Defra Secretary Steve Barclay has said he has met with the Rural Payments Agency and ‘changes have been made' following the tragic death of farmer Rocky Poulson.
Farmers Guardian reported on Mr Poulson's family's campaign to reform the inspection regime earlier this month.
Inspections
Speaking to FG at this week's NFU conference, Mr Barclay said: "I have personally been looking at it. I had a meeting with the RPA about it. "Already changes have been made and we have discussed further changes around cross compliance, streamlining is one aspect."
See also: From the editor: Farm inspection regime in need of a radical overhaul
It came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to cut red tape and ‘let farmers get on with what they do best' - producing food for the nation - in his address to the conference on Tuesday (February 20).
Farmer-led protests
And the burden of bureaucracy was a theme which ran through the two-day event. It comes as tensions over regulation, the future of agri-environmental policies and the impact of trade deals have prompted farmer-led protests across the country.
See also: Welsh farmers protest in Rhyl as First Minister Mark Drakeford visits the town
The situation in Wales has escalated in recent days, with farmers picketing outside the Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths' office in Wrexham last week. There was also a demonstration in Rhyl on Wednesday (February 21) as First Minister Mark Drakeford and Ms Griffiths opened Coleg Llandrillo's £13 million engineering centre.
Speaking to FG at the NFU Conference, Defra Farming Minister Mark Spencer seized on the unrest in Wales to highlight failing Labour policies and the 'regulations' that were heading farmers' way.
Welsh farmers
"[In Wales ] there is going to be an army of people with measuring wheels and tape measures, measuring your 10 per cent woodland and 10 per cent habitat.
"I pity farmers in Wales. They are going to find an army of regulators crawling all over them."
"I pity some of those farmers in Wales who will find this army of regulators crawling all over them" - Mark Spencer, @DefraGovUK Farming Minister spoke to chief reporter @FGRachaelBrown at @NFUtweets Conf.
— Farmers Guardian (@FarmersGuardian) February 21, 2024
Listen to the full interview: https://t.co/eqfbsz3JKz#farming #NFU24 pic.twitter.com/3WbzkGDrPW
