Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
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 meet its target to create 30,000 hectares of new woodland each year from May 2024.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After the Nature for Climate Programme ends, the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) and Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) will transition to become part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme – one of the new environmental land management (ELM) schemes. We will take a phased approach to the transition of EWCO and WCPG into the ELM schemes to ensure there is no gap in offering grants to applicants for woodland creation. The future Countryside Stewardship woodland creation offer will largely mirror the EWCO offer.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of farmland in mitigating potential flood damage by retaining excess water on fields in times of floods, and whether they have plans to reward farmers in this regard.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Farmers and land managers can, and do, play a key role in helping to mitigate flood risks, by taking actions which encourage infiltration into the soil, transpiration, slowing the flow of water through a catchment and, in the event of a flood, temporarily storing water away from a watercourse to help protect communities, infrastructure and businesses (including agricultural businesses) downstream.
There will be measures that benefit flood risk mitigation in all three Environmental Land Management schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship, and Landscape Recovery.
Some areas of land will flood naturally. Anyone farming on a natural flood plain should expect water to enter the flood plain as a result of natural processes. There is no right to compensation or other payments for natural flooding.
In some cases, the Environment Agency will create a temporary flood storage area on private land using its powers under the Water Resources Act 1991. These areas are designed in liaison with land managers and operated by the Environment Agency. Landowners are entitled to compensation to cover the losses and damages they incur when such a scheme is carried out on their land.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 guidance on cross compliance updated on 14 February 2023, which (a) cross compliance standards and (b) rules for participants in the Basic Payments Scheme or Countryside Stewardship will cease to have effect in 2024 and are not otherwise provided for in their entirety in English law as of 23 November 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) cross compliance rules 1, 4, 5 and 7a are not fully replicated in existing domestic legislation as follows.
GAEC 1, which requires the maintenance of green cover, non-cultivation of land and spraying of pesticides within two metres of a water course. Domestic legislation, the Farming Rules for Water, however, provides rules preventing the application of manure and fertiliser close to a water course. It also prescribes that farmers must take all reasonable precautions to prevent pollution from cultivation practices, such as spraying pesticides. The use of pesticides is also set out in the Code of Practice for using Plant Protection Products.
GAEC 4 and GAEC 5, which require a minimum soil cover and measures to minimise soil erosion. Again, the Farming Rules for Water sets out generalised soil cover and erosion measures where it may prevent agricultural diffuse pollution. There is no reference to mitigation of wind erosion in the Farming Rules for Water. GAEC rules 4 and 5 are not covered elsewhere in domestic legislation.
GAEC 7a, which requires the maintenance of green cover within two metres of the centre of a hedge and the prohibition of cutting a hedge between 1 March and 31 August. Also, the removal of stone walls, earth and stone banks. Defra has recently consulted on new legislation to replace the cross compliance hedgerow protections. As set out in January 2023 Defra plans to pay, as part of Environmental Land Management schemes, for new actions to maintain drystone walls, stone and earth banks in good condition.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to include continuation of the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier in the upcoming Agricultural Transition Plan update.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will shortly publish the Agricultural Transition Plan update and it will include reference to the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
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 (a) help optimise the (i) combination, (ii) scale and (iii) location of the take up of Environmental Land Management (ELM) options for nature recovery targets and (b) ensure that any potential simplification of the ELM scheme design does not affect the UK's ability to meet nature recovery targets.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We set out how we will deliver outcomes for food, farming and the environment through our Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in an update in January. This can be found at Environmental Land Management (ELM) update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services. This includes our plans to expand and refine the schemes to contribute more to our environmental targets, including on nature recovery, and to target funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas, and that are designed to deliver the required results.
Since then we have launched the 2023 Sustainable Farming Incentive and further rounds of Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery. We will publish more details on the 2024 offer in due course.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers have applied to the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier in the most recent application window; and what proportion of those were (a) eligible for and (b) offered an agreement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The application deadline for the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme closed on 28 April 2023 with 1,450 applications received by the Rural Payments Agency. As of 22 November 2023, there were 1,223 eligible applications (84.3%) of which, 585 offers of agreement had been made (47.8% of eligible applications). Applications continue to be processed and agreement offers sent on a daily basis.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to publish (a) payment calculations and (b) option uptake data for the Environment Land Management scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We published principles for how we set payment rates in our Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes in June 2021. These can be found at Environmental land management schemes: payment principles. The payment rates for all actions in the ELM schemes are published in the information about each scheme on GOV.UK.
