Farming: 25-year Road Map

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to publish the 25-year farming roadmap, announced in November 2024.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government are planning to publish the first iteration of the farming road map, on growing England’s future, later this year. The Government are working together with farmers to develop the road map and set the course of farming for the next 25 years. The ultimate aim is to maintain food production, meet our environmental outcomes, and deliver a thriving and profitable farming sector.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for the confirmation that the road map will be published later this year. Generally, what will the timeline for implementation be? Specifically, will it take forward recommendation 12 of the Corry review, which made it clear that we must

“reform slurry application and storage to help address diffuse water pollution from agricultural sources”,

implementing

“a single set of regulations which farmers can understand and comply with”?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My Lords, as I said, the first iteration will be published later this year. As we are still in the process of determining the content of the road map, and therefore the timetable of implementation, I am unable to give a detailed answer to my noble friend. We will publish more details in due course. I can assure her that we are continuing with targeted engagement right across the sector in order that we can agree a collective vision and shape the first version of the farming road map through discussion with stakeholders.