Agriculture Bill given Royal Assent
After three years, the Agriculture Bill has been passed into lawThe Agriculture Bill has been given Royal Assent after three years.
The announcement that the Agriculture Bill has received Royal Assent comes after the CLA wrote to 200 rural MPs, warning that Government is not ready to begin the transition to the new public goods scheme, with large cuts in the Basic Payment Scheme.
It warned that, while the bulk of future investment will be through the new Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMS), it will not be fully available to farmers for four years. Meanwhile, cuts to the old scheme will begin in January 2021.
CLA President Mark Bridgeman said:
“After three years, it’s welcome news that the Agriculture Bill has finally passed into UK law.
“This is only the beginning, not the end of the process for the farming industry. The Agriculture Act serves to remind us of the profound responsibilities we, in agriculture, have; to feed the nation, to help mitigate climate change and reverse biodiversity decline, and also to help support our local communities through job creation and economic development.
“With Government’s new powers, it must commit itself to working hand in glove with organisations such as the CLA to ensure future policies actually work effectively on the ground, while also having the ambition to recognise the potential of the rural economy to answer some of the greatest questions facing the country, such as climate change.”