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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the requirements of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 7a: Boundaries, as set out in The guide to cross compliance in England 2021, published on 18 December 2020, as a legal requirement for all farmers and land managers (1) during, and (2) after the end of, their proposed plans set out in the The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024, published on 30 November 2020.

Hedgerows and field boundaries are the very essence of our British countryside. They provide vital resources for mammals, birds and inspect species. As well as being an important habitat in their own right, they act as wildlife corridors allowing dispersal between isolated habitats. Many are also important historical and cultural landscape features.

We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.