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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the DEFRA Farming Blog article dated 16 June 2025, what assessment has she made about how the budget for SFI26 schemes aligns with Government ambitions to increase funding for farmers under the ELM schemes to £2 billion by 2028/29.

SFI is funded through the wider farming budget, to which the Government has committed an average of £2.3 billion per year until 2028/29. In 2026/27, indicative funding includes £1.95 billion for Environmental Land Management schemes. The farming budget is managed as a single portfolio rather than a collection of ring-fenced scheme budgets. SFI26 Window 2 had a budget of £253 million for new agreements.