Recommendations & Conclusions
6 items
9
Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
The Department has committed to making the first payments under SFI22 by Christmas 2022. Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to the reduction in direct payments was …
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The Department has committed to making the first payments under SFI22 by Christmas 2022. Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to the reduction in direct payments was necessary. The National Farmers’ Union recommended a delay to ensure that the scheme is ready to work for both farmers and the environment. In its written evidence it said: “The NFU does not believe that Defra should press ahead with its current timetable to transition when its new agriculture support schemes simply aren’t ready. Direct payments should only be phased out when there are fully funded accessible new schemes ready for farmers to apply for.”20 The Confederation of Forest Industries similarly told us that a slight delay would be helpful in ensuring that necessary consultations about change and transformation in the way land is used in the UK were complete.21
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions regarding delaying SFI22 rollout, citing the NFU's view that a delay would extend uncertainty, and stated that these views were taken into account to ensure a smooth transition.
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HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
In contrast, the RSPB told us that there had already been a lot of unnecessary delay to the roll-out of the scheme so far, which added to the urgency of getting the scheme right quickly. It explained that the roll-out of SFI22 needed to make sure it was sending a …
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In contrast, the RSPB told us that there had already been a lot of unnecessary delay to the roll-out of the scheme so far, which added to the urgency of getting the scheme right quickly. It explained that the roll-out of SFI22 needed to make sure it was sending a clear signal as to the direction of travel. The Tenant Farmers Association highlighted that it asked for a delay 12 months ago but no longer thought that now was the right time for it. It instead said it was important that the scheme moved forward and that the Department ensured that there was communication over scheme details, payment rates and how the Department and the Rural Payments Agency, which is responsible for administering payments, are going to deliver the scheme for farmers.22 The Wildlife and Countryside Link, in its written evidence, also told us that, “despite challenges, there must not be a delay in the design, communication and roll-out of Environmental Land Management”. It explained that this was important to minimise the risk that Government will fail to meet its environmental objectives, and also to lessen the risk of disenfranchisement from farmers and land managers that could result from delaying.23
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions on delaying the scheme rollout, stating these views were taken into account to deliver a smooth transition for farmers.
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
Given the serious problems the Committee has reported on previous agricultural payment schemes, and the impacts of COVID-19, we asked the Department whether it had considered a delay, and whether its timetable for delivering SFI22 included any contingency to allow this as some stakeholders had asked. The Department assured us …
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Given the serious problems the Committee has reported on previous agricultural payment schemes, and the impacts of COVID-19, we asked the Department whether it had considered a delay, and whether its timetable for delivering SFI22 included any contingency to allow this as some stakeholders had asked. The Department assured us that it would “make sure there is not a problem” and it would not launch a scheme that was going to be a “delivery car crash”.24 It told us that its main contingency was to ensure that it was delivering things that worked was through its testing process and that it undertook “continuous and regular reviews” which had been “really helpful in moving us along to make us most likely to be successful”.25 The Department confirmed that it would not introduce something that it had not tested and that it was managing the scheme to ensure that elements such as IT changes were only implemented if they did not put the Christmas 2022 deadline at risk. It confirmed that it could push back the deadline if its reviews raised a red flag for delivery of the scheme, but that this had not yet been the case. Its current view of the risks to delivery was that a delay was not necessary as, while there were risks 20 Q 26; EMS0004 – Environmental Land Management Scheme, The National Farmers Union, 22 October 2021 21 Q 27 22 Qq 27–28 23 EMS0009 – Environmental Land Management Scheme, Wildlife and Countryside Link, 22 October 2021 24 Qq 57, 95, 127 25 Qq 57, 127 Environmental Land Management Scheme 13 for it to manage, it was on track. It recognised, however, that if its reviews showed that either it was not in a position to deliver SFI22 as planned, or to make payments ahead of Christmas, or if it was clear that farmers, having seen the final details of the scheme, were not ready “to engage with the scheme”, this would “raise a question about what the contingency is”.26
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions regarding delaying SFI22 rollout, citing the NFU's view that a delay would extend uncertainty, and stated that these views were taken into account to ensure a smooth transition.
