My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to what has been a very interesting debate.
Turning first to Amendment 28, the Government believe that it is important that the public can see how financial assistance being provided under Clause 1 is being spent, as part of our ongoing commitment to openness, transparency and accountability. Clause 2(8) allows the Secretary of State to make secondary legislation to provide that specified information relating to the financial assistance given under Clause 1 is published. Clause 2(9) sets out the information which may be specified. This already includes information about the recipient of the financial assistance, the amount of the financial assistance and the purpose for which the financial assistance was given. Sufficient information will be published under the regulations that the Government are currently developing to underpin subsections (8) and (9).
To inform the development of these regulations, on 4 August the Government launched a public consultation on their proposals for financial and beneficiary information publication. Within the accompanying consultation document, the Government set out how they believe that beneficiary data should be published on a publicly available searchable database, and that details of the name of a beneficiary of financial assistance, postcode, amount of funding received and a high-level purpose of the funding payments should be recorded.
The consultation also proposed that the regulations require the publication of the land management plans—LMPs—which will be a key component and requirement of the environmental land management scheme pilot. The Government seek to strike the right balance between accountability and transparency, on the one hand, and the privacy of agreement holders on the other. On that final point, I assure your Lordships that the Government will publish only information that is relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed.
Turning to Amendment 18, this is a framework Bill. As a result, the powers in Clause 1 do not in themselves impose a regulatory burden. The Government believe that impact assessments are very important; where the Bill will introduce new regulatory provisions, the Government will produce and publish regulatory impact assessments in line with the Better Regulation Framework guidance. I have reflected on the points raised in Committee by my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe and the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch. I assure your Lordships that I am fully cognisant of the important role that impact assessments play in providing
a solid basis for scrutiny of government policy. With this in mind, I can confirm that the Government will publish the impact assessment narrative that has been prepared for this Bill. It summarises the measures in the Bill that will have a regulatory impact on business and sets out a clear plan for when more detailed, quantitative assessments will be produced for each of those individual measures. This impact assessment narrative will be published later in the autumn.
The Government continue to work closely with farmers, foresters, other land managers and key stakeholder groups to ensure that they have ample opportunities to inform the design of Clause 1 schemes. For example, the Government recently consulted on their proposals for regulations under Clause 2(8) and Clause 3, which will set out the Government’s approach to financial information publication and the enforcement regime to accompany Clause 1 financial assistance, respectively. The Government will also conduct a public consultation before finalising the design of the full ELM scheme, which is to be launched in 2024. This consultation will be accompanied by a full impact assessment.
Turning to Amendments 47 and 106, the Government are keen that we seize the opportunity of EU exit to remake England’s farming policy so that it is suited to the needs and demand of farmers, the environment and the public at large. Welsh Ministers have decided that it is not appropriate to take powers to allow Welsh Ministers to operate or transition to new schemes in this Bill. These powers will be provided for instead by the agriculture (Wales) Bill. We believe that Welsh Ministers must have the space to develop policy to suit the needs of Wales. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, that in forming the agricultural framework, the Government of course considered other countries’ agricultural policy. As this Government develop these proposals further, we will continue to look across the United Kingdom and internationally to be aware of and learn from agricultural policy in other nations.
I turn to Amendment 32. I should note that Clause 4 was introduced following extensive feedback on the Agriculture Bill 2018, taking into careful consideration what would be a suitable timeframe for multiannual financial assistance plans. The first plan period was designed to match the entire agricultural transition period, providing the necessary details on how financial assistance powers in the Bill would be used. Following extensive consultation the Government have legislated for a seven-year transition, as set out in Clause 8. The Government believe that seven years strikes the right balance between signalling the end of area-based direct payments and giving farmers time to adjust. Certainty, in our view, is very important.
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I note that, based on the 2018 scheme data, the reductions to direct payments for 2021 will be no more than 5% for around 80% of farmers. Although the transition period is until the end of December 2027, the ELM scheme is due to launch across England in 2024 and to be piloted at scale from 2021. I think that is how I would answer the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, and the noble Lord, Lord Teverson: it is not about all this important work beginning at the end; it is actually working through.
As I say, that is why we believe it is important to start the reductions of a small nature in order to start that early on.
As the Government noted in the farming policy update published in February 2020, a new round of countryside stewardship was opened that month for agreements to start on 1 January 2021. The Government are continuing to offer countryside stewardship schemes under the transition, with a further round opening in 2022. Those who sign a new countryside stewardship agreement will not only have a viable long-term source of income but be well placed to participate in ELM. Agreement holders will be able to break those agreements without penalty once they have secured a place in ELM. The Government will provide productivity grants from 2021, offering grants for a proportion of the total cost of an investment in equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help farmers to improve their productivity while enhancing the environment by using fewer inputs, reducing emissions and cutting waste.
I turn to Amendments 30, 33 and 34, as well as Amendment 35 in my name. I am not able to give my noble friend Lady McIntosh precise dates for the Environment Bill. All I can say is that my ministerial colleagues in Defra are very keen to make progress.
The Government recognise the need for certainty, which is why we have committed to the seven-year transition and pledged to guarantee the current annual budget to support farmers and land managers in every year of this Parliament. That is why we have committed always to have a multiannual financial assistance plan in place. It is also why the Government have added Amendment 35 to Clause 4, which will require the Secretary of State to publish subsequent plans 12 months before they come into effect. The Government feel that Clause 4 gives assurance and clarity to the agricultural industry while retaining the ability to adapt and update plans, including extending the length of subsequent plan periods beyond the minimum period of five years if circumstances mean that it is desirable and appropriate to have a longer plan period.
Clause 4 also states that the first plan period will run for seven years, the length of the agricultural transition period. It will expire at the end of 2027 and the next plan must be in place by 1 January 2028. It is therefore most likely that the renewal of plans will happen at a different time from parliamentary elections, although I think we would all agree that it is impossible to guarantee that. As part of our commitment under Clause 4, and to ensure that we keep stakeholders aware of the latest developments, I reiterate that the Government intend to set out our plans for financial assistance during the first years of the transition in the autumn after we have completed our comprehensive spending review.
I turn to the question of publishing funding levels in the plans. There are well-established existing processes and financial events for determining funding arrangements that I am informed that Amendment 30 might inadvertently disrupt. These will apply to domestic spending. Parliament has the opportunity to vote on the Defra budget each year through the estimates process, and of course the EFRA Committee takes a close interest in scrutinising Defra’s accounts.
I have tabled Amendment 35, which requires that the Secretary of State should lay before Parliament and publish any new multiannual financial assistance plan 12 months ahead of the new plan coming into effect, other than for the plan covering the first plan period. The Government have reflected carefully on this matter following Committee, and I thank my noble friend Lord Lucas for raising it at that juncture.
The government amendment proposes that 12 months’ notice is given to farmers and land managers of the Government’s upcoming strategic priorities for financial assistance. This period will allow our farmers and land managers time to prepare their business activities accordingly. We also think that a 12-month period should reduce the likelihood of a new plan becoming out of date before it comes into effect.
Those were explanations about the importance of certainty, as was raised by the noble Baronesses, Lady Jones of Whitchurch and Lady Bakewell, and why I think the government amendment is important. I am grateful for the encouragement I had on that during Committee and since. I hope that I have satisfactorily explained that this is not about the Government prevaricating on the important advances in the environment. It is why the transition and ELMS pilots, productivity grants and countryside stewardship schemes will start in 2021. It is all about that. In the meantime, I am most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for giving me the opportunity to explain the importance of being able to see how financial assistance is provided. I hope she feels able to withdraw her amendment.