The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, on securing this debate and all noble Lords who have taken part. The debate has covered a wide range of topics and there has been a large number of questions. I will do my best to answer them, but clearly I may well have to write to noble Lords on some areas.
I start by confirming that the Government are committed to improving the quality of life for people right across the country, including those who live and work in rural areas. To achieve this, we must ensure that the needs of people and businesses in our rural areas are at the very heart of our policy-making. We have recently announced our farming new deal. This will support growth in the farming sector and rural communities, and is determined to return farm businesses to profitability.
One of the underlying problems for farmers and the wider rural community is simply that farmers do not make enough money for the hard work and commitment they put in. One of our commitments is to make farming more profitable. That approach is underpinning our 25-year farming road map and our food strategy, through which we will work in partnership with farmers to make farming and food production sustainable and profitable. We have already begun holding farming road map workshops with key stakeholders from across the farming sector, and we plan to publish the road map this summer.
Our support in this for farmers rests on three principles. I thank my noble friend Lord Davies for his support for the farming initiatives we are undertaking. The first principle is our commitment to the sector that has food production at its core. The role of farming will always be to produce the food that feeds our nation. The instability we have seen, both relating to Ukraine and during Covid, shows that food security truly is national security, and we need to move forward in this area.
The noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, particularly mentioned food security and is absolutely right. We need to act to support food production. We are using our own purchasing power as a Government to back British produce, and we have also announced a five-year extension to the seasonal worker route.
A number of noble Lords mentioned trade and new trade agreements. I absolutely understand farmers’ concerns in this area. Supporting farmers in new trade agreements is a priority. We have been clear that we will protect farmers from being undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals. We will continue to maintain our existing high standards for animal health and food hygiene. The Government are also committed to developing a trade strategy that will support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production. On tariffs, I am afraid that at this time I am unable to say anything further than the Business and Trade Secretary’s Statement this morning in the Commons.
Our second principle is that this is a sector in which farm businesses must become more resilient and more able to withstand the shocks that disrupt farming from time to time. That could be severe flooding, drought or disease. We want to help farmers who want to diversify their income to put more money into their businesses in order to survive those more difficult times when they come.
We will give farmers the power to diversify their businesses by speeding up the planning system. In the spring we will consult on how we transform the planning system to ensure that farmers and growers, or their landlords, can build and repurpose buildings on their farms to support their businesses. We will ensure that permitted development rights are working for farmers so that they can speedily convert larger barns into a farm shop, for example, or have the option to set up holiday lets. These changes address long-standing concerns that current planning rules hinder farm businesses from becoming more productive and environmentally friendly.
The third principle is nature. Noble Lords have spoken about this, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. Restoring nature is vital for food production. We do not believe it is in competition with it. Healthy soils, abundant pollinators and clean water are the foundations that farm businesses rely on to produce high crop yields that actually turn a profit. Without nature thriving, there can be no long-term food security. That is why last year we were pleased to announce £5 billion for the farming budget over 2024-25 and 2025-26. We now have more than half of farmers in environmental schemes supported by this budget.
However, several noble Lords raised concerns about the recent closure of SFI to new applications and the implications of that decision on farmers, nature and the wider rural community. The Government have allocated SFI a budget of £1.05 billion for 2024-25 and 2025-26. That is money that will go into farmers’ pockets and the wider rural community. I know that people have been concerned about the sudden closure of the scheme, but we want to continue to support farmers to transition to more sustainable farming models through a range of schemes and grants. We will announce details of the revised SFI scheme after the spending review.
The noble Earl, Lord Shrewsbury, and the noble Baroness, Lady Shephard, asked further about SFI reform. The noble Baroness asked whether this was a permanent cancellation—absolutely not. We are looking to reform the SFI offer before reopening it following the SR decision. The idea is to introduce more sophisticated budget controls to manage the scheme and ensure that it targets public funds fairly and effectively, as well as where it is most needed—where it will make the biggest difference to nature. We know that uplands need further support, for example.
