Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help farmers with cashflow.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Input costs for fuel, feed and fertiliser are worryingly high. We are monitoring the situation closely. To ease cashflow concerns, in England we have announced bringing forward half of the Direct Payment to July from December. We have powers in the Agriculture Act to help sectors if necessary.
We have just announced £30 Million to help farmers add value to their products, and we have boosted Countryside Stewardship payment rates by an average of 30%. We will shortly launch the Sustainable Farming Incentive, for which farmers will receive quarterly payments.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the National Food Strategy white paper; and whether that white paper will assess the impact of solar farm developments on agricultural land.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We expect to publish the Government Food Strategy shortly. The Strategy will set out the Government's ambition and priorities for the food system, considering the evidence set out in Henry Dimbleby's independent review last year. The white paper will not include an assessment of the impacts of solar farm developments on agricultural land.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Stamford)
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 is able to take steps to prevent off-road vehicles causing damage and disruption to footpaths in rural villages.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Driving a motorised vehicle on a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway without the landowner’s consent is a criminal offence and enforcement is a matter for the police.
An offence under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 may have been committed if damage is caused.
The maintenance of public rights of way is a local issue. Local highway authorities have statutory duties to record and keep public rights of way open and it is the authority’s responsibility to prevent the stopping-up or obstruction of public rights of way.