PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(27 January 2025)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) barriers to accessing the Sustainable Farming Initiative and (b) the removal of the Basic Payment Scheme on farmers who remain in legacy EU environmental schemes.

Asked by:
Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat)

Evaluation has shown that improvements like the simplified Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) application process have reduced barriers to scheme access. Clearly stated requirements and proportionate, regular payments are also viewed positively by participants. With uptake of SFI meeting expectations, ongoing evaluation will ensure we understand and address any further barriers to participation. We are aware of challenges for some farmers trying to move from existing HLS agreements to new SFI agreements and working to resolve this over time.

We publish regular statistics on farm income in England and other data related to farm businesses. For example, on 14 November 2024, we published our Farm Business Income statistics (Farm business income - GOV.UK), which looked at how farm business income has changed in 2023/24, including the contribution of Direct Payments and agri-environment payments to farm incomes. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance (Farming statistics evidence packs - GOV.UK). These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK. We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.

Answered by:
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