Sustainable Farming Incentive
Debate between Chris Hinchliff and Stephen Morgan(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Stephen Morgan
I absolutely recognise the difficult year that farmers have faced across the country, and indeed in the hon. Member’s own constituency. That is why I am keen to open SFI27 as early as possible, and I gave that assurance from the Dispatch Box earlier. It is worth noting that this year, through all the schemes, £2.3 billion is going into the farming budget, as is £11.8 billion over the lifetime of this Parliament, but I am certainly keen to hear any further thoughts as we design the scheme for next year.
Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Lab)
The fundamental problem is that for years our country has not allocated enough of our national resources to growing food in a way that boosts biodiversity. We now have a nature crisis that is increasingly a threat to our national security. We need every farm that can to do more on nature-friendly farming. Can the Minister reassure me that his Department is talking to the Treasury about securing greater investment in the SFI going forward?
Stephen Morgan
My hon. Friend will know that we were responding to our settlement from the Treasury. There is always more we can do. That is why we published our farming road map earlier this year, which sets out the direction of travel that we want to take when it comes to building a more resilient, productive farming sector, working in partnership with the sector to deliver nature-friendly farming.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Chris Hinchliff and Stephen Morgan(1 year, 11 months ago)
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Chris Hinchliff (North East Hertfordshire) (Lab)
Stephen Morgan
I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter.