Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 18221 on Supreme Court: Judgments, whether he plans to change his Department's workforce policies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While legal proceedings remain ongoing, and there will be a need to assess the position on an ongoing basis, there is currently no intention to change the Defra policy on the provision of the check-off facility.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the public appointment advertisement for Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, published on 19 December 2024, for what reasons equality, diversity and inclusion are listed as a desirable criteria for this position.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Equality, diversity and inclusion are a priority for this Government, as they were under the last. Defra wants Kew’s Board to continue to have skills in those areas, in order for Kew to effectively implement their ten-year Manifesto for Change, which was launched in 2021. For example, one aim of the ten-year plan is to increase the number of visitors to Kew from under-represented communities whilst another is to train the next generation of plant experts, attracting a wide range of people to a career working in and with nature.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to open funding via the Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure Grant under the Animal Productivity Pathway for capital investments to improve on-farm productivity in spring 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farmers are already receiving support through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to undertake large infrastructure projects. The Rural Payments Agency recently invited eligible applicants to the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare Grant forward to the next stage of the application process, with other farmers accessing funding through the Calf Housing for Health and Welfare Grant. Both grants will support our farmers to continually improve the health, welfare and productivity of their livestock.
We are currently working to simplify and rationalise our grant funding, ensuring that grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We will confirm future grant rounds in due course.
Eligible keepers of cattle, pigs and sheep can currently access funded vet visits as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. This provides an opportunity for farmers to improve the health, welfare and productivity of their animals through access to bespoke veterinary advice and testing for key endemics diseases.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the delinked basic payment scheme on the profitability of farming businesses.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. Accelerating the phase out of Direct Payments will allow us to focus more of this funding on Environmental Land Management schemes, which will boost nature and sustainable food production. This will enable farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenant farmers.
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, including analysis by farm type. 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, and the contribution of farm payments to farm incomes, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure.
We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of accelerated changes to delinked payments on farming businesses.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. Accelerating the phase out of Direct Payments will allow us to focus more of this funding on Environmental Land Management schemes, which will boost nature and sustainable food production. This will enable farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenant farmers.
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, including analysis by farm type. 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, and the contribution of farm payments to farm incomes, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure.
We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department had with farmers before freezing the capital grant scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Capital Grants scheme has been closed to new agreements following unprecedented demand this Autumn, which would use all the available funding. We are forecast to spend more on capital grants this year than ever before. This is only possible because we allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers. We currently are reviewing the Capital Grants offer to ensure funding goes further to improve outcomes for food security and nature conservation and will provide an update in early 2025.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support people affected by changes made to (a) agricultural property relief, (b) Business Property Relief and (c) capital grants at the Autumn Budget 2024 in rural communities.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 6 April 2026, 0% inheritance tax will be due on the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will access 50% relief from inheritance tax and will pay inheritance tax at a reduced effective rate up to 20%, rather than the standard 40%. This tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest free, rather than immediately, as with other types of inheritance tax.
This is on top of all the other spousal exemptions and nil-rate bands that people can access for inheritance tax too. This means that two people who share ownership of a piece of farmland, depending on their circumstances, can pass on up to £3 million without paying any inheritance tax. Furthermore, if land is transferred 7 years before death, farmers pay no inheritance tax at all.
Data from HMRC and supported by the independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) indicates that around 500 estates a year will be impacted. The majority of those will be able to adapt their businesses. The exact number will depend on a wider range of factors based on their individual circumstances. It is not broken down to specific constituencies.
With 73% of claims being for less than £1 million, the majority of estates will be unaffected, and they will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done. This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.
As an outcome of the recent Spending Review, we have also committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years – the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in this country’s history. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers.
Any farmer or land manager who received Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments at least up until October 2022 in England is also eligible for support from the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF). The FRF provides free business support (and mental health support, where appropriate) to farmers and land managers in England to help them through agricultural transition. It does this by awarding grants to organisations who help farmers and land managers to understand the changes that are happening, identify how, what and when they may need to adapt their business models, and access tailored support to adapt. The support is offered free of charge to farmers and land managers by organisations known and trusted in the farming community. The support will run until March 2025.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the overall (a) capital and (b) running costs are of the Inland Border Facility at Sevington; and what the budget is for that facility.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is commercially sensitive information and therefore may not be released. We are planning to publish some information regarding operating costs in the near future. The information will be published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering a single social tariff for water for customers on a low income.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is clear consumers are concerned about their bills. We are therefore continuing to work with water industry to explore options to improve affordability arrangements, including holding the sector accountable for their public commitment to end water poverty by 2030.
The Government is also committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers with their water bills. All water companies have measures in place for customers who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support.
Water companies should ensure that their customers know what support schemes are available and how to use them if they need help.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2024 to Question 7017 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Official Cars, if he will name which specific senior officials have access to a Government car; and whether those senior officials had access to a Government car before the 2024 general election.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.
The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.