What the coalition Government has in store for farmers

The 34-page coalition ‘programme for government’ is littered with policies across Whitehall’s departments of huge significance to farmers.

There is plenty in the document to offer farmers hope this administration will serve them better than the previous one. 

Introducing Defra’s policies the document states: “We believe that much more needs to be done to support the farming industry, protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable food production.”

But can the policies delivery backs up this sentiment, given the financial constraints the Government faces?

Here we select our ‘top 10’ most relevant farming policies and look at what they might mean for the industry.

1. Reducing the regulatory burden on farmers by moving to a risk-based system of regulation.

Defra, working with industry and the regulatory bodies, is to carry out a major review of the existing regulatory regimes affecting farming.

The aim is to simplify farming regulation to achieve a ‘more streamlined and proportionate approach’.

This will include looking to ‘end the culture of tick-box regulation’ and instead trying to target inspections on ‘high-risk’ organisations.

There will also be moves to integrate current regulatory regimes where this will simplify regulation or reduce costs, meaning, in theory, less inspections and less paperwork.

This is in line with the regime’s approach to regulation across business and industry. The document contains further, wider, policies that farmers will welcome, including:

• Introducing a ‘one-in, one-out’ rule whereby no new regulation is brought in without a greater cut to another regulation.
• Ensuring the need for each regulation is regularly reviewed.
• Ending the so-called ‘gold-plating’ of EU rules.

2. Investigating ways to share with livestock keepers the responsibility for preparing for and dealing with outbreaks of disease.

The coalition Government is committed, in principle, to responibility and cost sharing. But not necessarily in the way the previous administration had envisaged.

Former Defra Secretary Hilary Benn’s draft Animal Health Bill, which contained proposals for an independent body to take responsibility for animal health policy in England from 2012, has been dropped.

It did not appear in this week’s Queen’s Speech and the new administration has no desire to take the Bill forward. Nor are there any proposals for an ‘animal/horse tax’ – ‘at present’.

The concept has clearly not gone away, but the coalition wants to take its time and is reviewing previous work on this issue before bringing forward its own proposals. It will examine the ‘full range of options’, which will include the independent body.

Rosemary Radcliffe’s stakeholder group, which had been developing the responsibility sharing policy under the previous regime, will continue with its work and report to Ministers.

In the meantime, Defra will continue to work with the Treasury to explore the cost sharing side of things.

3. A package of measures to introduce a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control in areas with high and persistent levels of bTB

The commitment to ‘badger control’ in English TB hotspot areas in a package including both ‘vaccination and culling options’ will be welcomed by farmers.

But caution now surrounds the topic, contrasting with Conservative Shadow Ministers’ bullish pre-election comments on the policy.

There is no further detail on timing or location at this stage as new Defra Secretary Caroline Spelman, who will have ultimate responsibility, seeks assurance the evidence base is sound and the policy is deliverable on the ground.

Farming Minister Jim Paice was keen to restate the coalition’s commitment to this controversial policy after Mrs Spelman appeared distinctly lukewarm last week.

He has already spent a great deal of time while in opposition working with the industry on the practicalities of delivering a cull.

This work will continue as a number of issues are to be resolved, while Mrs Spelman has said she wants to wait and see what happens in Wales before making firm policy decisions in England.

This means learning about the ‘implementation and rollout’, rather than waiting to see whether it works or not, which would mean the policy could yet be announced in months rather than years. However, this is a notoriously difficult area in which to predict timescales.

4. The coalition will develop a system of extra support for hill farmers.

The details are still to be fleshed out but, broadly, the Government will look at ways of adding to the funding already provided for hill farmers by the Uplands ELS through changes to the Common Agricultural Policy.

The aim is to look at diverting funds from both Pillar 1 (direct payments) and Pillar 2 (rural development) of the CAP.

The catch, however, is these plans are likely to require EU agreement so could take time to deliver.

Even though there are no Lib Dem Ministers in Defra, this policy carries the distinct mark of Tim Farron, Lake District MP and former Lib Dem Shadow Defra spokesman, who has always championed upland farming.

5. Introducing an ombudsman in the Office of Fair Trading to enforce the Grocery Supply Code of Practice, and curb abuses, which undermine farmers and act against the consumers’ long-term interest.

The previous Government was already well on the way towards creating an ombudsman. A consultation on various aspects of how it might look closed just before the election.

The coalition has already decided on one of the consultation’s key questions – the ombudsman will be housed within the OFT, rather than set up as a brand new body, which would go against current Tory policy.

More details, including a response to a consultation will be announced ‘in due course’.

There is added spice in that the policy will be taken forward by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS), with the Lib Dem’s Vince Cable at the helm.

The Tories and Lib Dems clashed on the ombudsman ahead of the election over Lib Dem calls for its remit to cover ‘fair pricing’ as well as supermarket behaviour. The Tories said this was impractical and not permissible under EU rules.

6. Introducing honesty in food labelling so consumers can be confident about where food comes from and its environmental impact.

The Conservative manifesto promised to introduce honesty in food labelling, through legislation if necessary, to ensure ‘meat labelled as ‘British’ is born and bred in Britain, and raised to our high welfare standards’.

This will close a loophole that has angered British farmers, particularly pig producers, for many years – the ability to label meat raised abroad but processed in the UK in such a way to suggest it is British.

Ahead of the election, the Tories had been working with major retailers, including Tesco, with some success, to try and bring about the change voluntarily.

7. Ensuring food procured by Government departments, and the whole public sector, meets British standards of  production where this can be achieved without increasing cost.

This is about Government and the public sector leading by example when it comes to supporting British food.

The stipulation is all new contracts specify that Whitehall departments, and their agencies, only purchase food that meets British standards will be welcomed by farmers. The caveat is this only applies where it does not increase overall costs and will allow plenty of wriggle room.

The Conservatives also stated pre-election they would develop a Code for Sustainable Food to provide a clear set of standards for the public sector and require local councils and NHS organisations to publish details of the food they buy.

8. Introducing measures to promote an increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion.

The coalition document puts much emphasis on promoting renewable energy, including policies to drive a ‘huge increase’ in anaerobic digestion (AD).

This will be the responsibility of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), now led by Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne.

The Lib Dem’s manifesto was clear about the need to provide incentives for farmers to adopt methods, such as AD, which benefit the environment.

While the policy details are still to be developed the Lib Dem manifesto pledged to extend the existing feed-in tariff to include the farming sector and inject £22m into a rolling fund that will manage interest-free loans for investment in on-farm AD.

These loans would pay 50 per cent of the costs, which farmers will be required to match.

9. Promoting ‘Home on the Farm’ schemes to encourage farmers to convert buildings into affordable housing.

The scheme, which Lib Dem MP Tim Farron claims to have created, aims to help local councils tackle the affordable housing problem, while handing farmers a commercial opportunity. 

The Department for Communities and Local Government will be responsible for ‘promoting’ the scheme, which will enable farmers to turn disused or underused farm buildings into affordable homes. Details about how it will work in practice are not available at this stage.

10. Investigating measures to help with fuel costs in remote rural areas, starting with pilot schemes.

This plan will go down well with those in remote areas, although it is unclear whether the emphasis will be on businesses, households, or both. There is no detail on this yet other than that ‘all options’ will be explored.

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