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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of solar farms in the UK that include livestock grazing; and if she will make a statement.

We estimate that there are currently around 250 solar farms in the UK, and with numerous others in the planning system, we estimate there will be over 1000 by the end of the decade. This would remove a large amount of farmland from agricultural production. While some developers claim as part of their planning applications that they intend to graze livestock under solar panels, in practice many are reluctant to allow livestock to be co-located with expensive capital equipment. Land covered by solar panels can no longer have agricultural production as the primary activity on it and is therefore not eligible for the BPS payments.