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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has plans for a scrappage scheme to encourage replacement of older farm machinery with more environmentally friendly equipment.

The Government does not have plans for a scrappage scheme to encourage replacement of older farm machinery.

However, the Countryside Productivity Scheme has recently offered grant funding for projects in England which improve productivity in the farming and forestry sectors. This has included offers of grants for machinery and technology that would result in more efficient use of energy and resources.

As part of our new agricultural policy, we propose to support farmers to invest in equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help them to improve productivity and deliver public goods, such as environmental benefits.