The Government has no plans to pause the phasing out of Basic Payment Scheme payments.<\/p>
<\/p>
Our priority is to roll out Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) in a way that ensures the service works as straightforwardly as possible for all our customers and aligns with the closing date for Countryside Stewardship.<\/p>
<\/p>
The SFI 2023 scheme has been expanded and made more flexible in response to farmers\u2019 feedback. There are 23 actions on offer under the new and improved 2023 scheme, including on soil health, moorland, hedgerows, integrated pest management, farmland wildlife, buffer strips, and low input grassland.<\/p>
<\/p>
The scheme will open for applications from 18 September. Before then farmers can contact the Rural Payments Agency to join the thousands of farm businesses that have already expressed their interest in applying.<\/p>
<\/p>
Recently, we have run an extensive communications and engagement programme with farmers and farming organisations, including through webinars and our presence at agricultural shows. This has enabled us to promote the options available to farmers and feedback is of increased awareness and interest in what is on offer.<\/p>
<\/p>
Information on the scheme is available in one handbook and on 10 August we published voluntary \u2018How to Guidance\u2019 which farmers can follow if helpful for them. We know that applicants to date have welcomed the simple, automated online application process which again will support uptake in the coming months.<\/p>
<\/p>
We know the importance of getting agreements and payments out as quickly as possible, which is why we\u2019ll be working to get as many people as possible on board as quickly as possible after 18 September. What is more, in recognition of the challenges faced with inflation and rising input costs, the Government has confirmed farmers will receive a payment in the first month of their SFI 2023 agreement to help with cashflow.<\/p>
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We remain committed to our target of 70% of farms and farmland being in schemes by 2028.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1547", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Benyon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Benyon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "HL10045"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-18T12:24:31.657Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-09-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Sustainable Farming Incentive"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on farmers of delays to Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) payments; and what plans they have to rectify the delay.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/384", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness McIntosh of Pickering"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness McIntosh of Pickering"} ], "uin" : "HL10044"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249815", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249815/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
It is Defra policy to encourage research findings such as these to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. We elected to delay the publication of the final reports on our website to allow the researcher some time to do this without undermining the peer review process.<\/p>
<\/p>
These data are being used to inform analysis of where there is a reservoir of disease in the Edge area.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4161", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Gardiner of Kimble"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-23T16:09:20.983Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government why they took two years to publish the reports by Professor Malcolm Bennett and Professor Chris Palgrave A study into the prevalence of bTB in found-dead badgers in the southern \u2018Edge Area\u2019 counties of England, SE3054, published June 2018; and what plans they have to respond to the report's conclusions.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4719", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle"} ], "uin" : "HL10044"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }