Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Register of interests
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Sustainable Farming Incentive: Application Process
The sustainable farming incentive scheme that we inherited from the Conservatives was complicated and skewed towards the biggest farms. We have made it fairer and more focused, and this year we ran two application windows, received nearly 19,000 applications and allocated £310 million per year for the next three years. We will open SFI27 as early as we can, and we will work with farmers to see what we can do to change it, including considering alternatives to the first come, first served basis.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Application Process
Farmers are bearing the costs of extreme weather, which is why we are supporting them with an extra £65 million to tackle drought, protect crops and build resilience, alongside grants for new technology to boost productivity. For as many farms as possible to benefit from the SFI, we gave small farms a priority in window 1 this year and we have allocated £310 million per year—nearly £1 billion for the next three years—for the scheme. The Government will also invest up to £15 million to help farmers and growers build on-farm reservoirs.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Application Process
My hon. Friend does a great deal of outreach to the farming community and I commend him for it. We have launched the farming road map, which is the first 25-year plan for farming to give certainty and direction in a very long time. We have set up the Farming and Food Partnership Board, which is looking at how we can improve productivity and profitability, and working on horticulture and poultry growth plans. There will be more to come.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Application Process
I argue with the hon. Lady’s characterisation of the “collapse” of the scheme. We should not forget that SFI26 made nearly £1 billion of support available for the next three years for environmentally sustainable farming. We have 70,000 multi-year environment land management agreements in place, which are making sure that we support environmentally friendly farming. I would not characterise that as a collapse. I note that the Tories did not spend the whole farming budget when they were in government, they botched Brexit, which led to a 22% fall in trade, and they concluded an Australian trade deal that Tory Secretaries of State now admit has sold out British farmers.
Waste crime is fuelled by serious organised crime, and it is blighting our communities. We are tackling it: since April, we have made 21 arrests and shut down 339 illegal waste sites. Police operations have triggered more than 30 criminal investigations, and we are strengthening enforcement and disrupting those who are profiting from waste crime.
I know how tirelessly my hon. Friend and her neighbour, my right hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, have campaigned on this issue. Waste crime blights local communities, and the Government are committed to tackling it. The Environment Agency continues to investigate activity at Simonswood, and the site will be considered for clearance alongside other illegal waste sites.
As a Yorkshirewoman myself, I will not disagree about the beauty of Yorkshire, though it might get me into trouble. I am happy to join the right hon. Member in praising the Wombles of Hambleton. I need him to show me a photograph of them out doing this job next time we bump into each other. Many community-organised litter picks and clean-ups are going on in all our communities, including one at Seacombe in my own constituency a couple of weekends ago. Much litter is picked up, but we have a lot of work to do to persuade people to be more responsible by not dropping it in the first place.
We have had a difficult summer, with a prolonged period without rain, which has put enormous stress on our landscapes. Our farms and natural resources are under increased pressure due to climate change. The Prime Minister has asked me to ensure that communities have more of a say in how water is managed, which is all the more important given the summer that we have had. The warnings are clear: if we are to be resilient when it comes to water and food security, we have to help farmers farm differently. Resilience is also about ensuring that the poorest in our communities can have access to good, nutritious food.
I think my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), the Minister for water and flooding, visited last week, so my hon. Friend is obviously trying to get a brace. The Government are backing farm profitability through £11.8 billion for sustainable farming and food production; investment in productivity and innovation; and action to make supply chains fairer. We are also working to open up new trading opportunities. The farming road map sets out how Government will support farmers in cutting costs, accessing markets and building resilient businesses.
The issues around inheritance tax were dealt with by my predecessor. It was not a humiliating U-turn; it was the result of listening to what people were telling us. If the right hon. Lady wants change but describes a Government change as a humiliating U-turn, I am not quite sure whose side she is on.