For the rural sector, this includes promises of a ban on live exports and more definitive laws around automated vehicles. It will not however see a strategy on species reintroduction as was recommended by a recent EFRA Committee report, because the government has confirmed it is not a government priority.

The list of Bills in the speech has been described as short. This may seem surprising given the amount of policy and regulatory change we still expect in the rural and environmental sphere. However, enabling Acts such as the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act and Energy Act are now on the statute book and give ministers powers allowing significant reforms and the introduction of new policies using secondary legislation. We analyse these recent Acts in this issue.

FOOD & FARMING

Feed additives are the future
Widespread use of methane-suppressing feed additives will be encouraged by Defra to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock across the UK. It expects to incentivise the uptake of proven products in England from 2025 by using tools such as its Environmental Land Management scheme and the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. The ultimate objective is to mandate the use of these products in appropriate cattle systems across England as soon as possible but no later than 2030. The governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all confirmed they are monitoring or progressing the development and regulation of feed additives but have not set out a trajectory for adoption like England.

To achieve widespread uptake, awareness of the products and confidence in their efficacy will need to improve. A call for evidence found 40% of farmers hadn’t used any type of feed additives in their on-farm feeding regime. 79% were aware of methane-suppressing feed products, though the awareness of specific products varied. For example, 77% of farmers were aware of seaweeds but less than 40% knew of plant secondary metabolites such as essential oils and tannins. The perception of the feed products is generally mixed for different reasons. Those with a positive perception frequently cited the climate benefits of reducing methane emissions. Those with a negative view cited the necessity of these products and the need to address livestock GHG emissions, as well as their cost, naturalness and potential impact of these products on animal welfare. More neutral responses called for additional research into the efficacy of the products.

New environment secretary appointed
Thérèse Coffey has resigned from her post as secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Prime minister Rishi Sunak thanked her for being a consistent champion of better rural broadband and for her work to support the rural economy and protect UK food production.

Steve Barclay MP has been appointed in her place. He was previously secretary of state for health and social care, a role in which he also succeeded Thérèse Coffey. Before that he was Downing Street chief of staff for Boris Johnson. The reshuffle will also lead to a new housing minister as the prime minister has asked housing minister Rachel Maclean to step down. Her replacement will be the 16th MP to hold the role since 2010.

NFU Scotland autumn conference
Speaking at the NFU Scotland Autumn conference, Scottish rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon set out further details of the Tier 1 (base income support) and Tier 2 (enhanced income support) payments that will replace the Basic Payment Scheme in 2025. Ms Gougeon pledged most of the funding to Tier 1 and 2 and that, despite the funding settlement from Westminster still being unknown, there would be no 'cliff edge' between the current system and its successor. She restated that future Tier 1 claimants will 'have to do more for their money' and promised full funding details for Tier 1 and Tier 2 by February 2024. See this briefing note for further details on the tier structure.

Antibiotic sales fall again
Sales of antibiotics for use in food-producing animals fell by 9% last year and have reduced by 59% since 2014. Sales of Highest Priority Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) have fallen by 82% compared to 2014 and account for less than 0.5% of total sales. Tetracyclines remain the antibiotic class with the highest sales (32%), followed by penicillins (28%). The pig sector still utilises the greatest tonnage of antibiotics but has cut usage by 74% since 2015 and cut usage of HP-CIAs by 99% in the same period. Broiler chicken production is the next-largest consumer and has achieved similar results (71% reduction since 2014) but there was a marginal increase in usage between 2021 and 2022. Crucially, the proportion of bacteria samples showing full sensitivity to the panel of antibiotics tested has continued to increase, indicating the UK’s national action plan is successfully reducing antibiotic resistance. However, there were very high levels of resistance to ciprofloxacin in Campylobacter from poultry.

POLICY

What the King’s Speech means for rural Britain
King Charles has delivered his first speech to Parliament as a reigning monarch. It marks the start of a new parliamentary year and sets out the government's agenda for 2023 and 2024. There were only a few matters of direct interest to rural businesses:

• Reduced tariffs on cheese and butter exports to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico under the Trade Bill

• Permanently banning the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening

• An Automated Vehicles Bill which will regulate self-driving vehicles, including agricultural vehicles

• Further reform of leasehold tenure via a Leasehold and Freehold Bill

• The Renters (Reform) Bill has been carried over to the new parliamentary session.

For further details of these proposed Bills and our thoughts on what is missing see our briefing note.