We publish data on uptake of individual options in the Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship schemes. The latest data can be found at 2023 - Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship Data.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are included in the Countryside Stewardship scheme in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 14 November, there are 90 farm businesses with a current Countryside Stewardship Agreement or a Countryside Stewardship Agreement starting on 1 January 2024 for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the transition costs for farmers moving to regenerative agricultural methods.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming in England is going through the biggest change in a generation. We have listened to the needs of farmers and our approach to working with the farming sector is also changing. We are improving our policies and services to make them more effective, fair, flexible, accessible, and workable for farmers.
Environmental land management is the foundation of our new approach. Our new schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices (such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes) and improvements to animal health and welfare. This is an important step towards achieving important environmental outcomes such as net zero, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and water quality.
In late June 2022, we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). SFI pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, whilst also protecting and improving the environment.
The SFI scheme contains standards that can support a regenerative approach and are designed so that there are options available for all types of farmers. The standards include:
• hedgerows standard
• integrated pest management standard
• nutrient management standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard
We are rolling out the SFI2023 in a controlled way, making sure we offer everyone the right level of support. We invited Basic Payment Scheme eligible farmers to register interest for SFI2023 with the Rural Payments Agency from 30 August 2023. Over 14,000 farmers have done so, representing one in six. This process is already being simplified, with the majority of farmers no longer needing to registrations of interest as of the week commencing 16 October 2023. We started to accept applications from 18 September, and I am pleased to confirm the first payments were made on 17 October 2023.
The Landscape Recovery scheme also supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focusses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. Round two pilot applications opened on 18 May 2023 and closed on 21 September 2023. Applications were open to any individuals or groups who want to come together on projects of over 500 hectares and public bodies will need to apply in collaboration with other land managers – for example, with neighbouring landowners, farmers, and tenants. Projects involving elements of regenerative farming could apply.
Our Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach; to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats.
We are offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment. This fund provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the things they need to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment.
We are also offering support to drive adoption of new innovation by farmers and growers. The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. We believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants.
Asked by: Robert Goodwill (Conservative - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of regenerative agriculture on achieving the Government's climate goals while increasing UK food security; and whether her Department is taking steps to increase the adoption of regenerative farming practices.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming in England is going through the biggest change in a generation. We have listened to the needs of farmers and our approach to working with the farming sector is also changing. We are improving our policies and services to make them more effective, fair, flexible, accessible, and workable for farmers.
Environmental land management is the foundation of our new approach. Our new schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices (such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes) and improvements to animal health and welfare. This is an important step towards achieving important environmental outcomes such as net zero, climate change adaptation, biodiversity, and water quality.
In late June 2022, we launched the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). SFI pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, whilst also protecting and improving the environment.
The SFI scheme contains standards that can support a regenerative approach and are designed so that there are options available for all types of farmers. The standards include:
• hedgerows standard
• integrated pest management standard
• nutrient management standard
• arable and horticultural land standard
• improved grassland standard
• low input grassland standard
We are rolling out the SFI2023 in a controlled way, making sure we offer everyone the right level of support. We invited Basic Payment Scheme eligible farmers to register interest for SFI2023 with the Rural Payments Agency from 30 August 2023. Over 14,000 farmers have done so, representing one in six. This process is already being simplified, with the majority of farmers no longer needing to registrations of interest as of the week commencing 16 October 2023. We started to accept applications from 18 September, and I am pleased to confirm the first payments were made on 17 October 2023.
The Landscape Recovery scheme also supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focusses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. Round two pilot applications opened on 18 May 2023 and closed on 21 September 2023. Applications were open to any individuals or groups who want to come together on projects of over 500 hectares and public bodies will need to apply in collaboration with other land managers – for example, with neighbouring landowners, farmers, and tenants. Projects involving elements of regenerative farming could apply.
Our Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach; to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats.
We are offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment. This fund provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the things they need to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment.
We are also offering support to drive adoption of new innovation by farmers and growers. The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. We believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants.