Looking longer term many have proposed the idea of a green recovery, to accelerate the journey we were already on towards net zero by 2050 and leveraging agricultural support focused on environmental public goods. Public-private partnerships in both England and Scotland have recently announced plans to encourage sustainable private sector investment in our natural environment. Crucially they aim to develop financial instruments which deliver an economic return for investors, which could be key for a successful green recovery. In Scotland they believe their plan could unlock £1 billion for nature conservation.

FOOD & FARMING

Save the Scottish strawberry
The Prince of Wales has added his support to the government’s Pick For Britain campaign. The campaign hopes to bring potential workers and employers together to ensure British fruit and veg is not lost in the fields. Students and furloughed workers in particular have been encouraged to apply. The government has confirmed that those who have been furloughed but are contractually permitted to work for another employer can take on the work while continuing to receive 80% of their salary from the government. Growers are expected to ensure the safety and protection of those employed during the pandemic. The campaign is expected to continue until autumn. Scotland Secretary Alister Jack said "I urge jobseekers to sign up for this crucial work" and added "together, the UK government, industry and workers will save the Scottish strawberry and our other delicious produce".

The UK’s ability to source seasonal workers from Eastern Europe may be hampered further over the coming months. According to the Environment Secretary George Eustice, the government estimates that only about a third of the usual workforce are already here. As EU countries ease lockdowns faster and become increasingly desirable for workers, the UK could lose out. NFU horticulture and potatoes board chair Ali Capper said “If it is easier to get to somewhere like Germany and they feel they can travel immediately then they will do that”. Germany is also providing a draw through tax incentives. Ms Capper did say that, in the long term, the UK could continue to attract workers due to “an excellent reputation in terms of good rates of pay, accommodation standards and worker welfare”.

Ambitious EU food and biodiversity strategies
The EU has published its flagship food policy which aims to make its food system a global standard for sustainability. Under the Farm to Fork strategy, a 50% reduction in the use and risk of pesticides, a 20% reduction in fertiliser use and a 50% reduction in agricultural antibiotic use are targeted by 2030. Overall the strategy has 27 actions and forms part of the European Green Deal.

The European Commission has also published its EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 which calls for three billion trees to be planted by 2030 and the protection of the continent's last primeval forests. Organic farming will be dramatically expanded from 8% of agricultural land today to 25% in a decade, with fines issued to those who miss targets to restore nature. It is also calling for 30% of Europe’s land and seas to become a protected area by 2030, up from 26% of land and 11% of seas today.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 has already been praised for its ambition but criticised for a lack of guidance on implementation and not addressing why previous strategies have failed. Europe has set ambitious targets in the past and fallen short; a voluntary target to restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020 will not be met. Proponents of the strategy countered by saying the strength of the new strategy lies in the ambitious targets now being coupled with the promise of new laws. Ultimately, the success or failure will hinge upon implementation.

Oxford Farming Conference Bitesize launches
The Oxford Farming Conference is running a series of one-hour webinars on the first Thursday of every month from June to December 2020, leading up to the 2021 virtual conference. Each webinar will focus on a conference title from the last seven decades, questions which remain just as relevant today. The “Business Organisation of Farming” will launch the series, a conference theme that was first presented in the 1930’s. It will start at 12pm on 4 June and will be chaired by OFC Director and Head of Rural Research at Savills, Emily Norton. You can register for the series here.

UK’s overseas land footprint grows
The UK uses a land area overseas nearly as big as the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to satisfy our annual demand for products such as palm oil, timber, soy and cocoa. The area of land required to supply the UK’s consumption of nine commodities has grown by 15% since the WWF and RSPB last calculated it in 2017. Nearly a third of the UK’s total overseas land footprint is linked to countries assessed to be at high or very high risk of deforestation, destruction of other natural ecosystems and human rights abuses.