Several noble Lords raised concerns about the effects of the changes to agricultural property relief on inheritance tax in the context of farming and rural communities. We have debated this at length in the past, so I will now look particularly at the mental health concerns that have been raised. We are aware of the effects of the challenges that the issues of SFI and APR have posed to farmers and others in rural communities. We will continue to provide funding for several organisations that are delivering projects to improve farmer mental health. The Government are giving mental health the same attention and focus as physical health through measures such as employing thousands of new mental health support workers.
On that basis, the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, specifically asked about mental health support in the farming and agricultural community. We have set up a dedicated team to address the particular issues that drive poor mental health outcomes in the farming and agricultural sector. We are working with communities, farming support organisations and experts to look at exactly how we can deliver the best in this area. The Rural Payments Agency also runs a farmer welfare forum.
The Government are aware of the specific challenges and opportunities that make rural and farming communities and economies distinctive. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans particularly asked about the economy, as did the noble Lord, Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard. We recognise that rural areas have significant potential for growth and are central to the economy. We recognise that, in order to develop the full potential of rural businesses, we also need to focus on small businesses, which are an important part of our high streets and of the rural economy, with many more people self-employed or working in small businesses. The Government are actively working on that.
The Government have made a commitment that all policy decision-making should be rural-proofed. Obviously, Defra leads on rural-proofing, but individual departments are responsible for ensuring that their policy decision-making is rural-proofed, and we work with them to consider that. We know that a prosperous rural economy requires effective rural transport, decent digital infrastructure, the availability of affordable housing and energy, and access to a healthy and skilled workforce. We are doing our best to work cross-government to tackle these issues.
Rural housing was also discussed, particularly by the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. We are reforming our planning policy to ensure that we can build the homes that our rural communities desperately need, but at the same time we recognise that we need to protect our green spaces and the natural environment. The Government’s response to last year’s consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework reflected on the higher costs of housing delivery in rural areas and the fact that we want to see more affordable housing as part of our ambition to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation.
The noble Lord, Lord Best, talked about the work of the Devon Housing Commission and how other evidence on rural housing will be included. The draft housing strategy will be published very soon, so that will be taken into account there. He mentioned the rural housing exception sites. The Government are very supportive of and will encourage work on them. On empty homes, local authorities have the power to tackle empty properties—for example, with an empty homes order. Obviously, we are now working on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill as our next step in the reform programme.
The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, raised concerns about the planning Bill’s impact on grade 3 or grade 4 agricultural land, and the loss of farmland to energy projects. The NPPF prioritises using lower-quality land and protecting the best farmland for food production. Large renewable energy projects must ensure that any benefits outweigh any negative impacts on prime agricultural land.
The noble Lord, Lord Grayling, asked about solar energy as well. The figure that I have is that less than 1% of UK agricultural land would be used, even in the most ambitious scenario. I am sure that noble Lords are aware, also, that solar farms can operate alongside farming activities—for example, continued livestock grazing. I shall have to get back to the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, about further renewable percentages, as I do not have that figure at the moment.
Noble Lords raised the nature restoration fund and how it will be delivered. We are working closely with Natural England and others to ensure that the appropriate resources are in place to administer it, and it will run on a cost recovery basis. We will recover costs through developer payments, which should unlock development more quickly and provide greater assurance of nature restoration.
The noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, and others talked about Natural England’s role. We would not expect land acquisition to be the first delivery model considered, although clearly it is a possible approach and may well be appropriate in some circumstances. It is important to remember that compulsory purchase is only one tool, and we would expect Natural England to consider using such powers only when attempts to acquire land by agreement has failed, and there is a very compelling case in the public interest.
The noble Lords, Lord Fuller and Lord Teverson, mentioned the Corry review. I urge noble Lords to read it—it came out the day before yesterday. We have begun work on fast-tracking nine out of the 29 recommendations. One is particularly pertinent to the farming sector about rapidly reviewing and reworking regulatory guidance. Farmers currently have to consider and comply with more than 150 pieces of regulation, which we think is unfeasible, so we are looking at that as part of it.
The noble Lord, Lord Roborough, asked about the land use framework. We are consulting on that until 25 April. The idea is that it is not going to tell anybody how to use their land or what to do with it; it is not the intention to use it to make binding decision-making for land or prescribe specific outcomes. It is intended to advise those managing the land and who are preparing local strategies or plans. Clearly, there will be more information on that once it is published.
On health, which was mentioned by the noble Lords, Lord Kakkar, Lord Elliott and Lord Harlech, demographics show that, as they age, people move out of towns and cities to coastal and rural areas, so they are putting the most pressures on the health services at the time when they are going to need most care. The integrated care systems in England should have a specific role to play on that—but I completely understand where noble Lords are coming from, as I live in a very rural area myself. Travel times in Cumbria to healthcare are long and we have poor roads, so it can take an awfully long time. One reason why I am very pleased to be on the Child Poverty Taskforce is because those kinds of aspects of poverty and access to health are a fundamental part of the discussions that we are having.
A number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, mentioned the bus services Bill, which will deliver new powers to local leaders to empower them to choose the model that works best in their area. Clearly, that will include rural services, because buses are vital, and they have been disappearing at far too great a rate in rural areas.
The noble Lord, Lord Roborough, mentioned delinked payments. I declare an interest, because I am in receipt of delinked payments, so I have a very clear understanding of how rapidly they have been going downwards. But we have provided a calculator so that farmers can see the impact that the reductions could have on their 2025 payments.
The noble Lord, Lord Roborough, asked a whether the budget for Weybridge was part of the farming budget. I can confirm that it is separate. The noble Lord, Lord Horam, asked about private investment in tech and innovation. Since 2021, the farming innovation programme has attracted over £54 million in private investment in addition to the £152 million that Defra has committed; it is an important part of what we do.
Tenant farmers were mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, and others, and the noble Lord had some very interesting other ideas and thoughts. Defra is working collaboratively with industry representatives to address the challenges faced by tenant farmers, through the Farm Tenancy Forum. The lack of affordable local housing for tenant farmers who want to retire from a tenanted holding has been identified as a key barrier; again, we are looking at that. We have started the recruitment campaign for the commissioner for the tenant farming sector, and that is now live.
The noble Lord, Lord Carrington, asked about research and innovation. As I said, a lot is available if farmers know where to look. We need to figure out how we work with people to make sure that such things are accessible.
The noble Lord, Lord Douglas-Miller, mentioned bovine TB. The Government started work on their new bovine TB eradication strategy to drive down TB rates and end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament. A key part of the strategy is to drive forward the ongoing development of the cattle vaccine. We are working closely with farmers, vets, scientists and conservationists to rapidly strengthen and deploy a range of disease control measures. We are also going to introduce the first badger population survey in over a decade, so that we can have a data-driven approach to inform how and where TB vaccines and other eradication methods are employed. We will also establish a new badger vaccinator field force.
The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, asked whether we are helping farmers to support water on farmland. We have committed to a record £2.65 billion floods investment programme, which will deliver on natural flood management; the impact of a project on agricultural land will be included as part of the funding calculator. In addition, we have published a rapid evidence assessment, conducted back in 2024, of flooding and coastal erosion on agricultural land and businesses. That also discusses the evidence for agriculture as a provider of natural flood management.
I am about to run out of time. In conclusion, I have genuinely listened very carefully to noble Lords’ concerns, because I appreciate that there is a lot of concern about funding and support for farming at the moment. It is important to recognise the huge interest and knowledge that this House brings to these discussions. We have had several rural debates in the Chamber and, of course, in the other place. I have also heard separately from many Members who are concerned about the issues faced by the rural areas they live in or have previously represented. I will take those concerns back to the department. The Farming Minister, Daniel Zeichner, is also very cognisant of all this.
I have run out of time, so I wish the House a very restful break and a happy Easter—
Lord Bilimoria (CB)
Before the Minister sits down, I asked several questions and raised many points—not one has been answered. I would be grateful if she put a Written Answer in the Library.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I did say, right at the beginning, that I would not be able to get to everything within the time and that I would write concerning questions that had not been answered.