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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether everyone with a legacy Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement that expired on 30 December 2025 secured a new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement.

The new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) service opened for applications in September 2025 for groups who had been invited to apply. This included farmers land managers with existing Higher Tier agreements due to expire in December 2025.

Not all agreement holders will have secured a new Higher Tier agreement: This is reflected by a number of factors including if the applicant has engaged in the application process taking into account their individual requirements, whether a suitable new agreement proposal can be offered and the impact of site-specific environmental requirements and assessments.