EDM: Support for farmers

Support for farmers

Tabled by Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat) 54 signatures

The motion

That this House recognises with deep concern the Chancellor’s Spending Review decision to cut the DEFRA budget in real terms by 2.3% annually, with a real terms cut to the farming budget of around £100m; understands budget cuts will have potentially devastating consequences for the environment, the rural economy, farming communities and food security whilst creating uncertainty for the funding of regulatory bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency; notes that this cut comes at a time of great uncertainty for farming businesses after the botched transition, bungled trade deals and budget underspend overseen by the Conservatives in government; further notes the risks to farming businesses caused by the Government's changes to Inheritance Tax, the accelerated phase out of the Basic Payments Scheme and the sudden closure of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications; calls on the Government to confirm what impact DEFRA budget cuts will have on the rural economy, food security and climate and nature goals; further calls on the Government to clarify which scheme(s) will be provided funding with the £400m allocated for nature and the £300m unallocated under the farming budget; and urges the Government to properly fund profitable, sustainable and nature-friendly farming with an extra £1 billion a year for Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) to make sure our farmers can continue to feed the nation, protect and enhance our natural environment.

Signatories (54)