NAO report on Defra’s Farming and Countryside Programme: comment

Commenting on the National Audit Office (NAO) report [1] into the value for money provided by Defra’s Farming and Countryside Programme Tom Lancaster, land food and farming analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: “We’ve all seen the impact climate change is now having on farmers and UK food production, so investing now to build resilience through more sustainable farming measures is key to our future food security. Defra has kept these reforms broadly on track, and delivered a step change in uptake and engagement this year.

“The NAO is clear though that much more needs to be done now to improve alignment with environmental outcomes. As they say, this will start with a better plan on how the more ambitious higher tier schemes can be funded, given how critical these are to climate and wider nature outcomes. The report is clear that Defra has prioritised uptake over value for money. This can only be sustained if there is now a plan for how to improve environmental performance, given the pressing nature of many environmental targets.”

One of the principal recommendations in the report is to ensure that the business case for Phase 3 of the Farming and Countryside Programme includes “comprehensive and realistic assessment of the funding needed to meet all the Programme’s objectives”. This comes on the same day a new report [2] was published by the RSPB, National Trust and Wildlife Trusts estimating the cost of meeting climate and wider environmental objectives as between £4.7 billion and £6 billion per year in the UK. This would be a significant increase on the current £3.6 billion farming budget.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-cont...

2. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org...

For more information or for interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: +44 (0)7894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net