Oral Evidence May. 15 2024
Inquiry: MethaneFound: witness who said that the 30% target was too low, because so many countries are not part of the scheme
May. 15 2024
Source Page: CS, ES and SFI option uptake data 2024Found: Official Statistics CS, ES and SFI option uptake data 2024 Countryside Stewardship
May. 15 2024
Source Page: CS, ES and SFI option uptake data 2024Found: Contents Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship Option Summaries at 1 April 2024 Contents
Mentions:
1: Caroline Lucas (Green - Brighton, Pavilion) One in five of those who applied for the countryside stewardship higher tier last year was turned away - Speech Link
2: Alistair Strathern (Lab - Mid Bedfordshire) We take great pride in that countryside across our communities. - Speech Link
3: Sarah Dyke (LD - Somerton and Frome) Now, time spent in the countryside is often a different experience. - Speech Link
4: Rebecca Pow (Con - Taunton Deane) It is the most successful scheme DEFRA has ever run, and it will increase.Countrywide stewardship is - Speech Link
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
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 NFU's report entitled Farming for Britain's Future, published in December 2023, what steps his Department has taken to increase confidence within the agricultural industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2020 we published the Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP), setting out our plan for farmers, allowing them to make business planning decisions with confidence. Since then, we have launched our reforms, aiming to give farmers more choice and ensuring there are offers available for all farm types and locations. This includes the rollout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and our Innovation and Productivity schemes such as the Farming Investment Fund (FIF).
We also continue to expand and improve our offers in response to farmers’ feedback. Recently, the Government has confirmed farmers will benefit from the improved SFI from July this year, following the announcement by the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay in January. The improved offer includes a 10% increase in the average value of agreements in SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS); a streamlined single application process for farmers to apply for the SFI and CS Mid-Tier; and around 50 new actions that farmers can get paid for.
Furthermore, to aid the transition, and to give farmers confidence in their choices and the best chance of benefiting from our reforms we are also providing support via the Future Farming Resilience Fund. This fund is designed to provide free business support to farmers and land managers in England during the early years of the agricultural transition.
Lastly, on 14 May 2024 we published our Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, which aims to boost production of fresh produce and reduce reliance on imports. This is backed by our new Horticulture Resilience and Growth Offer, where Defra will look to double to £80m the amount of funding given to horticulture businesses when compared to the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, which will be replaced from 2026 onwards. We are also unlocking the opportunities of gene editing with £15m investment into Genetic Improvement Networks, helping to boost access to more resilient crop varieties, that require fewer inputs and cut farmer costs.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on tree planting in each year since 2015.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data on tree-specific funding is only available from 2020, when the Nature for Climate Tree Programme was established. Since then, Defra has had a capital spend (CDEL) of £232 million on planting trees in England. The spending on tree planting in each year since 2020 is shown below:
| 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | Total |
Total Spend (£m) | 17.215 | 33.569 | 59.446 | 122.045 | 232.275 |
Additionally, the planting of trees has also been funded by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Since 2016, £120 million has been claimed under the scheme for planting and managing trees and for managing and enhancing woodlands.
May. 14 2024
Source Page: Board of Commissioners meeting, 25 July 2022Found: PurposeThe Commissioners are required to make a final decision on whether the Countryside Stewardship
May. 14 2024
Source Page: Board of Commissioners meeting, 27 October 2022Found: Purpose The Commissioners are required to make a final decision on whether the Countryside Stewardsh
Correspondence May. 14 2024
Committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)Found: prohibitively expensive for many, d espite welcome initiatives like the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme
May. 13 2024
Source Page: Defra: spending over £25,000, February 2024Found: -02-08 00:00:00EXP - PURCHASE OF GOODS/SERVICES - ICT OUTSOURCING & MAINT/SUPPORTFUTURE FARMING AND COUNTRYSIDE