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 ensure the (a) maintenance and (b) transparency of information in relation to farm payments after the UK leaves the EU; whether his Department's CAP Payments Search website will be used to hold that information; and whether it will link recipients of payments to company and directorship registers kept by Companies House.

It is right that the public are informed of how and where public funds are spent. We intend that information currently made available through our CAP Payments Search pages will continue to be published after the UK leaves the EU. This will apply in relation to payments made in England under the legacy CAP schemes, using retained CAP legislation, until the planned end of our agricultural transition period in 2027, or until the legacy schemes have ended, if earlier.

Clause 2 of the Agriculture Bill contains powers to enable information to be published in relation to the new system of payments that will replace CAP schemes. This includes information on who receives payments and for what purpose. The exact nature of that information will be determined during the design process and in close discussion with stakeholders and across government. We will need to ensure a balance between transparency of public expenditure and commercial sensitivities.