Farming News - Landmark Agriculture Bill to deliver a Green Brexit
News
Landmark Agriculture Bill to deliver a Green Brexit
Timeline for the phasing out of Direct Payments and introduction of the new system:
Year | CAP and CAP legacy | Future arrangements | Transitional Support |
2019 | Direct Paymentscontinue on the same basis as now with minor simplifications
Countryside Stewardship (CS)agreements continue to be signed and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements extended as required | Tests and trials for Environmental Land Management (ELM)
| |
2020 | Direct Paymentscontinue with further simplifications, where possible
CS agreements continue to be signed and HLSagreements extended as required | Tests and trials for ELM
Higher animal welfarestandard defined, industry leadership role for animal health and welfareagreed | |
2021 | First year of progressive reductions to Direct Payments
CS agreements continue to be signed but number becomes dependent on ELM. HLS agreements extended as required | First pilots and ongoing tests and trials for ELM Welfare pilots begin and animal healthinterventions agreed with industry UK Shared Prosperity Fund starts Targeted investment inR&D and innovation | Transitional supportschemes to build farm capability to manage risk, improve productivity and deliver public goods will be offered, including: · Enabling on-farm investment in equipment and technology to deliver public goods · Supporting new entrants to get into farming · Measures to improve resilience - prevention of plant pests and diseases Initiatives to support new relationship between government and land managers |
2022- 2024 | Progressive reductions to Direct Payments continue Final CS agreements start (number dependent on ELM) and HLSagreements extended as required | ELM pilots, tests and trials. Welfare pilots continue and animal healthinterventions on offer Targeted investment inR&D and innovation | |
2025 | ELM fully up and running Measures to promote animal health and welfarefully up and running Targeted investment inR&D and innovation (up to 2029) | ||
2026 | |||
2027 | End of 7 year transition period (last year Direct Payments) | ||
2028 and beyond | No Direct Payments
|
The Bill in more detail
The Agriculture Bill sets the framework for Defra’s future Environmental Land Management Policy, moving towards a system where public money is spent on public goods, in particular protecting and enhancing our environment. This will be the centrepiece of the Government’s new approach to farm payments. Public goods which the government will pay for include:
- Improving air and water quality and soil health – e.g. reducing ammonia emissions or soil erosion
- Providing habitats for wildlife – e.g. maintaining hedgerows, nectar plots for pollinators or food sources for farmland birds
- Reducing flood risk – e.g. planting trees and hedges
- Preventing climate change – e.g. through peatland restoration to protect the existing carbon store and reduce emissions of CO2e
- Improving public access to our countryside – e.g. replacing access structures such as gates
- Protecting iconic features of our countryside – e.g. maintaining drystone walks or other historic features
- The agriculture sector currently imposes costs on the environment. The annual external cost to farmers from soil erosion and compaction from agriculture was estimated at £305m in 2010 for England and Wales (Defra analysis in £2017 prices using figures from Defra Science Project (2018) / total costs of soil degradation in England and Wales (SP1606)).
- There are already examples where this ambitious environmental focus for farmers is already working, such as the ‘Exmoor Ambition’ – a post-Brexit plan for upland hill farming in the region, developed by the Exmoor Hill Farming Network and Exmoor National Park Authority.
- Agriculture policy is devolved, and so the Agriculture Bill sets out primary legislation mostly for England. Following close engagement with the devolved administrations the Bill will provide powers for Welsh Government Ministers to pursue their own reforms, and extend provisions to Northern Ireland, until primary legislation is taken through their own legislatures. The Scottish Government is not taking powers in the Bill.
- There will be some UK-wide clauses in the Bill for policies reserved to the UK government. The UK government is continuing discussions with the devolved administrations to find common approaches for agriculture that work for all of the UK where legislation is not required.