No English right-to-roam from Labour
Labour will not pursue a Scottish-style right-to-roam policy if elected. Despite the change of heart, the party still intends to find ways to increase access to land in England, though not to the extent where access is assumed. At present 8% of England can be roamed freely as the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides a right to walk on open country (mountain, moor, heath and downland) and registered common land.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

Species reintroduction is not a priority
The government has responded to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s (EFRA) recent inquiry into species reintroductions in the UK, stating that the topic is not a government priority. Species reintroduction has become controversial because of rewilding initiatives focussing on megafauna and landscape architects like beavers. EFRA had made a series of recommendations to the government which included publishing a long-term species reintroduction strategy with priority species and targets to inform the work of the existing England Species Reintroduction Taskforce. In a recent blog post, the taskforce noted that much of its work focussed on less controversial species such as Chequered Skipper butterflies and Lady’s Slipper Orchids. The government rejected EFRA’s recommendations, explaining that it wants to focus on achieving its ambitious targets for biodiversity through its existing plans for habitat restoration and connectivity instead.

Target tree aftercare
Area-based maintenance payments under the England Woodland Creation Offer and Countryside Stewardship schemes will be available for longer. The annual maintenance payment rate was increased to £350 per hectare in January 2023 and it will now be paid for 15 years rather than 10. The extension is intended to help ensure that woodlands are established successfully. In addition, the capital payment window has been extended to allow two full planting seasons for woodland establishment. The announcements come as industry leaders criticised the government’s focus on tree planting over tree establishment at the recent Royal Horticultural Society conference. Scientists have warned the government’s ambitious targets for tree coverage in England, which were increased in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, will not be achieved without better incentives to protect saplings after planting.

Legal action over microplastics in sewage
The Environment Agency (EA) and the secretary of state are facing legal action for failing to legislate on sewage sludge. Water companies are permitted to sell sludge, made up of processed sewage solids and surface water run-off, to farmers to spread on agricultural land as a fertiliser. This use is regulated by the EA. In 2020, the EA published a strategy for safe and sustainable sludge after a 2017 report discovered it can contain dangerous levels of persistent organic pollutants also known as “forever chemicals”. The strategy promised regulations by mid-2023. An updated strategy, released after the deadline in August 2023, provides no timescale for action. A new campaign group, Fighting Dirty, argues the EA has acted unlawfully by not acting on a problem that it knows presents a risk to human health.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

Levelling up powers created
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill has been the source of much debate during its passage through Parliament over the last 18 months. The Bill was finally given Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. As the name suggests the Act has a broad reach impacting devolution, council tax, compulsory purchase reform, short-term rental properties, the historic environment, protected landscapes and extensive and complex planning reform in England. Much of the Act is enabling legislation for later regulations that will contain important details influencing the institution of government centrally, nationally and locally. Further analysis will be necessary as the full scope of the Act becomes clear. What we can tell so far is:

• The Act seeks to speed up and empower devolution in England, but in setting national targets for levelling up it cuts across existing devolved powers

• Planning feels more enabling, with new mechanisms to invest in green and grey infrastructure and a new emphasis on enhancing heritage assets as well as preserving them

• Environmental targets and nature-based solutions are now embedded in the planning and development system.

For a full summary and analysis see our briefing note on the Act.

Scotland: rent cap not unlawful
The Court of Session has ruled against a judicial review of legislation that introduced the residential rent and eviction measures. A coalition of organisations raised the legal action, arguing the rent cap and eviction bans introduced in September 2022 were unlawful. Lord Harrower ruled the challenge by Lord Neil Davidson KC, acting on behalf of several organisations including the Scottish Association of Landlords, would not be upheld. Lord Harrower also rejected the argument that the legislation was introduced under the guise of an emergency and without proper consultation. The legislation will be in place until March 2024.

£2.5 million for Rural Housing Enablers
A new scheme will boost the supply of rural affordable homes by providing £2.5 million to fund Rural Housing Enablers across England. A network of independent advisors will work with communities to develop affordable housing schemes - they will help them identify the housing need, find sites and progress them through the planning process. Action with Communities in Rural England is delivering the programme for Defra.

Government response on rural mental health
The government has rejected the call for action on rural mental health made by the EFRA committee. The response recognises the importance of “rural proofing” health policy and applying a cross-governmental approach to ensuring the mental health needs of rural and other communities are reflected in government mental health policy. The government believes many of the issues raised are being tackled by existing channels which should be utilised to achieve the improvements needed. It feels that since the committee launched its enquiry in 2021 significant progress has already been made, including the Suicide Prevention Strategy published in September 2023. That strategy plans to address several key risk factors for suicide which are relevant to agricultural and veterinary workers including financial insecurity, economic adversity, loneliness and social isolation. In response, the Chair of the EFRA Committee said it recognises the measures taken by the government to support mental health but is disappointed by its rejection of measures to support the specific and identifiable mental health needs of those who live in rural areas.

