Thirty-First Report - Environmental Land Management Scheme
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 639
9 January 2022
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty First report from Session 2021-22 · published 1 Mar 2022
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department has committed to making the first payments under SFI22 by Christmas 2022.
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions regarding delaying SFI22 rollout, citing the NFU's view that a delay would extend uncertainty, and stated that these views were taken into account to ensure a smooth transition.
HM Treasury
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10
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In contrast, the RSPB told us that there had already been a lot of unnecessary...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions on delaying the scheme rollout, stating these views were taken into account to deliver a smooth transition for farmers.
HM Treasury
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11
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Given the serious problems the Committee has reported on previous agricultural payment schemes, and the...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the divided stakeholder opinions regarding delaying SFI22 rollout, citing the NFU's view that a delay would extend uncertainty, and stated that these views were taken into account to ensure a smooth transition.
HM Treasury
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12
Recommendation
Acknowledged
The NAO found that Department does not have detailed delivery plans for the programme beyond...
Recommendation
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the varying stakeholder views on delaying the SFI22 rollout and stated these views have been fully taken into account, but did not commit to specific contingency planning or informing the committee of issues.
HM Treasury
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20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department views 2021 as year one of seven in its efforts to regain farmers’...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged that building trust and confidence is an ongoing process in the first year of transition, stating it will improve as new schemes are successfully launched and work effectively for farmers.
HM Treasury
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22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department acknowledged that without the detail of plans, its confidence in the scheme could...
Conclusion
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 …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the importance of building trust and communicating effectively with farmers, noting existing efforts but also recognising there is more work to do as schemes roll out.
HM Treasury
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