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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure land management schemes are designed to support hill and upland farming.

Our Environmental Land Management schemes include a comprehensive offer to support the management of a wide range of different grassland and moorland types that exist in the English uplands. Defra works closely with farmers and industry stakeholders – for example, the Government set up an Uplands Task and Finish Group to identify solutions to issues that have been raised by upland farmers and environmental stakeholders.

Defra, in partnership with Dr Hilary Cottam OBE, have been working closely with upland communities across England over the last 12 months to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities in these landscapes. This insight is being shared across Defra and next steps worked up.