Funding

Bodies representing different parts of the food supply chain have urged Government to set out what kind of support it intends to offer businesses in the event of a second wave of coronavirus.

The influential Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has urged Governments across the UK to spend cash earmarked for road building on improving broadband instead.

Faced with the greatest threat to public health this country has faced in our lifetimes, the Government has taken a series of unprecedented steps to protect the NHS and save many thousands of lives, says Defra Secretary George Eustice.

The SNP has called on the Chancellor to use the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payment structure to ensure farmers receive coronavirus support.

Specialists at the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, are calling for the establishment of a cross-Government committee to coordinate decision-making on food during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Agriculture Bill is coming back to Parliament, and that is good news for farmers and the environment, says Tom Lancaster, acting head of land, seas and climate policy at the RSPB.

A good payment scheme will be vital to secure farmers’ post-Brexit future, but other pieces of work on the supply chain, trade and Food Strategy will also be key, says Vicki Hird, farm campaign co-ordinator at Sustain.

The Government is ‘not getting the message’ that the conservation sector needs financial support to weather the Covid-19 storm, the head of the National Trust has said.

As farmers and landowners have just weeks to request an application pack for the Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Charity Shaw, of Fisher German, explains how it can provide favourable returns.

The Government is contacting businesses who may be eligible for its Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).