Environmental Land Management Scheme

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 6 Sep 2021 Closed: 1 Mar 2022 Parliament page
The UK was part of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) framework for financial support to farmers and rural development funding for more than 40 years before Brexit. In 2019-20 farmers in England received over £1.8 billion in direct payment subsidies, based mainly on the amount of land farmed. In … Read more
1 Recommendation
30 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
4 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 10 events
9 Mar
2022
Correspondence
1 Mar
2022
Report published
8 Feb
2022
Correspondence
31 Jan
2022
Correspondence
9 Jan
2022
Report published
16 Nov
2021
Correspondence
21 Oct
2021
Oral evidence
21 Oct
2021
Oral evidence
21 Oct
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
21 Oct
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
21 Oct 2021
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Environmental Land Management Scheme
Caroline Ayre · Confederation of Forest Industries Jenna Hegarty · Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) Lynette Steel · Tenants Farmers Association Professor Rob Fraser · University of Kent Tom Bradshaw · National Farmers' Union (NFU)
21 Oct 2021
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Environmental Land Management Scheme
David Kennedy · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Jenna Hegarty · Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) Lynette Steel · Tenants Farmers Association Maria Bellissimo · Confederation of Forest Industries Paul Caldwell · Rural Payments Agency Professor Rob Fraser · University of Kent Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Tom Bradshaw · National Farmers' Union (NFU)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Thirty-First Report - Environmental Land Management Scheme HC 639 9 Jan 2022 31 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
31 results
2 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM...
The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM is contributing towards the government’s environmental goals. The Department has set out its high-level vision for ELM, which is to secure a range of positive … Read more
Government Response
2022. It should report against these metrics annually to enable Parliament and the public to determine what progress it is making towards meeting the objectives set out in the Government’s … Read more
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions...
We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions will impact the food and farming sector over the next decade. Farmers will be required to free up land currently used for food production to … Read more
Government Response
4. PAC conclusion: Skills shortages in the civil service could compromise departments’ ability to achieve efficiency savings.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
Despite committing to delaying the early stages of SFI if either the Department or farmers...
Despite committing to delaying the early stages of SFI if either the Department or farmers were not ready, the Department has not specified what would trigger such a delay. Opinion within the farming sector is divided over whether the Department’s … Read more
Government Response
5. PAC conclusion: Departments often struggle to track benefits as closely as they track costs
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to...
The Department has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to successfully deliver the programme. Farmers’ confidence in the Department was severely damaged by a poor history of delivery under previous agricultural subsidy schemes, and the … Read more
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department is not doing enough to support farmers through the transition to the new...
The Department is not doing enough to support farmers through the transition to the new schemes and alleviate any anxiety its plans are causing. The removal of direct payments would have reduced the average net profit of farms in England … Read more
Government Response
1. PAC conclusion: The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of departments retaining sufficient capacity to respond to emergencies when identifying potential efficiencies.
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7 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
We are concerned that ELM will be too complex and bureaucratic, and will not cater...
We are concerned that ELM will be too complex and bureaucratic, and will not cater for the full range of farm types and circumstances. The Department has used a process of ‘co-design’ to develop the scheme, working closely with both … Read more
Government Response
7: PAC conclusion: We are concerned that ELM will be too complex and bureaucratic and will not cater for the full range of farm types and circumstances. 7: PAC recommendation: … Read more
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (the Department) and the Rural Payments Agency.2 We also took evidence from the National Farmers’ Union, … Read more
Government Response
2. PAC conclusion: Past experience shows that attempts to improve efficiency can inadvertently reduce the quality of services or increase costs elsewhere – what this Committee has called cost shunting. Read more
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The ELM scheme consists of three components: • The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which will...
The ELM scheme consists of three components: • The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which will pay farmers for actions to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way; 2 C&AG’s Report, The Environmental Land Management scheme, Session 2021–22, HC 664, … Read more
Government Response
Introduction from the Committee For more than 40 years, the farming sector has been supported by subsidies through the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). English farmers receive around £2.4 … Read more
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department has committed to making the first payments under SFI22 by Christmas 2022.
The Department has committed to making the first payments under SFI22 by Christmas 2022. Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to … Read more
Government Response
Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to … Read more
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10 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
In contrast, the RSPB told us that there had already been a lot of unnecessary...
