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

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that farmers working on the land, particularly smaller businesses without dedicated administrative capacity, have a fair opportunity to apply to the sustainable farming incentive.

This Government has committed to making an SFI27 offer available and is currently working with farming representative organisations and the wider sector to consider how the scheme should be refined. As part of this work, Defra is exploring alternatives to a first come, first served application process for SFI in 2027. The department is also considering how to improve the controllability of future offers and how funding can be distributed fairly across the sector. Further details on the SFI27 offer will be announced in due course.