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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where the funds removed from the basic payment scheme in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022 were reallocated.

Defra reports expenditure under agricultural support schemes by financial year rather than calendar year.

The Department, as required by section 5 of chapter 1 of the Agriculture Act 2020, will prepare an annual report about the financial assistance given during each financial year, starting with financial year 2021-22. The first report will be laid before Parliament and published before 1 October 2022. It will contain details of where funds freed up from BPS have been spent.

We will have the same requirement in 2022-23, where the reduction in basic payments will enable the launch of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in June 2022, an increase of Countryside Stewardship payment rates and a rise in demand for the scheme from farmers, and the continued rollout of other schemes to improve prosperity and reward environmental delivery including forthcoming grants for slurry stores.