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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on farmers of delays to Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payments; and what plans they have to rectify the delay.

The Government has no plans to pause the phasing out of Basic Payment Scheme payments.

Our priority is to roll out Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in a way that ensures the service works as straightforwardly as possible for all our customers and aligns with the closing date for Countryside Stewardship.

The SFI 2023 scheme has been expanded and made more flexible in response to farmers’ feedback. There are 23 actions on offer under the new and improved 2023 scheme, including on soil health, moorland, hedgerows, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland.

The scheme will open for applications from 18 September. Before then farmers can contact the Rural Payments Agency to join the thousands of farm businesses that have already expressed their interest in applying.

Recently, we have run an extensive communications and engagement programme with farmers and farming organisations, including through webinars and our presence at agricultural shows. This has enabled us to promote the options available to farmers and feedback is of increased awareness and interest in what is on offer.

Information on the scheme is available in one handbook and on 10 August we published voluntary ‘How to Guidance’ which farmers can follow if helpful for them. We know that applicants to date have welcomed the simple, automated online application process which again will support uptake in the coming months.

We know the importance of getting agreements and payments out as quickly as possible, which is why we’ll be working to get as many people as possible on board as quickly as possible after 18 September. What is more, in recognition of the challenges faced with inflation and rising input costs, the Government has confirmed farmers will receive a payment in the first month of their SFI 2023 agreement to help with cashflow.

We remain committed to our target of 70% of farms and farmland being in schemes by 2028.