Farming

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Rock

Wednesday 8th January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, environmental land management schemes will be available in the uplands, so that farmers can decide about food production, timber production and the public goods that will benefit. I do not see any problem at all about such parts of the country, with the right trees in the right places, being part of our work and the farming community’s work to ensure that we have greater tree cover. I do not see it in quite the way the noble Lord describes, with parts of the country being unfarmed: we will be farming for timber and food production and for the environment.

[Baroness Rock (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as set out in the register. In its paper Moving Away from Direct Payments, Defra states:

“There is evidence that Direct Payments inflate farm rents, meaning some of the payment supports the income of the landowner, not the tenant farm.”


Does the Minister expect that the removal of the BPS will have the direct impact of lowering rents for tenant farmers?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I have to say that I have not studied that particular element. I think our tenancy reforms will ensure flexibility and that, as with all these things, there is a reasonable return for the landowner. As I have said, a lot of land is farmed by a mixture of part-rented and part-owned. I see our tenancy reforms as giving more flexibility and options for tenants to have successful and productive businesses.