BUSINESS & economy

Horticultural sector at a crossroads
Horticulture is under-prioritised, unappreciated and at a crossroads. That is the verdict of ‘Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector’, a report published by the cross-party House of Lords Horticultural Sector Committee. The report detailed a sector facing strong headwinds due to the ongoing impact of Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine as well as difficulties in attracting new talent due to being perceived as unattractive and inaccessible. The committee was particularly damning of the role of supermarkets squeezing grower returns in favour of low prices and prioritising imports over UK-grown produce.

The report calls on the government to take steps to safeguard the future of the sector and harness its potential:

• Publish a Horticulture Strategy for England to set direction for the sector and give growers confidence

• Back horticulture jobs by putting horticulture on the curriculum, producing a workforce strategy, and publishing a review of the seasonal worker visa route

• Give more support to amateur and professional growers to help them transition to sustainable practices

• Urgently conduct and publish a review of fairness in the supply chain

• Review the research and development landscape to support innovation.

Agricultural prices are a mixed picture
After the meteoric price rises of 2022, the 12 months to September 2023 saw some prices fall. According to buying group AF, electricity, fertiliser and fuel prices all fell during that period, by 58%, 49% and 15% respectively. Other costs continued to increase with rent, property and interest costs responsible for the largest contribution to inflation at 12%, followed by crop protection at 10%. Defra stats show potatoes made the greatest upward contribution to output prices, both in the past month (51.7%) and over the past year (86.6%). Poultry was the next largest upward contributor at 23.1% over 12 months. Fresh fruit prices increased by 42.8% over the past 12 months but decreased by 22.4% in the past month.

This mixed picture sees certain sectors fare better than others. According to AF, agricultural inflation for dairy businesses. decreased by 9% whereas sugar beet saw an increase of 7%. This is not the full story, however. When analysed alongside the Retail Price Index, the dairy sector saw cost decreases outstripped by output prices, with milk prices falling from 52p/litre this time last year to 37p/litre or lower. The cost of granulated sugar increased by 51%.

British Sugar makes contract offer
In an attempt to unlock the 2024 contract impasse for sugar beet growers, British Sugar has taken the unusual step of issuing an offer directly to its 2,300 growers, circumventing the NFU Sugar Board and the standard negotiation process. Defra responded to this move by asking monopoly processor British Sugar to get back to the negotiating table with the NFU, noting the government is there as a last resort arbitrator if a price cannot be agreed. Growers have been unimpressed by British Sugar's offer of £38 per tonne, noting higher global prices, the increased risk that growers face from disease and weather, and the soil damage caused by growing heavy root crops for winter harvest.

Consultation on egg contracts
Defra has launched a new UK-wide consultation under its ‘Fair Dealing Powers’ in the Agriculture Act 2020 on supply arrangements in the chicken egg sector. It also wants to collect views on how the functioning of the supply chain can be improved. Egg producers tend to occupy positions of relative market weakness in the supply chain and have suffered several price shocks recently. The consultation acknowledges that power disparities between businesses and a lack of transparency in the supply chain could make some egg producers vulnerable to unfair trading practices. The consultation will help determine whether and how the regulatory powers under the Agriculture Act would be used to improve fairness in the sector. The consultation runs until 22 December 2023.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

The Energy Act becomes law
The Energy Act 2023 received Royal Assent in late October and has been branded as the biggest piece of energy legislation in the UK’s history by the government. As well as cutting £1 billion from energy bills, the government says it will unlock nearly £100 billion of private investment, contribute to achieving net zero and improve energy security. Landowners are unlikely to be troubled by the final delicensing and re-use of nuclear sites, however, measures to reduce obstacles to battery and pumped hydro storage or those affecting heat networks are of much wider interest. Our briefing note focuses on the sections in the Act with the greatest relevance to farms, estates and rural businesses, and discusses how it potentially impacts them. These include:

• Powers to alter buildings' energy efficiency regulations

• Electricity storage being defined as a distinct subset of generation to promote more adoption

• Smart meter rollout to continue

• Heat networks to be more closely regulated

• Action to encourage the rollout of multi-purpose interconnectors for offshore wind farms to reduce onshore cables.

And finally… Britain’s loneliest sheep
A ewe has been rescued after being stranded for more than two years at the foot of cliffs in the Scottish Highlands. Fiona’s plight was first noticed when a kayaker photographed her still trapped at the foot of a steep cliff, two years after a previous sighting. Declared "Britain's loneliest sheep", an online petition to rescue her attracted thousands of signatures. Despite the solitary location, Fiona was becoming overweight from gorging on grass. Following her rescue and rehoming, Fiona has been sheared, with plans afoot to sell the wool to produce souvenirs that will be sold to raise money for the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and RSABI, the Scottish arm of a farming mental health charity.