Read full response →
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
The NAO found that Department does not have detailed delivery plans for the programme beyond March 2022, and has not carried out an overall assessment to demonstrate that SFI22 is deliverable.27 The Department told us that its current assessment was that it would be able to deliver to the timeframes …
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The NAO found that Department does not have detailed delivery plans for the programme beyond March 2022, and has not carried out an overall assessment to demonstrate that SFI22 is deliverable.27 The Department told us that its current assessment was that it would be able to deliver to the timeframes it had set out and that farmers would be ready to join the scheme and deliver what was required of them. It accepted that, if either of those were to change it would have to think again, and that it was “pragmatic in that respect”, but that there was nothing in its current assessment that suggested it could not proceed with the timetable as planned.28 We urged the Department to be cautious and to undertake any contingency planning that it could in order to avoid the scheme negatively impacting on farmers as they transition into it, and asked it to let us know as soon as it was aware of any issues.29 26 Qq 56–57, 95, 127 27 C&AG’s Report paras 13, 18 28 Q 95 29 Q 127 14 Environmental Land Management Scheme 2 Engagement with stakeholders
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the varying stakeholder views on delaying the SFI22 rollout and stated these views have been fully taken into account, but did not commit to specific contingency planning or informing the committee of issues.
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HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
The Department views 2021 as year one of seven in its efforts to regain farmers’ trust, but the NAO highlighted that it had had over three years since the first publication of its plans in February 2018 to start regaining the confidence of the farming industry. Farmers have been looking …
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The Department views 2021 as year one of seven in its efforts to regain farmers’ trust, but the NAO highlighted that it had had over three years since the first publication of its plans in February 2018 to start regaining the confidence of the farming industry. Farmers have been looking for increased clarity and detail on the Department’s proposals since then. The NAO found that where information has been released, it has been with very limited lead time: arrangements for the SFI pilot were released over three months later than planned, leaving farmers just two weeks to decide whether to take part.59 We highlighted concerns from members’ farming constituents that they did not yet have details of next year’s schemes, and that they were facing very condensed planning. As the Tenant Farmers Association told us, farming requires long-term business planning, with crop rotations and breeding programmes put together over many years. It explained that the lack of detail on schemes has had a particularly significant effect on tenant farmers, leaving them unable to develop business plans or prepare tenancy applications.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged that building trust and confidence is an ongoing process in the first year of transition, stating it will improve as new schemes are successfully launched and work effectively for farmers.
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Lan…
Acknowledged
The Department acknowledged that without the detail of plans, its confidence in the scheme could appear to be “just blind optimism as far as farmers are concerned”.63 Since then, the Department has published further information on how the Sustainable Farming Incentive will work in 2022, including payment rates for the …
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The Department acknowledged that without the detail of plans, its confidence in the scheme could appear to be “just blind optimism as far as farmers are concerned”.63 Since then, the Department has published further information on how the Sustainable Farming Incentive will work in 2022, including payment rates for the first phase.64 The Department also explained that, while it thought the confidence of the sector will increase as more detail is released, the greatest impact will occur when farmers see schemes working and 58 Qq 61, 118 59 C&AG’s report para 3.10 60 Qq 9–10 61 Qq 11, 16 62 Q 87 63 Q 62 64 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Sustainable Farming Incentive: how the scheme will work in 2022, 2 December 2021 18 Environmental Land Management Scheme payments happening on time. The Department also told us that it will publish additional information about SFI22 in November, and that information on the standards being offered in SFI for 2023 and 2024 will be published early next year, which is late in the day to give farmers sufficient lead-in time to change their systems.65
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the importance of building trust and communicating effectively with farmers, noting existing efforts but also recognising there is more work to do as schemes roll out.
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HM Treasury