Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what reassurance she can give to farmers whose cashflow relies on Higher Tier payments arriving in early December and who have not received their payments yet from the Rural Payments Agency.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 2025 payment window opened on 1 December, and by mid-December around three quarters of eligible farmers had already received their Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship payments. The Agency continues to work hard improving payment performance and to deliver all remaining eligible Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship payments as quickly as possible.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the Rural Payments Agency’s performance in delivering Higher Tier and other payments in early December in line with past expectations.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 2025 payment window opened on 1 December, and by mid-December around three quarters of eligible farmers had already received their Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship payments. The Agency continues to work hard improving payment performance and to deliver all remaining eligible Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship payments as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Basic Payment Scheme 2023 claimants have accessed support through the Farming Resilience Fund since October 2021.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We do not hold the information in a form that allows us to identify Basic Payment Scheme 2023 claimants specifically. However, the scale-up phase of the Farming Resilience Fund ran from late 2022 to early 2025. During this phase, over 17,000 beneficiaries received one-to-one support through the Fund. Providers also offered group support, such as webinars and workshops, which reached around a further 12,000 beneficiaries.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on UK growers, fresh food supply chains and consumers; and what plans she has to support the fresh food sector after that scheme ends.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to our horticulture sector and its role in providing fresh home-grown produce that helps to feed the nation. The EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme was limited to Producer Organisations, with only about 20% of the sector benefitting. Future support for the sector will include Defra’s work to rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver maximum benefit for food security and the taxpayer. Significant investment is already underway – of the £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, nearly £40 million—- 26% of total awards—has funded research projects helping fruit and vegetable businesses become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Government has also put in place a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing stability for growers, and an extension of easements on import checks for medium-risk produce ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for protected funding for UK fruit and vegetable growers, following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Future support for the horticulture sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
We are already doing a great deal to support the sector. Of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Further opportunities for farmer and grower led trials to test ideas and solutions are also now available in FIP via ADOPT grants. Wider Government support includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to adapt existing farming subsidy schemes to incentivise the (a) housing of (i) pigs and (ii) poultry in woodland and (b) the planting of woodland in permanent pasture to support (A) animal welfare, (B) climate and (C) biodiversity objectives.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our in-field agroforestry offers under the Environmental Land Management schemes include support for establishing and maintaining silvopastoral systems, where trees are planted in pasture to realise their multiple benefits such as enhanced animal welfare and supporting biodiversity. Under Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, land managers can plant and maintain in-field agroforestry systems up to an average of 400 trees her hectare, as well as create, manage and restore Wood Pasture and Parkland systems. Land managers can be supported to design agroforestry in a way that meets their objectives through the Agroforestry Plan capital item.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend the Fruit and Vegetable Growers Scheme beyond December 31st 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Legislation introduced in July 2023 permanently closes the legacy EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England at the end of December 2025, The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting.
Future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government is committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 on WPQ 90372 on Agriculture: Subsidies, what plans her department has to (a) conclude and (b) publicise the outcomes of their work on future agricultural grant funding models.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards to ensure they are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We will communicate more on future grants in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered aligning agricultural support in England with the approach taken in Scotland, where virtual fencing systems are eligible under the Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS), in order to ensure consistency for farmers and crofters across the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has funded virtual fencing technology projects through the Farming in Protected Landscape Programme which are helping to deliver our environmental targets in Protected Landscapes.
Defra does not currently offer funding for virtual fencing technology under other schemes. We will keep the matter under review when considering future grants offers.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to replace the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce.
In 2024, the value of UK-grown fruit and vegetables was over £3 billion increasing by 4.5% and 2.1% respectively with the overall fresh fruit and vegetable market valued at approximately £11 billion including exports worth around £170 million contributing significantly to the UK economy.
With the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, future support for the sector is being considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer.
Wider Government support for the sector includes a five-year extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing greater stability for businesses, and a continued easement on import checks for medium-risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement with the EU.