First Report - Soil health
Select Committee
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
HC 245
5 December 2023
Recommendations
2 results
2
Acknowledged
Para 16
Ringfence funding for long-term soil health monitoring and finalise indicators by December 2024.
Recommendation
The Government must ringfence the funding for the soil health monitoring programme to ensure a long-term commitment to this precious national resource. This funding should be on the same scale as funding for the monitoring of other critical assets such …
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Government Response Summary
The government encourages farmers to monitor their own soil health, noting existing SFI payments for soil assessment, and intends to publish further tools and guidance later this year to enable consistent data collection, but did not commit to ringfencing funding or finalising indicators by December 2024.
11
Acknowledged
Para 50
Commission and publish a review of financial barriers to sustainable farming by 2025.
Recommendation
By 2025, the Government should commission and publish a review considering what financial barriers, including upfront investment costs, are preventing more sustainable farming systems. Based on these findings, the Government should develop, alongside the industry, measures to combat the problem. …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged its statutory commitment under the Agriculture Act 2020 to report on the impact and effectiveness of agricultural schemes and stated it is currently reviewing how best to meet that commitment, but did not specifically commit to commissioning and publishing a review of financial barriers by 2025.
Conclusions (1) Observations and findings — click to expand
14
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 59
We are pleased to see soils being targeted specifically as part of the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. While these measures are a good start, the measures in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) are basic and lack essential actions that are known to protect and enhance soils. The role …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of soil health, states SFI already incorporates actions, and commits to monitoring effectiveness, exploring options for CS, and aiming to define 'sustainable soil management' with stakeholder engagement.