PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Agriculture: Subsidies (10 February 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of payments to farmers will be under the (a) old and (b) new system in each of the seven years of the introduction of the new payments system for farmers.

Asked by:
Mr Richard Holden (Conservative)

The Government plans to phase out Direct Payments to farmers in England over a seven year agricultural transition period. For the first year of the transition, 2021, we will reduce Direct Payments by up to an already announced set of percentages, which could free up to around £150 million to reinvest into the delivery of public goods and providing support for farmers during the transition. We will set the reduction percentages for the later years of the transition taking account of our detailed plans for future schemes and wider discussions about Government spending.

The Government’s election manifesto guaranteed the current annual budget in every year of the new Parliament, giving significant certainty on funding for the coming years. In England this will enable the Government to provide financial support for the purposes set out in the Agriculture Bill.

Answered by:
Victoria Prentis (Conservative)
17 February 2020