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<p>Defra reports expenditure under agricultural support schemes by financial year
rather than calendar year.</p><p> </p><p>Applying reductions to Direct Payments frees
up money to be spent on financial assistance under our other schemes for farmers and
land managers. As set out in our Future Farming and Countryside Programme annual report,
published in October 2022, we spent £1.654 billion on Direct Payments in financial
year 2021 to 2022. That was part of a total spend of £2.294 billion on existing farming
schemes and our new financial assistance schemes, as set out in that report.</p><p>
</p><p>Information about spend on Direct Payments, and financial assistance under
our other schemes, for later financial years will be included in future annual reports.</p><p>
</p><p>The reductions that we plan to apply to Direct Payments up to, and including,
the 2024 scheme year were set out in our Agricultural Transition Plan in November
2020. The Government intends to continue to make gradual reductions in Direct Payments
across the rest of the transition until the last year of Direct Payments in 2027.</p><p>
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