Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Conclusion 7
5th Report - The economic and cultural impacts of trade and environmental policy on family farms in Wales
Published 7 Apr 2022
Paragraph 37
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee The economic and cultural impacts of trade and environmental policy on family farms in Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We oppose any attempts to ‘game the system’ by investing in viable farming land purely in order to offset carbon emissions accrued by companies elsewhere. Tree planting schemes are an important pillar in attempts to preserve our natural environment for future generations and were never intended to be exploited to the detriment of current businesses or future generations of farmers.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, 5th Report - The economic and cultural impacts of trade and environmental policy on family farms in Wales (HC 607), paragraph 37, 7 April 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 July 2022 (deadline 7 June 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government states that it "has carefully considered the Committee's recommendations and has responded to each in turn", mostly describing existing or planned work and, in several areas, noting that policy is devolved and its measures apply to England.
- On trade, it is "establishing a new Food and Drink Export Council" with the Devolved Administrations and industry, whose remit and membership will be agreed in partnership. It "recognises the need" for agri-food attachés with Welsh experience.
- On FTA impact reporting, it points to existing scoping and impact assessments published at the launch and conclusion of negotiations, which cover the nations and regions of the UK, including Wales. It does not state a commitment to publish a separate Wales statement or cumulative modelling data.
- On carbon offsets, it points to the UK Land Carbon Registry for projects under the Woodland and Peatland Codes. For England, it says it has "no plans to monitor the purchase of viable agricultural land".
- On new entrants, it says its funding and new entrant scheme apply to England. Pilots are aimed to launch "this year", after which it "will consider" whether there is a rationale for capital grants. It will share information on the scheme and the Lump Sum Exit Scheme with the Welsh Government.