Amendment 105 is in my name and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for adding his name to it. I will also speak to Amendments 107, 112 and 123 in my name, as well as Amendment 129 in the name of my noble friend Lady Jones of Whitchurch and Amendment 139 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, to which my noble friend Lady Jones has added her name.
Amendment 105 is very important as it lays out the “Minimum level of financial assistance” that must be provided by the Bill to the new system of support. Under this proposed new clause, the level of support must be maintained from year to year at the level made available in the first year, adjusted for inflation, at least for the subsequent financial years. There has always been anxiety that the Conservative Government, in keeping with their austere inclinations, would not maintain support systems at the level of payments previously made under the CAP as a member state. Under the May Administration, the Government stated that they would maintain the level of support in any future scheme for one Parliament—at that time, at least until 2024. This suggested that reductions would be made thereafter.
This new Administration, resulting from the December election, have not made emphatic statements beyond the provision of the direct payments to farmers Act 2020, which operates for one year only as an interim continuity provision while the Bill, when it becomes the Agriculture Act, is implemented. Indeed, it has been decided to make cutbacks in financial support as soon as the next year—that is, in this first transition phase—even before any new measures could be set up, as trials, to make up that shortfall. The first experience that farmers and land managers will have under this new scheme will be a cut to funding—hardly a measure to build confidence and trust.
This proposed new clause gives the Minister the opportunity to be clear and put the Government’s intention forward, giving a measure of certainty to all agricultural businesses regarding the funding levels envisaged not only for the next three years but into the future, when the ELM schemes and their benefits can be brought forward. As was said at Second Reading, this is a framework Bill where many of the mechanisms and provisions are not transparent, or even finalised, from the discussions published to date by the department. If the Government want ELMS to be a success, as we all do, the maintenance of at least total farm support transposed into ELMS must be looked at to provide rewards well beyond those at present experienced under stewardship schemes.
I will quickly speak to my other amendments in this group. Under Amendment 112, I propose that any funding not taken up in one year is
“carried over to a future year”.
I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, for adding her name to this amendment. It is important in the early years that farmers and land managers, as they assess and make plans for their businesses, have time to come forward with applications. It would be unfortunate if any delay in applications resulted in the budget being cut in a future year in response by this Government.
Under Amendments 107 and 123, I propose that the Government are mindful of the purposes of the Bill and that the costs of administration and advice do not become seen as overly bureaucratic and consume an expanding proportion of the overall budget. They would also ensure that the important advice to the industry from consultants, which we would also wish to see taken up, does not consume a large slice of any
application, especially in relation to the larger catchment area schemes that will come forward under the higher proposed tiers 2 and 3. We would want to see farmers and land managers given the tools to perform their activities, putting a scheme’s cash for projects on to the ground.
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I turn now to Amendment 129 and I am grateful for the support of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs. I know that he was keen to speak to this amendment and to Amendment 139 in his name. However, he has had some technical problems, so perhaps I may speak also to his amendment, given that we are largely agreed on them both. Amendment 129 would set up a specific link from this Bill to the one of the key provisions of the Environment Bill through its delivery mechanisms in support of ELM schemes. The environmental improvement plan will set up a long-term strategy to improve the natural environment in accordance with the Government’s 25-year environment plan. In setting the strategic priorities for the multiannual financial plans under Clause 4, the Secretary of State would be required to have regard to the current EIP. In discussions on their ELM paper, the Government have said already that the outcomes of the 25-year environment plan will inform the key strategic priorities for financial assistance.
My noble friend Lady Jones of Whitchurch has her name to Amendment 129, and I agree with and endorse the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, which he has shared with me. It is an important amendment and we seek the Minister’s reassurances here. The provisions of Clause 6 include requirements to monitor the impact of financial assistance. This amendment would require the Government to assess the impact of the provisions of the Bill in its entirety on the public goods stipulation in Clause 1. Monitoring should determine whether, and to what extent, financial assistance has had a positive impact on public goods. Other relevant provisions beyond financial assistance are also included in this monitoring. These other relevant provisions would include adherence to environmental standards regulations as a strong regulatory baseline for underpinning public support of key strategic imperatives such as water, clean air and climate change mitigation. This would also take on board the requirements referred to in our Amendment 57, where we agreed with the Minister who responded to that grouping that productivity improvements must complement environmental benefits.
With those comments, I return to the opening amendment of this group, Amendment 105. I beg to move.