Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
The Tenant Farmers Association also told us that young farmers had been promised that there...
Conclusion
The Tenant Farmers Association also told us that young farmers had been promised that there would be a scheme specifically to support them to enter the farming industry, but that it had not seen this come forward. It asserted that the information that had been made available so far was “so lacking in detail that there is no way they can plan their businesses and put together a tenancy application”.60 We therefore asked witnesses about the risk that young farmers would leave the industry because they were unable to wait to see what would happen to the sector in the longer term. The National Farmers’ Union recognised this concern and told us about young farmers who were considering moving to Scotland, where there is greater certainty over the support on offer. The Confederation of Forest Industries also highlighted that a lack of clarity for the long term and how plans fit into wider net-zero targets makes it very difficult for farmers and other land managers to make sure their businesses are sustainable. It told us that this was “really worrying [as] … we desperately need the next generation to come through” and being able to deliver a sustainable farming industry for the future relied on it being profitable as well.61 The Department recognised that “providing more detail as soon as we can with good and wide communication is critical” and that it was seeking to do this.62
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
5: PAC conclusion: The Department has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to successfully deliver the programme. 5: PAC recommendation: The Department should review its entire communications strategy and report to us by the end of March 2022 on the improvements it is making. The Department should also set out how it will incentivise young farmers both to enter, and to remain, in the industry. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end of March 2022 5.2 The government is in the first year of the transition, so it is to be expected that there is still more to do to build trust and confidence in the reforms, much of which will come only when the government successfully launch new schemes, and those schemes work effectively for farmers. 5.3 The government has started that process, since the Committee took evidence in October 2021, including successfully launching a resilience scheme, two rounds of the Farming Investment Fund which has been significantly over-subscribed, and the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot where the government attracted its target level of participation with 938 farmers applying to take part with a good a range of geography, farm types, ownership/tenancy and farm sizes. 5.4 The government agrees with the Committee that it is important to build trust in the reforms and that is why the government is investing significant effort in co-designing new schemes with farmers, engaging with the sector, and communicating with them about the changes that are coming, as well as improving operational performance and making inspections and controls fairer and more proportionate. The government will continue and extend these activities throughout 2022 and beyond. 5.5 Since the launch of Agricultural Transition Plan in 2020, the government has embarked on a significant stakeholder engagement and communications approach to the sector. 5.6 The government is engaging much more closely with a wider group of stakeholders and routinely using a multi-channel communications approach to reach farmers through digital and non-digital channels, including through trusted intermediaries as well as directly and through farming media, as the government rolls out new policies. 5.7 The government strategy is working in terms of raising awareness of and building trust in the changes, as seen with early take up of the government productivity grants and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pilot, and a 40% increase in applications for Countryside Stewardship agreements between 2021 and 2022. 5.8 However, the government recognises that there is more to do. As the government rolls out the new schemes and progresses through the transition, it will need to continue to communicate widely and effectively, including more direct communications with farmers to explain what is available to them and continue to build their trust and confidence in the new schemes. 5.9 The government will write to the Committee, as requested, by March 2022 with further details of its plans and progress in communicating and building trust with farmers.