Thank you for contacting me about the Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMS). As a rural constituency with plenty of farming, this issue is at the top of my agenda, and I continually meet with local farmers to discuss their concerns.
As we are no longer in the European Union, the UK is free from the Common Agricultural Policy, which did little to deliver for farmers, food production or the environment. The Government’s 2019 Manifesto was clear that the Government would maintain the budget for farming but spend it in a way that does better for farming and nature.
I would like to assure you that the Government is pressing ahead with the ELMS and is working to fine tune them to make sure they help deliver the Government’s ambitious outcomes on the environment and support a thriving farming sector.
The ELMS will pay for sustainable farming practices, improving animal health and welfare, reducing carbon emissions, creating and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes. This is an important step towards achieving our 25 Year Environment Plan ambitions and our carbon net zero goals.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is designing the schemes to be accessible and supportive with fair compensation. Ministers are also working to improve the way rules around farming and the countryside are set and controlled, which will make it fair, proportionate and effective. Defra aims to take a more collaborative and less bureaucratic approach in developing this policy and the schemes' administration.
I know that farmers and land managers will play an essential role in halting the decline in species, including farmland birds and insects, by 2030. I look forward to reading further details about the ELMS in due course.
Again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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