Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will, in line with previous commitments, publish a land use framework for England in 2023.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Land Use Framework will be published in due course. The Framework will build on the insight from the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee’s inquiry and support delivery of the full range of Government commitments through multifunctional, resilient and productive landscapes.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that those veterinary medicines at risk of being discontinued in Northern Ireland will continue to be available after the end of the 'grace period' for implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what discussions they are holding with the EU in relation to (1) short term, and (2) long term, solutions to the challenges of availability of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19 December 2022, the European Commission issued an announcement which provides for a three-year extension to the grace period for veterinary medicines until 31 December 2025. These arrangements will mean that the current processes for moving veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will continue to be administered as they have been up to this point.
We welcome this extension to the veterinary medicine grace period from the Commission and are looking forward to further discussions on veterinary medicines in the New Year. We will continue to work for a long-term, sustainable solution to the supply of veterinary medicines.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 15 September 2020 (HL Deb, col 1187), when they plan to open the “intensive consultation” on a new regulatory framework for farming.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Our future regulatory system will be developed with a focus on the environment and animal health and welfare, on developing trust between industry and government. We want to deliver an effective transition from the existing regulatory model, mostly delivered through cross compliance, to the new approach based on established good practice and developed in partnership with the sector. We are committed to working with industry to design a system that supports a more resilient sector producing high quality food in a more sustainable way.
Co-designing and establishing a new regulatory model for the long term, will take time and we want to work with the sector and others impacted by regulation to get it right. We will always ensure that we have a robust system of inspection and enforcement in place to maintain regulatory protections.
Involving users (e.g. farmers, land managers, users of the environment) through co-design is key to developing a modern regulatory approach that works, both for users and regulators. These participatory approaches are intended to work alongside and compliment more traditional engagement with citizens and industry, such as consultation. Consultation is still an important engagement method and we will, of course, consult widely on future proposals at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use public funding in the new Environmental Land Management scheme for England to fund measures required by the cross-compliance rules for claiming rural payments.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Cross compliance and the rules they enforce are still in place and will continue to operate for the time being. Whilst farmers continue to receive a basic payment scheme payment or are part of most agri-environment schemes they will be subject to the cross-compliance rules.
The rules within cross compliance are mostly in domestic legislation and will continue to apply as we move away from CAP schemes.
We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes that will pay farmers to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare, and reduce carbon emissions. The Agricultural Transition Plan set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes. We have also recently published more details on the first phase of piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive, including the actions we will pay farmers to take to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the requirements of (1) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 1: Establishment of buffer strips along watercourses, (2) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 4: Providing minimum soil cover, and (3) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 5: Minimising soil erosion, as set out in The guide to cross compliance in England 2021, published on 18 December 2020, as legal requirements for all farmers and land managers (a) during, and (b) following the end of, their proposed plans set out in The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024, published on 30 November 2020.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We currently have regulations which protect water courses under the farming rules for water. Farming rules for water require land managers to leave unfertilised zones adjacent to watercourses and boreholes and to assess the pollution risk of fertilisers and manures they apply.
The farming rules for water require land managers to take action to prevent soil loss caused by agricultural or horticultural activity. This does not require land managers to take the same specific action as in cross compliance but provide a generalised provision that has the same policy aim as GAECs 4 and 5. Additionally, the farming rules for water require farmers to manage livestock so as to prevent pollution.
We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.