In contrast, the RSPB told us that there had already been a lot of unnecessary delay to the roll-out of the scheme so far, which added to the urgency of getting the scheme right quickly. It explained that the roll-out … Read more
Government Response
Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to … Read more
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
Given the serious problems the Committee has reported on previous agricultural payment schemes, and the...
Given the serious problems the Committee has reported on previous agricultural payment schemes, and the impacts of COVID-19, we asked the Department whether it had considered a delay, and whether its timetable for delivering SFI22 included any contingency to allow … Read more
Government Response
Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to … Read more
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The NAO found that Department does not have detailed delivery plans for the programme beyond...
The NAO found that Department does not have detailed delivery plans for the programme beyond March 2022, and has not carried out an overall assessment to demonstrate that SFI22 is deliverable.27 The Department told us that its current assessment was … Read more
Government Response
Despite the tight timescales and continuing uncertainty around the launch of SFI22 next year, the stakeholders we heard from were divided on whether a delay to the roll-out and to … Read more
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has a history of failure when developing...
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has a history of failure when developing systems to support subsidy payments for farmers, and this history means that it is starting with a low level of trust from the sector.30 In … Read more
Government Response
5: PAC conclusion: The Department has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to successfully deliver the programme. 5: PAC recommendation: The Department should review its … Read more
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department is developing the ELM scheme through a system of ‘co-design’, which they have...
The Department is developing the ELM scheme through a system of ‘co-design’, which they have now started to refer to as “co-creation”. This is working collaboratively with farmers and others to obtain continuous feedback and input as they iterate the … Read more
Government Response
4.3 The government will write to the Committee as requested by 28 February 2022 to explain: a) how plans for Environmental Land Management Schemes in the short and long term … Read more
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15 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
An important test of whether the Department’s approach will be successful is the pilot for...
An important test of whether the Department’s approach will be successful is the pilot for SFI, for which applications opened in July 2021. The SFI pilot will test how farmers respond to the scheme’s design and systems, the approach to … Read more
Government Response
5.3 The government has started that process, since the Committee took evidence in October 2021, including successfully launching a resilience scheme, two rounds of the Farming Investment Fund which has … Read more
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Tenant Farmers Association told us that its members participating in the pilot were finding...
The Tenant Farmers Association told us that its members participating in the pilot were finding the scheme guidance confusing, with an onus on farmers to decide what they think is best to enable the delivery of public goods.48 The National … Read more
Government Response
7: PAC conclusion: We are concerned that ELM will be too complex and bureaucratic and will not cater for the full range of farm types and circumstances. 7: PAC recommendation: … Read more
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
As part of the new scheme, direct payments to farmers will reduce by 55% by...
As part of the new scheme, direct payments to farmers will reduce by 55% by 2024– 25 before being phased out completely. The NAO found that the Department expects the reduction in direct payments and introduction of its replacement arrangements … Read more
Government Response
3: PAC conclusion: We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions will impact the food and farming sector over the next decade. 3: … Read more
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
We asked the Department what farmers were feeling about the new scheme and the reduction...
We asked the Department what farmers were feeling about the new scheme and the reduction in direct payments. The Department recognised that while some saw the scheme as a “welcome opportunity to embrace a new future”, some feel very threatened … Read more
Government Response
6: PAC conclusion: The Department is not doing enough to support farmers through the transition to the new schemes and alleviate any anxiety its plans are causing. 6: PAC recommendation: … Read more
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The mental health of farmers is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the sector.
The mental health of farmers is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the sector. In October 2021, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution reported that almost half of the farming community (47%) were experiencing some form of anxiety, and 36% … Read more
Government Response
6: PAC conclusion: We are not doing enough to support farmers through the transition to the new schemes and alleviate any anxiety its plans are causing. 6: PAC recommendation: The … Read more
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department views 2021 as year one of seven in its efforts to regain farmers’...
The Department views 2021 as year one of seven in its efforts to regain farmers’ trust, but the NAO highlighted that it had had over three years since the first publication of its plans in February 2018 to start regaining … Read more
Government Response
5.2 The government is in the first year of the transition, so it is to be expected that there is still more to do to build trust and confidence in … Read more
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Tenant Farmers Association also told us that young farmers had been promised that there...
The Tenant Farmers Association also told us that young farmers had been promised that there would be a scheme specifically to support them to enter the farming industry, but that it had not seen this come forward. It asserted that … Read more
Government Response
5: PAC conclusion: The Department has not yet done enough to gain farmers’ trust in its ability to successfully deliver the programme. 5: PAC recommendation: The Department should review its … Read more
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department acknowledged that without the detail of plans, its confidence in the scheme could...
