Sustainable Farming Incentive Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Danny Chambers
Main Page: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)Department Debates - View all Danny Chambers's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(1 month ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
Let me repeat the point: this is not about communication. If we suddenly say that a scheme with a fixed amount of money in it will close in two or three weeks, we would get a surge in applications and have to close it the same day. That is a flaw in the way the scheme was originally designed, and we want to do better in future.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
International events have pushed national security right up the agenda, and I am sure that we have cross-party acknowledgment that food security is a vital part of national security. Given the changing geopolitical situation, has an impact assessment been undertaken on changes to and stressors for family budgets and cash flow, such as the removal of SFI, and their effect on food security?
Daniel Zeichner
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I refer him to the food security report. There has been no change to the amount of money available. The £5 billion budget is there; this is a discussion about who gets it.