Farming: Support

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Wednesday 21st June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harlech (Con)]

Discussions are ongoing in response to the issues that the report rightly raised. In our recent document Unleashing Rural Opportunity, we set out how we are taking action to increase the number of doctors in underserved areas through the targeted enhanced recruitment scheme for GP trainees and to support community pharmacies in more sparsely served areas through the pharmacy access scheme.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that tenant farmers across the UK—in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales—are the lifeblood of agriculture? Unfortunately, many of them cannot reap the benefits of diversification on farms and estates because they do not own the buildings. What can the Minister say about the Government’s policy towards helping tenant farmers?

[Lord Harlech (Con)]

My noble friend raises a very important issue, which was also highlighted in my noble friend Lady Rock’s review about the importance of tenant farmers. I agree that they are the lifeblood of the sector. The Government have set out our next steps to support tenant farmers from day one of the agricultural transition. We have worked with tenant farmers, we have co-designed our farming schemes, and we have announced a new tenant farming forum which will improve the way we communicate with the sector and help us ensure that our schemes are as accessible as possible to tenants. We will be launching a call for evidence to examine the need for a tenant farming commissioner in England.