MPs will hear evidence on the financial, environmental and regulatory pressures facing upland farmers
MPs will investigate mounting pressures on upland farming this week, with Defra support, environmental schemes and tensions with Natural England all set to come under scrutiny.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee will question farmers and land management representatives on Thursday 10 September as part of its Land use and nature inquiry.
The cross-party group will examine concerns over the viability of upland farming, including difficulties accessing funding through environmental schemes and the impact of cuts to direct payments.
Upland farms are continuing to adjust to changes in agricultural support following the end of the Basic Payment Scheme, with more government funding now linked to environmental and land management objectives.
Those changes can have particular significance in upland areas, where farming businesses often operate alongside environmental protections and depend on grazing systems shaped by the landscape and local land tenure.
Relations between farmers and Natural England are also expected to feature prominently during the evidence session.
The committee said it had “consistently heard evidence of tension between land managers and Natural England”, with witnesses potentially questioned about the organisation’s approach to livestock numbers and consents for farming operations.
MPs may also examine whether Natural England has sufficient understanding of the economic and social realities facing upland communities.
Decisions over livestock numbers and farming consents can have a direct bearing on how farmers manage land, particularly where holdings fall within areas subject to environmental protections.
The committee will also consider whether farmers are able to access the support available through environmental land management schemes as agricultural funding arrangements continue to change.
Concerns around land designations will form another part of the session.
MPs will look at areas covered by protections including National Parks, National Landscapes and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
They will consider whether the current system strikes the right balance between environmental protection and the practical needs of working farms, without placing excessive burdens on farmers and land managers.
Tenant farmers and those farming common land could also come under the spotlight.
The committee has received anecdotal evidence that some tenants and farmers on common land have been displaced after landowners changed their business models.
Common grazing and tenanted holdings remain an important part of farming in many upland areas, making changes in land ownership or management potentially significant for established farming communities.
MPs will hear evidence from Baroness Julia Aglionby, executive director of the Foundation for Common Land; Adam Day, managing director of The Farmer Network; and Lisa Bennett, a farmer and member of Westmorland Agricultural Society’s management committee.
The session forms part of the EFRA Committee’s wider Land use and nature inquiry and its scrutiny of Defra and associated public bodies.
The committee is a cross-party House of Commons select committee responsible for examining Defra’s spending, policies and decision-making.
The evidence session begins at 10am on Thursday 10 September and will be broadcast on Parliamentlive.tv.