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Written question asked by Julian Lewis (Conservative) on Friday, 1 May 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 6 May 2020 (named day). It was answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Conservative) on Monday, 11 May 2020 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Agriculture: New Forest

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations he has received from the (a) Official Verderer, (b) Commoners Defence Association and (c) National Park Authority of the New Forest, on (i) damage to the landscape caused by excessive numbers of depastured cattle and (ii) the establishing of the reference period for delinking Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments from the requirement to make an annual BPS application in order to continue to receive such payments; what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that the increase in cattle numbers on the Forest in recent years is unsustainable; and if he will make it his policy to make a decision on that matter as soon as possible and treat the New Forest as a special case.

Answer

We have received three pieces of correspondence from the New Forest Commoners Defence Association on these subjects.

The New Forest National Park Authority are aware of the challenges and have been working with the Forestry Commission, Verderers and the Commoners Defence Association to help find the best solution to support commoning and deliver the best outcomes for land management.

Natural England recently recommended that the Environmental Stewardship Higher Level agreement with the Verderers should be extended by one year as the agreement was delivering its objectives and the Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the forest were being managed in a way that improved their condition. We are not aware of damage to landscape due to increased numbers of de-pastured cattle.

We intend to consult further with the industry before setting the detailed rules for delinked payments. This will help us get the approach right for farmers and allow us to take account of any particular concerns, such as the impact on commoners.

The reference period to be used for delinked payments is one of the areas that we intend to consult on. For example, we could make payments based on the Basic Payment Scheme payments the farmer was entitled to receive in a particular scheme year or average over a number of years. We understand the importance of carefully deciding on this reference period and of communicating it to the industry in good time.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
41876
Session
2019-21
Related items
Agriculture: New Forest
Monday, 18 May 2020
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects
Agriculture New Forest Subsidies
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk