Countryside Stewardship Scheme

(asked on 19th March 2018) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the role of (1) Natural England, and (2) the Rural Payments Agency, in administering countryside stewardship schemes after Brexit.


This question was answered on 4th April 2018

The administration of Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship will be moving from Natural England to the Rural Payments Agency in the autumn. Administration of CAP schemes in one organisation will provide a more joined up service for staff and customers. Natural England will continue working with farmers to get the best environmental outcomes from the schemes on the ground.

We know that farmers need stability, certainty and a smooth transition to a new system once the UK has left the EU. In our consultation paper “Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit”, published on 27 February, we set out our proposals for future agricultural policy. The paper emphasises that we will be looking to simplify existing schemes during the ‘agricultural transition’ period, including Countryside Stewardship, before we move to any new regime. The results of the consultation will help to inform the direction of our future policy, including how best to deliver it.

Reticulating Splines