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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with farmers on the potential impact of changes to (a) basic payments, (b) the Sustainable Farming Initiative, (c) capital grants and (d) higher tier schemes on farming businesses.

The Secretary of State believes in the importance of continued engagement with the sector and has spoken with several farmers since his appointment. Defra ministers and officials will continue to work closely with the farming sector to develop and improve our offers to make sure they work for as many different farmers and land types as possible.