Draft Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 8th May 2024 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rebecca Pow)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024.

It is a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Mr Stringer, for what I hope will be a very positive debate. The regulations were laid before this House on 16 April. It is a very fitting time to discuss this legislation protecting our wonderful and precious hedgerows, which are so important in our landscapes and to wildlife, because, as I am sure all members of the Committee are aware, it is National Hedgerow Week.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend take this opportunity to remember a former colleague of ours, Peter Ainsworth, who is no longer? Having got into the House of Commons in 1992, he introduced a private Member’s Bill on hedgerows, to which this legislation is related.

[Rebecca Pow]

I thank my hon. Friend so much for that very fitting intervention. Of course, I would be delighted to remember and recognise Peter Ainsworth. That was such an important proposal, and it all builds up to the totality of legislation relating to our hedges.

Of course, we know that so many wild birds depend on our hedgerows, which provide food and habitat. Lots of our red-listed birds, such as the linnet, the yellowhammer and the goldfinch, use hedges as valuable habitats. They basically provide larders for feeding, with blackberries, sloes, and all the other fruits that the hedge provides. Hedgerows are brilliant for our pollinators as habitats, and provide food for them from the flowers within. They also provide wind breaks and shelter for protecting livestock, and protect soil by holding it in place.

With all that in mind, this is the perfect week to consider this statutory instrument in Committee, as it proposes to further protect hedgerows, demonstrating this Government’s continuing commitment to the environment. The instrument establishes, by legislation, a common approach to managing hedgerows on agricultural land in England—that is the critical bit. As I have mentioned, it builds on existing legal protections for some hedgerows, as well as existing regulations for nesting birds.

In proposing this legislation, we have listened to the views of many who cherish our hedgerows, including organisations, colleagues, and the all-important farmers. I would very much like to thank everybody who responded to the consultation we held last year on protecting hedgerows. It received more than 9,000 responses, which was wonderful; all have been considered carefully, and they have really helped to form this piece of legislation. I am pleased to say that there was a really strong consensus from environmental and farming stakeholders that hedgerows should be protected in domestic law in a similar way to the previous hedgerow management rules, provided under cross-compliance. That is what this statutory instrument does. Our aim is to provide a familiar baseline for hedgerow management, and we want to be sure that everyone knows what is expected. We will support this with some guidance and by sharing good practice. As a safeguard, we are also ensuring that there are clear, proportionate consequences for the small minority who might choose not to comply.

I grew up on a farm, and hedgerows were an absolutely integral part of our landscape. I come from the west country and, as Members know, hedgerows are important in that livestock region for their stock-proofing abilities.

These rules are a reasonable minimum, and most farmers have been practising this kind of management for many years. Farmers are the guardians of our hedgerows; they protect, plant and maintain them for future generations. I want to put on record my thanks to them for their continued efforts to help wildlife to thrive on their farms, alongside the all-important work they do in producing food. We need to trust them to continue to do the right thing. We had a Westminster Hall debate not very long ago on hedges; I mentioned my father then, and I will do so again. He was ahead of his time in hedgerow management. He devised a system of cutting the hedges every other year and only on one side, so that they and the trees could grow on the other side. All farmers are now encouraged to do that.

When I go back home to the farm, as I did at the weekend, I can see that legacy: the hedgerow trees have grown, and the thick, wonderful hedges are full of flowers and birds. It is absolutely the right thing to be doing, and I know that many farmers are already doing it—in fact, many are going further than these regulations require. We have seen a very strong uptake of options to manage and further improve hedges under our agri-environment schemes. Lots of colleagues have farmers in their constituencies who have done just that.

I am delighted to report that there are more than 20,000 agri-environment agreements in place or applications coming through, contributing to the management of 60,000 miles of hedgerow in England. We look forward to working in partnership with many more farmers to manage and improve even more hedgerows in the future.