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1691421

registered interest
date	23/02/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of solar farms on the availability of agricultural land.
tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
uin	15509
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>Solar and farming can be complementary, and the Government encourages deployment of solar technology that delivers environmental co-benefits, with consideration for ongoing food production.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the need to preserve our most productive farmland as far as possible. The recently published and updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land.</p><p> </p><p>Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. The availability of agricultural land used for food production should be considered, alongside the other policies in the NPPF, when deciding what sites are most appropriate for development.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/02/2024 17:37:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1648300

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to incentivise (a) the rewilding of non-productive agricultural land and (b) nature-friendly farming practices.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	191361
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2023 answer text <p>(a)</p><p> </p><p>The Government is supporting a number of initiatives to create wilder landscapes across England, as part of a broader approach to nature recovery through projects such as peatland restoration funding or agri-environment schemes. However, rewilding is not appropriate in all situations, and we must balance priorities including food production.</p><p> </p><p>Landscape Recovery (LR) is an environmental land management (ELM) scheme which seeks to demonstrate the capacity for large-scale nature recovery and sustainable food production to take place in parallel. LR is for landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. It funds ambitious landscape-scale projects through bespoke, long-term agreements lasting 20 years or more. Initially, projects are awarded a project development grant to gather further information on the outcomes of the projects and financing options. Following this, projects will sign an Implementation Agreement, setting out the details of the project and what will be delivered. The implementation phase will then begin from 2024 onwards, with agreed funding from the Government and the private sector.</p><p> </p><p>(b)</p><p> </p><p>In the Agricultural Transition Plan of November 2020, the Government announced ELM schemes, designed to help England’s farmers enhance their efficiency, productivity and environmental sustainability. This move from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy is the most significant reform of agricultural policy and spending in England in decades.</p><p> </p><p>Sustainable food production and caring for the environment can and must go hand in hand. Our ELM schemes will ensure our long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil, water and biodiverse ecosystems. They have been developed so that there is an offer for all farm types, including for tenant farmers.</p><p> </p><p>The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and improving the environment. It is being rolled out incrementally, with the full offer available by the end of 2024. It is straightforward for farmers to apply and manage their agreement, and they will receive quarterly payments. We will also pay a new SFI management payment to recognise the administrative costs for farmers entering into and managing an SFI agreement.</p><p> </p><p>Countryside Stewardship (CS) pays farmers and land managers to look after and improve the environment in specific habitats, features and local areas on their land. There will be an extra incentive through CS Plus for land managers to join up across local areas to deliver bigger and better results. We are improving the way CS operates, including expanding and refining the scope of the scheme, simplifying processes and making inspections fairer and more proportionate. We have increased the payment rates of CS in response to rising input costs.</p><p> </p><p>Farmers and land managers can be in the SFI and CS at the same time, so long as we are not paying for the same actions twice on the same land and the actions are compatible.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 03/07/2023 09:58:01 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1646655

registered interest
date	22/06/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring dogs to be on a leash when on agricultural land.
tabling member constituency	Clwyd West
tabling member printed	Mr David Jones
uin	190770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2023 answer text <p>We maintain that it is best practice to keep your dog on a lead around livestock. The Countryside Code advises dog walkers to always check local signs as there are situations where this is already a legal requirement for all or part of the year – for example when on Open Access Land between 1 March and 31 July.</p><p /><p>There is a careful balance to be struck between the level of freedom people enjoy when accessing the countryside to walk their dogs, the welfare of those dogs who require regular exercise (including the freedom to exhibit normal behaviours) and the welfare of livestock and interests of their keepers. There is also a public safety consideration. The behaviour of certain livestock species can be unpredictable, especially when they are with their young. That is why the recently refreshed Countryside Code reminds dog walkers to let their dog off the lead if they feel threatened by livestock or horses. Releasing a dog will make it easier for both the dog and walker to reach safety and avoid getting hurt.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 29/06/2023 12:27:04 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1502 label Biography information for Mr David Jones

