Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that environmental land management schemes support (a) farmers and (b) the rural economy in York Outer constituency.

The new Government are fully committed to the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes.

Government will restore stability and confidence amongst farmers and will optimise schemes and grants in an orderly way, ensuring they produce the right outcomes for all farmers, food security and nature’s recovery in a just and equitable way.

The best way to do this effectively is to listen to farmers and others with a stake in our food system, countryside and nature. The Government is doing this as well as assessing data and information about what’s working and what isn’t before setting out detailed plans.

Government will also go further by introducing a new deal for farmers to boost Britian’s food security, restore nature and support rural economic growth. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly, protect farmers from shock rises in bills by switching on GB Energy and use the Government’s purchasing power to back British produce.