Covid-19

Income support to end on October 31st
The government has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) until the end of October but is making a number of changes. To help businesses build their activity back up, from 1 July it will be possible for an employee to be brought back to work from furlough part-time, whilst claiming a CJRS grant for the remainder of their hours. The scheme will close to new entrants from 30 June. From this point onwards, employers will only be able to furlough employees that they have previously furloughed for a full three week period prior to 30 June. In effect this means the final date by which an employer can furlough an employee for the first time is 10 June. From August the government will begin to phase out the scheme, so the level of grant that the CJRS provides for furloughed hours will begin to reduce. Employers will take on full responsibly for employers’ National Insurance and pension contributions from 1 August. In September the CJRS grant paid by the government will reduce to 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50. Employers will be required to pay 10% of wages to make up 80% total, up to a cap of £2,500 overall. In October the government’s contribution will drop to 60% with the employer obliged to pay 20% up to a cap of £2,500 overall.

Support for the self-employed has also been extended and a second round of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will open in August. Those eligible will be able to claim a final grant for three months support which is capped at £6,570. In common with the CJRS the level of support has reduced: it will now be based on 70% of their average monthly trading profits compared to 80% in the first round. Overall the self-employed will have been offered support for six months, compared to up to up to eight months support offered by the CJRS.

To support small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs which are not covered by other schemes, a Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is now available. Applications are made to Local Authorities and they have a large degree of autonomy to tailor the grants based on the economic challenges in their area. The government asked them to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief, and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates. Grants of £25,000, £10,000 or any amount under £10,000 are available.

Isolation measures for UK arrivals
Those entering the UK from 8 June will be required to self-isolate in their accommodation for 14 days, however there is an exemption available to help with the recruitment of seasonal agricultural workers. Where a worker has an offer of employment for seasonal work to carry out specific activities in edible horticulture on a named farm, they must isolate on the farm but can start work immediately and may mix with fellow workers.

Gardens can re-open in England
The government’s guidance on “accessing green spaces safely” now allows properties such as estates and historic houses to re-open their gardens provided hygiene and social distancing rules are followed. Entrance fees can be charged but amenities such as cafes must remain closed at this stage.

Heritage sector emergency grants awarded
Historic England has announced that its Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund has awarded a total of £1.8 million to 70 projects to help tackle the impact of Coronavirus on the heritage sector. They include funding to develop a social distancing toolkit for archaeological fieldwork and support for a self-employed stonemason.

RPA inspections resume
The Rural Payments Agency is resuming on-farm visits and site inspections in England. A phased return will see Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship inspections prioritised first.

POLICY

Labour plans for a green rescue
Economic damage caused by Covid-19 and the essential need to tackle climate change will demand ambition equivalent to that of Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government, according to Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband. He said Labour’s green recovery will create a "zero-carbon army of young people" as part of the “most ambitious recovery plan in the world”. Central to that is finding young people "fulfilling, decently paid work which is going to make a contribution to this absolutely vital cause". He added “the old argument that you can have economic success or environmental care is just completely wrong”. Mr Miliband believes the population, already living through a period of change, would welcome the approach just as they are welcoming better air quality as a result of the lockdown. A call for evidence has opened to inform Labour’s Green Industrial Revolution programme.

Protecting food standards: Focus moves to the Trade Bill
As the Agriculture Bill moves through the House of Lords, farmers, environmentalists and consumer groups are calling for food standards to be protected. A coalition of organisations, led by the National Farmers Union, failed to secure amendments in the Commons, being told it was a domestic Bill and not about trade (for more information see our Briefing Note). The NFU is now also calling for the government’s commitment to maintain standards to be recorded in the Trade Bill and for a Trade, Food and Farming Standards Commission to be formed to promote free trade while holding all food imports to the UK’s high food standards.

The Scottish government and parliament are also seeking a formal role in future UK trade deals. Constitution Secretary Michael Russell said that the Trade Bill is "disappointingly limited in scope", makes "no reference to Parliamentary scrutiny" and "fails to establish a formal way of ensuring the interests of the devolved administrations are properly taken into account".