1642345

registered interest
date	06/06/2023
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect agricultural land from development that reduces the availability of land for food production.
tabling member constituency	Witham
tabling member printed	Priti Patel
uin	187952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2023 answer text <p>The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality. Planning Practice Guidance also sets out a preference for the use of lower quality agricultural land.</p><p>In the National Planning Policy Framework consultation, published in December 2022, the government consulted on a change that will ensure that food production on high value farmland is adequately weighted in the planning process. Government will respond to the consultation in due course.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 12/06/2023 14:57:08 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1551008

registered interest
date	13/12/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 34984 on Agriculture: Land, whether she is taking steps to reclassify class 3b agricultural land as best and most versatile agricultural land.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	109466
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2022 answer text <p>Best and Most Versatile Land is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework and Natural England’s guide to assessing development proposals on agricultural land as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (and therefore not including 3b).</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 22/12/2022 16:05:50 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1540591

registered interest
date	08/11/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it remains her Department's policy to redefine best and most versatile land to include category 3b.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	82210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2022 answer text <p>Best and most versatile agricultural land (BMVAL) is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework and Natural England’s guide to assessing development proposals on agricultural land as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification.</p><p> </p><p>Protecting our environment, backing British farmers and delivering long-term energy security with more renewables is at the heart of HM Government’s manifesto.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we will be looking at the frameworks for regulation, innovation and investment that impact farmers and land managers to make sure that our policies are best placed to boost food production, increase resilience, deliver long-term energy security and protect the environment.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 15/11/2022 17:03:36 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1505799

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the CPRE report Building on our Food Security, published on 22 July, which identified a hundredfold increase in house and infrastructure construction on prime agricultural land since 2010.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL2273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>We welcome the CPRE report and analysis on development on prime agricultural land. This report highlights some of the ongoing and emerging challenges of use of land to achieve food security, housing need and energy security.</p><p>The Government recognises the importance of food security, which is why we published the Food Strategy earlier this year. The Food Strategy puts food security at the heart of the government's vision for the food sector. It aims to broadly maintain the current level of food that we produce domestically and boost production in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities. We are seeking to deliver as much as we can on our limited supply of land, to meet the whole range of Government commitments on food, housing, climate, and the environment. To help achieve this, we will publish a Land Use Framework in 2023 which will set out land-use change principles to balance these outcomes.</p><p>The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.</p><p>We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure that planning policy continues to support agriculture and food production as well as delivering other goals for housing, infrastructure and the environment.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 20/09/2022 08:57:11 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1503635

registered interest
date	02/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help protect high-grade agricultural land from (a) housing and (b) other non-agricultural developments.
tabling member constituency	Hitchin and Harpenden
tabling member printed	Bim Afolami
uin	45344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2022 answer text <p>We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that planning supports agriculture and food production as well as delivering other goals. This is reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework makes clear that local planning authorities should take into account all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land.</p><p>Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 16/09/2022 13:55:47 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami

1488512

registered interest
date	12/07/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether class 3B agricultural land is classified as best and most versatile land in the National Planning Policy Framework.
tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
uin	34984
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2022 answer text <p>Best and most versatile agricultural land (BMVAL) is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework and Natural England’s ‘Guide to assessing development proposals on agricultural land’ as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 06/12/2022 19:23:11 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake

1457036

registered interest
date	07/04/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Land
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 6 April (HL7283), what plans they have, if any, to redress the strategic balance between food production, environmental protection and other priorities within rural land use policy in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
tabling member printed	Lord Inglewood
uin	HL7814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2022 answer text <p>Under the Agriculture Act 2020, we have a legal duty to assess the impact of all our schemes, including our new environmental land management schemes, on food production. The first Food Security Report was published in December 2021. The Government will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and respond appropriately.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 22/04/2022 13:07:11 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	1980 label Biography information for Lord Inglewood