The Department acknowledged that without the detail of plans, its confidence in the scheme could appear to be “just blind optimism as far as farmers are concerned”.63 Since then, the Department has published further information on how the Sustainable Farming … Read more
Government Response
5.2 The government is in the first year of the transition, so it is to be expected that there is still more to do to build trust and confidence in … Read more
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department asserted that farmer confidence and trust in its plans is improving.
The Department asserted that farmer confidence and trust in its plans is improving. The Farmer Opinion Tracker survey carried out in October 2020 found that only 30% of farmers said they had all or most of the information they needed … Read more
Government Response
5.7 The government strategy is working in terms of raising awareness of and building trust in the changes, as seen with early take up of the government productivity grants and … Read more
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24 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
Although the Department has set out its high-level vision for ELM through six ‘outcomes’ set...
Although the Department has set out its high-level vision for ELM through six ‘outcomes’ set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan, it has not yet defined the specific objectives that it will be using to measure ELM’s success against this … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM is contributing towards the government’s environmental goals. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department … Read more
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The NAO recommended that the Department should urgently agree a clear, realistic and logical set...
The NAO recommended that the Department should urgently agree a clear, realistic and logical set of strategic objectives for ELM. We asked when we could expect these to be in place. The Department also acknowledged the importance of setting these … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM is contributing towards the government’s environmental goals. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department … Read more
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
We told the Department that we were concerned about the lack of baseline data, and...
We told the Department that we were concerned about the lack of baseline data, and asked what data it will use to measure environmental improvements.70 In its written evidence, the Green Alliance emphasised the importance of being able to measure … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM is contributing towards the government’s environmental goals. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department … Read more
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
ELM and other agricultural policies are expected to contribute to government’s environmental objectives, such as...
ELM and other agricultural policies are expected to contribute to government’s environmental objectives, such as species abundance and the 25-Year Environment Plan. However, the RSPB highlighted that there is no overarching vision for agriculture in England or for how ELM … Read more
Government Response
2: PAC conclusion: The Department has not established the metrics that it will need to determine whether ELM is contributing towards the government’s environmental goals. 2: PAC recommendation: The Department … Read more
HM Treasury
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28 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
In addition to the six environmental goals set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan, the...
In addition to the six environmental goals set out in the 25-Year Environment Plan, the Department expects the Future Farming and Countryside Programme to help improve farm productivity. It explained that its work to improve productivity would focus on the … Read more
Government Response
3: PAC conclusion: We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions will impact the food and farming sector over the next decade. 3: … Read more
HM Treasury
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29 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
We asked whether the design of ELM meant that land would be taken out of...
We asked whether the design of ELM meant that land would be taken out of production and the UK would therefore either need to import more food or food prices would rise as a result. Professor Rob Fraser told us … Read more
Government Response
3: PAC conclusion: We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions will impact the food and farming sector over the next decade. 3: … Read more
HM Treasury
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30 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Department told us that it did not think that ELM’s focus on environmental management...
The Department told us that it did not think that ELM’s focus on environmental management would result in the UK importing more food. It explained that the scheme was also designed to boost productivity so that, despite taking land out … Read more
Government Response
3: PAC conclusion: We are not convinced that the Department sufficiently understands how its environmental and productivity ambitions will impact the food and farming sector over the next decade. 3: … Read more
HM Treasury
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31 Conclusion
Thirty-First Report - Environmenta…
The Tenant Farmers Association told us that the introduction of the new scheme was a...
The Tenant Farmers Association told us that the introduction of the new scheme was a major concern for its members, and that it would be important that the scheme contained options to meet the specific needs of both tenant farmers … Read more
Government Response
7: PAC conclusion: We are concerned that ELM will be too complex and bureaucratic and will not cater for the full range of farm types and circumstances. 7: PAC recommendation: … Read more
HM Treasury
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Correspondence 4 letters
9 Mar 2022 Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re Response to Recommendation 4 of ELM PAC report, dated 1 March 2022
Parliament page
8 Feb 2022 Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re Update on long-term environment objectives, dated 9 December 2021
Parliament page
31 Jan 2022 Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re Response to Recommendation 7 of ELM PAC report, dated 27 January 2022
Parliament page
16 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, re PAC: Follow-Up Response, dated 5 November 2021
Parliament page