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Scottish Parliament Debate - Committee
Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2 - Tue 21 May 2024

Mentions:
1: Martin, Gillian (SNP - Aberdeenshire East) or “any ... re-use scheme”. - Speech Link
2: Mountain, Edward (Con - Highlands and Islands) However, rubbish continues to be dumped in the countryside. - Speech Link
3: Lennon, Monica (Lab - Central Scotland) nappies are such a problem in our communities—we see them in bins in the park, at the beach and in the countryside - Speech Link
4: Martin, Gillian (SNP - Aberdeenshire East) economy route map highlighted the potential for mattresses to be included as a priority in our future stewardship - Speech Link
5: Mountain, Edward (Con - Highlands and Islands) If you drive round the countryside, you see bins at every single road end, all lined up neatly, because - Speech Link

Departmental Publication (News and Communications)
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

May. 21 2024

Source Page: Expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for farmers published
Document: Expanded and improved Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for farmers published (webpage)

Found: With improved choice and payment rates, the current scheme is on track to be the most popular ever, with

Select Committee
Correspondence from the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries relating to the Committee's Soil Health report, dated 15 May 2024

Correspondence May. 21 2024

Committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Found: The Farming and Countryside Programme (FCP) is undertaking ongoing work with farmers and land managers

Written Question
Agriculture and Food: Wellingborough
Tuesday 21st May 2024

Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) farmers and (b) food producers to use sustainable farming methods in Wellingborough constituency.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is investing in sustainable farming methods, in the Wellingborough constituency and across England, through our environmental land management schemes, in particular the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The SFI aims to support the environment and food production, and it rewards farmers for practices that will help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment at the same time, while also providing them a reliable income for doing so. That is because we know that food production and nature preservation go hand in hand. Those practices will help to look after farms in the short and long term by improving soil health or mitigating the impact of extreme weather.

The aim is for the scheme to be flexible for farmers in both the actions that they can take and the land on which they farm. Rather than prescribing what farmers must do, they should have a menu from which to choose what works best for their farm and to their advantage. That is helping those farmers to make their businesses more sustainable.

What is more, Defra is listening to and acting upon farmer feedback about environmental land management schemes. In 2024, we are increasing payment rates for the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) by an average of 10, increasing the number of actions on offer in our environmental land management schemes with up to 50 new actions, making schemes more flexible and easier to access, and continuing to prioritise an ‘advise and prevent’ approach across schemes and regulation, which will make things fairer for all farmers participating in schemes. We will begin to offer SFI and new CS Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements through rolling application windows this summer with the first agreements starting from the autumn. As a result, applicants will get agreements quicker and earlier than the current annual cycle for CS agreements. These, and other changes, will make it easier for our schemes to slot into farm businesses, providing more money for farmers deliver change and ensure we get the scale and ambition we need to positively impact the environment.

We have already seen strong demand for SFI agreements, with 22,209 applications received and 21,243 agreement offers issued across England.

Select Committee
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, HM Treasury, and HM Treasury

Oral Evidence May. 20 2024

Inquiry: The role of natural capital in the green economy
Inquiry Status: Closed
Committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Found: The scheme opened in February and there are currently four sites on the register, covering 80 hectares

Grand Committee
Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024 - Mon 20 May 2024
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mentions:
1: Lord Douglas-Miller (Con - Life peer) There are now over 35,000 live Countryside Stewardship agreements—more than double the number since 2020 - Speech Link
2: Lord Teverson (LD - Life peer) Coming back to the question about the environment and the objective of bringing back nature into the countryside - Speech Link
3: Earl Russell (LD - Excepted Hereditary) undertaking new and more complex sets of measures around supporting farmers to undertake environmental stewardship - Speech Link

Grand Committee
Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 - Mon 20 May 2024
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mentions:
1: Earl of Leicester (Con - Excepted Hereditary) are obeying the law and not cutting between 1 March and 31 August, you can drive out anywhere in the countryside - Speech Link
2: Lord Teverson (LD - Life peer) Minister that the enforcer is probably the RPA, which has a role in payments for SFIs and some other Countryside - Speech Link
3: None We know that we can get protections through the SFI schemes but those are voluntary, and a voluntary scheme - Speech Link

Select Committee
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Oral Evidence May. 15 2024

Committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Found: National Highways is operating a scheme of improvement under the road investment scheme but at the

Select Committee
The Rivers Trust, Professor Peter Hammond, and River Action UK

Oral Evidence May. 15 2024

Committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Found: National Highways is operating a scheme of improvement under the road investment scheme but at the

Select Committee
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, and Water UK

Oral Evidence May. 15 2024

Committee: Environmental Audit Committee

Found: National Highways is operating a scheme of improvement under the road investment scheme but at the