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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing funding to support the installation of sustainable slurry systems on farms.

The Slurry Infrastructure Grant first opened in 2022 and has run for two rounds. The grant supports farmers to build 6-month slurry storage and to cover stores with impermeable covers to reduce ammonia emissions. The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2026 grant supports farmers, growers, foresters and contractors to buy equipment and technology that improves productivity, animal health and welfare, and slurry management.

Through the Environmental Improvement Plan, published last year, the Government has committed to work with stakeholders to reduce water pollution and ammonia emissions from farming through streamlined regulation and develop detailed proposals on the extension of environmental permitting for dairy and intensive beef farms for consultation. Slurry covers are one of the mitigation measures that will be considered as we develop these regulatory proposals.