come here today with all these different things. He could have changed things when he had the opportunity to do so. The Conservatives could not even get all the funding out the door. They left money on the table when it should have been going into farmers’ pockets. I will not accept the criticism. This scheme was designed by them, but we are fixing it, and that is what I will continue doing.

Bluetongue Virus in Livestock

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Robbie Moore

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on bluetongue virus in livestock.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

I begin by recognising that this is an incredibly difficult time for livestock keepers, veterinary professionals and those who are working directly on the impact of the bluetongue outbreak. Responding to outbreaks is at the core of the work of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and we will continue to use tried and tested methods to address this challenge.

Bluetongue affects cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camelids. It is spread by biting midges and can cause significant animal health impacts, although it poses no risk to human health or food safety. The first confirmed case of bluetongue serotype 3 in the UK this year was on 10 July in Staffordshire. As of yesterday, there have been 795 confirmed cases of bluetongue in Great Britain. We are supporting enhanced testing capacity. We have worked closely with the devolved Governments and industry throughout the outbreak, listening to farmers and jointly developing policies to ensure that farmers receive timely information and practical guidance. That has included regular disease alerts, social media updates, weekly communications to livestock keepers and a programme of industry webinars.

Vaccination remains the most effective and viable short and long-term control measure against bluetongue, both for this season and in the future. DEFRA and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate are working closely with manufacturers to monitor availability and taking proactive steps to ensure that additional vaccine stocks are made available as quickly as possible. I encourage all livestock keepers to remain vigilant, to monitor and vaccinate their animals and to report any suspicions of disease immediately.

Finally, I know that this has been a trying period for farmers, animal keepers and private vets. Support is available through Government guidance, the rural services helpline and Farming Help. We will continue to work closely with industry representatives to ensure that concerns are heard, information is shared promptly and support reaches those who need it. Through vigilance, vaccination and partnership, we will continue to meet this challenge and protect the health of our livestock sector.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Robbie Moore]

Bluetongue is spreading across Britain at an unprecedented rate, devastating livestock businesses and putting farming families under immense financial and emotional pressure. I thank our vets and those on the frontline in addressing the spread of the virus.

As of yesterday, 795 cases have been confirmed this season, but there are more than 2,500 potential cases still under investigation, yet farmers and vets are being forced to wait up to three weeks for blood test results, leaving the livestock sector without a real-time picture of the outbreak. Why was testing capacity not significantly increased over the summer period, and when will Ministers clear that backlog? In hotspot areas, will a proportionate risk-based approach be adopted?

These delays are more concerning given that DEFRA’s expenditure on bluetongue testing was significantly reduced under this Labour Government by 74% in this financial year. Why did the Government allow that spending to fall so dramatically, just as the outbreak was accelerating? Ministers rightly advise farmers to vaccinate livestock, but supplies can take up to three or four weeks to arrive. Why have the Government not acted to secure adequate vaccine supplies by working more closely with vaccine manufacturers, veterinary bodies and industry?

Farmers also face mounting fallen stock disposal costs, yet repeated calls to Ministers for financial assistance have gone unanswered. Can the Government confirm today that financial assistance will be put in place, and will they review environmental permit constraints to ease carcase disposal?

Finally, bluetongue presents similar symptoms to those of foot and mouth disease, which is already present in continental Europe. With testing for bluetongue taking weeks to turn around, there is concern that a positive foot and mouth case could be hidden in the backlog. What assurances can the Minister give that he is alert to that issue and is taking action? It seems that despite concerns being raised consistently throughout the summer, Ministers have been asleep at the wheel.

[Stephen Morgan]

I stress that vaccination remains the only effective long-term option for disease control, and we will continue to work with keepers of susceptible animals to discuss vaccine options with their vets in order to protect animals and reduce the impact of disease. I thank the shadow Minister for his questions, and we absolutely recognise that this is a difficult time for livestock keepers and the veterinary professionals supporting them. DEFRA is working closely with livestock keepers and the industry to facilitate access to vaccinations and ensure timely information. That has included webinars, engagement events attended by 1,000 farmers, disease alerts, regular updates on gov.uk and Animal and Plant Health Agency channels, and welfare support.

I stress that the Government have acted quickly to secure increased vaccine supply. Vaccination remains the only effective long-term option for disease control, and we will continue to engage with all keepers of susceptible animals to discuss vaccine options with them. On testing capacity at the Pirbright Institute, and alpha, we have stepped up capacity for testing and work closely with industry on such issues. We will continue to work with keepers of animals to ensure that the sector is supported, and I will continue to engage with the National Sheep Association, the National Farmers’ Union and others on the issues at hand.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Robbie Moore

Thursday 18th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

7. What steps she is taking to help support the growth of small businesses.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

15. What steps she is taking to help support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses.