NFU President Tom Bradshaw branded the newly released figures as 鈥渦nacceptable鈥�, after they showed a 拢130 million yearly underspend against plans between April 2023 and March 2024.
This is in addition to an underspend of 拢125m in 2021/22 and 拢103m in 2022/23.
The Farming and Countryside Programme is responsible for designing and delivering the new farming schemes in England. .
Responding to the news, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: 鈥淲e have repeatedly highlighted our concerns about an underspend and at long last we now have an honest admission of Defra鈥檚 failure.
鈥淎 拢358 million underspend is unacceptable and nothing short of a kick in the teeth to farmers and growers who have faced years of uncertainty and loss of income during the agricultural transition.鈥�
Gaps and questions unanswered
鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear, this underspend hasn鈥檛 happened because the investment isn鈥檛 needed,鈥� Tom insisted.
Schemes to replace BPS have not been completed in time Tom said, leaving 鈥渕any gaps and questions unanswered鈥�.
皇家华人has consistently flagged problems with the new ELMs schemes since their inception.
鈥淒espite some improvements, there is still a big gap in spending as the money saved from the continued BPS reductions has sat gathering dust,鈥� Tom added.
鈥�Let鈥檚 be clear, this underspend hasn鈥檛 happened because the investment isn鈥檛 needed.鈥�
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
鈥淔or years, the NFU has pressed the need for the new schemes to be in place before reductions in BPS began to avoid this very issue and avoid funding being left unspent at a time when farmers needed it most.
鈥淭welve months ago, when there were further issues with the rollout of the new schemes, we were a lone voice calling for reductions in BPS to be paused.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛, and yet farmers and growers continued to face record inflation levels and devastating weather events. We鈥檙e now seeing the consequences as confidence in the sector has collapsed.鈥�
The NFU鈥檚 own survey work found confidence levels are at their lowest across the majority of sectors since records began in 2010.
The phasing out of BPS payments (86%), rising input prices (80%) and government regulation and legislation (80%) topped the factors farmers said would negatively affect their farm business.
Carry the funding forwards
鈥淭he risk this cumulative lost income poses to the viability of farm businesses, through no fault of their own, is well known,鈥� Tom added, citing the NFU鈥檚 modelling work which showed that, on average, uplands businesses lost 37% of their support payments under the 2023 scheme options.
In response to the news of the underspend, Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner said the government would 鈥渞estore confidence and stability to farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen our food security鈥�.
As part of its 鈥榥ew deal鈥�, the government has said it will be:
- Optimising Environmental Land Management schemes聽so they produce the right outcomes for all farmers 鈥� including those who have been too often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenanted farms 鈥� while delivering food security and nature recovery in a just and equitable way.
- Seeking a new veterinary agreement聽with the European Union to cut red tape at our borders and get British food exports moving again.
- Protecting farmers from being undercut聽by low welfare and low standards in trade deals.
- Using the government鈥檚 purchasing power聽to back British produce.
- Setting up a new British Infrastructure Council聽to steer private investment in rural areas including broadband rollout in rural communities.
- Speeding up the building of flood defences聽and natural flood management schemes, including through a new flood resilience taskforce to protect rural homes and farms.
- Introducing a land-use framework聽which balances long-term food security and nature recovery.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw called on the Minister to commit to his stance when in opposition, that any underspend in agricultural funding should be rolled over into future years and calls for clarity from Defra about how this would be done.
鈥淲e now ask for the same thing 鈥� for government to carry this much-needed funding forward so it can finally be put to its intended use 鈥� building resilience, investing in sustainable homegrown food production and delivering the government鈥檚 legislated environmental targets,鈥� Tom concluded.
