Environmental Land Management Schemes Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Lexden
Main Page: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Lexden's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Environmental Land Management Schemes
Lord Lexden Excerpts(3 years ago)
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Lord Benyon (Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right. One reason why we have done this iterative process, with tests and trials and piloting these different schemes, is because we want to make sure that they are brought in in as effective a way as possible. We have already reduced, with the sustainable farming incentive, the amount of guidance to make it as simple and clear as possible. Farmers should not be paying land agents huge amounts of money to do those schemes; they can do it themselves.
Lord Lexden (Con)
My Lords, in this season of good will, should we not congratulate my noble friend the Minister on his wonderful passion for the countryside and express the hope that he is able in the new year to extend that passion ever more widely?
Lord Benyon (Con)
I do not know what I can say in answer to such a generous question, expect to say a very happy Christmas to my noble friend and everybody else.