Politics

The Government must deliver an ambitious plan for the countryside if it is to win back rural voters, an industry group has claimed.

Defra has been asked by the Prime Minister to cut the number of civil servants it employs as part of a fresh efficiency drive.

The Governments appetite for trade deals, coupled with the impact of policy changes, suggests a deliberate agenda to undermine family farms and displace UK food production, FUW president Glyn Roberts has said.

The issue of future funding must be addressed if Scotland’s farming industry is to survive, leaders of NFU Scotland told the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice this week.

NFU Scotland has welcomed a new regional manager for Dumfries and Galloway.

The Governments failure to include a Food Bill in the Queens Speech this week has been described as deeply disappointing.

The Government’s failure to include a Food Bill in the Queen’s Speech this week has been described as ‘deeply disappointing’.

The Efra Select Committee has been left without a chair since the incumbent, Neil Parish, resigned as an MP. The formal list of candidates to replace him has not yet been released, but Abi Kay looks at the runners and riders.

Farmers must look to the export market if they want to safeguard the UK’s food production reputation, industry leaders have claimed. 

Defra has announced it intends to send direct payments to farmers in two instalments to help with cashflow, as input costs soar.