24 Deferred

In the agricultural sector, the regulatory baseline should be designed to work in tandem with...

Recommendation
In the agricultural sector, the regulatory baseline should be designed to work in tandem with ELM schemes. Initially it should incorporate most of the soil health actions in the Sustainable Farming Incentive, with all ELM schemes becoming more ambitious on soils. As the ELM schemes become more ambitious, so too should the regulatory baseline: we recommend that regulations and ELMs are reviewed every five years to ratchet up soil protections and incorporate the latest evidence on what works. In the long-term, the Government should aim for a situation where regulations prevent soil degradation and ELM schemes focus on soil and habitat restoration.
Government Response Summary
The government states it is currently reviewing the regulatory baseline for soil health and will consider findings from the Office for Environmental Protection. It does not commit to the recommended five-year review cycle for regulations and ELMs or to the long-term aim of preventing soil degradation through regulation.
Paragraph Reference
81
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government Deferred
The role of regulation in the agricultural sector is to protect the environment, public health, and animal and plant health and welfare. All farmers are subject to regulatory standards, and we are working to enable high levels of compliance against these standards that will ensure environmental land management agreements fully deliver outcomes for the environment over and above the regulatory standards. In The Plan for Water, Defra committed to work with farmers to review and improve our farming laws to make them clear, simple, and effective at improving the environment. We are currently reviewing the regulatory baseline for soil health to further understand the scope and impact of current regulations and where further regulatory cover may be required for soils. As we move from the EU Common Agricultural Policy, we will keep the balance between regulation and incentives under review and learn how farmers engage with our environmental offers. We are aware that the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is reviewing the current regulatory and governance frameworks supporting the sustainable management of agricultural soils in England. We will review any findings and consider carefully any recommendations put forward by the OEP.
Timeline
Recommendation age 2.5 yrs
Report published 05 Dec 2023