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 carry out further consultations with farmers and the NFU, as well as the waste industry, before introducing Rule 1 of the Farming Rules for Water; and if he will make a statement.
The Farming Rules for Water, introduced in 2018, aim to underpin the standards of a world leading farming sector whilst protecting our water environment from diffuse agricultural pollution to deliver the government’s ambitious environmental commitments. As part of this, Rule 1 was also introduced in 2018.
We have already been in discussions with farming stakeholders, the NFU and water companies regarding providing further clarification on how the Farming Rules for Water apply to them. We will have further such conversations.