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

Scotland: A route map to unlock £1 billion for nature conservation
A route map towards unlocking £1 billion of new investment for nature conservation in Scotland has been published by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Crucially, the route map also includes models which aim to stimulate investment in Scotland’s natural capital by delivering a financial return to investors. These include a Natural Capital Pioneer Fund, Nature-Based Carbon Payments and a first-of-its-kind Nature-Climate Bond. Local Authorities would issue the bonds direct to the public via a crowdfunding platform. The return to investors would come from a combination of long-term savings made by some of the interventions and income generated by others. In England Defra has announced a collaboration with the Environment Agency (EA), Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (EFF) and Triodos Bank UK,  to encourage sustainable private sector investment in our natural environment by developing financial instruments for four projects.

Clean Growth Fund launched
The government is joint-funding a £40 million venture capital fund to fuel the development of low-carbon technology. £20 million of government investment from the BEIS Energy Innovation Programme will be matched by charity fund managers CCLA. The fund has the potential to reach £100 million by autumn 2021 with additional private sector investments. It will be made accessible to UK-based companies engaged with green technology across the power, transport, waste and building energy efficiency sectors. The fund will target early stage, seed or Series A rounds where businesses present a prototype product or service demonstrating a clear contribution to reducing greenhouse gases together with compelling evidence of market demand.

Small scale solar costs fall
The average cost of small scale solar installations (0-4KW) is at an all-time low; 25% lower than in 2013/14. Despite this, the number of installations in 2019/20 was only a quarter of that installed in 2015/16 when activity peaked due to changes to Feed in Tariff (FIT) rates and the closure of the Renewables Obligation to new entrants. Installations also spiked in 2018/19 due to similar reasons, because FITs closed to new applicants in March 2019. Excluding the anomalies created by policy changes, we see that installations in 2019/20 were higher than in 2016/17 and 2017/18. For further information please contact Henry Grant.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

Energy efficiency of existing homes
The Environmental Audit Committee has launched an inquiry into the energy efficiency of existing homes as part of its work exploring how to meet net zero by 2050. It is seeking evidence on matters such as:

• Are the government’s targets enough to reach net zero emissions by 2050? Should they be legislated for?

• How effective is the EPC rating at measuring energy efficiency?

• Is the £5 million Green Home Finance Innovation Fund enough to stimulate the market?

• How should the Home Upgrade Grant Scheme be delivered to help the fuel poor?

Government must maximise public interest in home improvements to green the UK housing stock, says the RICS. In a new policy paper it calls for a step-change in policy to incentivise positive consumer behaviours and decarbonise existing UK housing stock. Recommendations include:

• A uniform VAT rate of 5% for improvements enhancing energy efficiency

• A review of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) at the point of sale to bring all dwellings to an EPC rating of C by 2035

• Government support for the PropTech sector to fully utilise property-based data

• Improving public awareness of standards and professional competency-based advice

• Creating long term policy and regulatory energy efficiency roadmaps.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

Hungry bees make plants flower
Researchers believe bumblebees will bite the leaves of flowerless plants when pollen is in short supply. The damage caused by only a few seconds of biting can accelerate the production of flowers, providing bees with new food sources. In some cases, plants may bloom up to 30 days earlier. Attempts to mimic this nibbling with forceps and razors have failed to achieve the same effect, suggesting the bee bites have a unique characteristic that stimulates the flowers.

And finally…
Bull’s bid to scratch an itch
When a four-year-old bull in Scotland decided to have a scratch, he probably did not reckon on having a near-death experience. While using an electricity pole as a scratching post, Ron, a limousine bull, dislodged a transformer and sent power cables tumbling, narrowly escaping an 11,000 volt shock. As a result, around 800 homes in three nearby South Lanarkshire villages were left without power. The engineers who arrived to fit a new box were also surprised by the damage Ron had caused. Owner Hazel Laughton said “They said they have seen bulls scratch poles and maybe crack them but they have never had a bull knock the box off the pole like he has.” Ron has now been left without his scratch pole which has been fenced off.