In the report stage debate on the Agriculture Bill, the House of Lords has backed protection of high food standards and thorough scrutiny of the agricultural implications of proposed trade deals. Next the Bill will return to the House of Commons so that MPs can consider the Lord’s amendments. With the government holding a strong majority, they may be overturned. The government’s plans for future agricultural policy remain “broad brush”, so to help develop the detail a group of industry bodies has put forward proposals for a sustainable food and farming scheme.

FOOD & FARMING

The industry’s vision of sustainable farming
The NFU and a group of supporting organisations including the Sustainable Food Trust, CLA and TFA have published a white paper on their vision for a sustainable food and farming scheme (SFFS). The group was concerned by the government’s “lacklustre” proposals for the upcoming Environmental Land Management scheme and joined forces in an attempt to create something “fit for purpose”. They say their plans would deliver a number of key outcomes including better soil quality, improved habitat creation, lower emissions and better animal welfare. The points-based scheme would also seek to boost management skills with farmers being rewarded for setting targets, measuring performance and sharing best practice with the ultimate aim of improving productivity. A synergy multiplier has been built into the points system to encourage farmers to adopt complementary actions. They say the SFFS would be voluntary and offer a variety of measures that farmers could pick from in line with their own individual skills, ambitions and strategy. Rohit Kaushish, chief economic adviser at the NFU, said “the core of the scheme is based around optimising resource use efficiency.”

Savills webinar: What does 2021 have in store for farms and estates?
The opportunity to question our rural experts about what 2021 has in store for the rural sector is available at 2:00pm on 14 October. Join our autumn rural webinar to hear our thoughts on what the challenges and opportunities relating to climate change, Brexit and the new regulatory framework are for farms and estates. Click here to register for the webinar.

Higher Level Stewardship agreement extension
Land managers will be able to extend Higher Level Stewardship agreements which are due to expire in 2021. If the agreement has been extended in either 2019 or 2020, it could be extended for a further year. Eligibility for an extension will be based on the criteria which were first used in 2019. If the agreement started in 2011 and is due to expire in 2021, Natural England will assess if it is suitable to be extended. Each year thereafter, extensions to all holders of expiring agreements will be decided based upon value for money. By taking this approach the government aims to maintain environmental outcomes that have been invested in over the past decade and secure ongoing payments for eligible farmers. If you would like to discuss your options please contact Stuart Nicholls.

England: Slurry store cover deadline extended
The deadline by which permitted pig and poultry farms are required to cover their slurry stores which contain less than 1% dry matter has been extended from 21 February 2021 to 21 August 2022. To comply farms can either cover their stores or install a slurry acidification system. The rules do not apply to dirty water stores. Click here for further guidance.

Covid-19

New support for jobs and the self employed
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has launched his Covid-19 winter economy plan and said that the primary goal of economic policy remains unchanged - to support people’s jobs. The new Job Support Scheme will support viable jobs rather than holding people within jobs that only exist within the furlough scheme. It will open on 1 November and run for six months. To be eligible employees must work a minimum of one third of their hours (this threshold will be reviewed in three months’ time). For the remaining hours not worked, the government and employer will pay a third of these hours each (and for the final third the employee will not be paid). The level of grant will be calculated based on the employee’s usual salary and capped at £697.92 per month. This means that all employees on the scheme will receive at least 77% of their pay, unless they are affected by the cap. All employers will be allowed to apply, even if they did not use the furlough scheme, though larger employers will need to demonstrate that their business has been adversely affected by Covid-19.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is being extended to support viable businesses that are currently eligible for SEISS and are facing reduced demand over the winter months due to Covid-19. An initial lump sum will cover three months’ worth of profits for the period from November to the end of January next year. This is worth 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875. An additional second grant, which may be adjusted to respond to changing circumstances, will be available for self-employed individuals to cover the period from February 2021 to the end of April.

The plan also includes a number of tax cuts and deferrals:

• VAT cut from 20% to 5% for the tourism and hospitality sectors has been extended to the end of March.

• Business that deferred their VAT bills until March 2021 will be given the option of paying the balance due as 11 smaller interest-free payments during the 2021-22 financial year.

• Self-assessment taxpayers are offered a separate 12-month extension from HMRC, meaning payments deferred from July 2020, and those due in January 2021, will now not need to be paid until January 2022.

A new Pay as You Grow flexible repayment system is being created for Bounce Back Loans which have been taken out. Their term will be extended from six to ten years and they gain more flexible repayment terms. Interest-only periods of up to six months and payment holidays will be available. The government also intends to give Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders the ability to extend the length of loans from a maximum of six years to ten years if it will help businesses to repay the loan.

Test case may ‘leapfrog’ to Supreme Court
An appeal in the Covid-19 related business interruption insurance test case could be “leapfrogged” to the Supreme Court. While negotiations between the parties continue, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and seven insurers have obtained “leapfrog” certificates from the High Court for an appeal to the Supreme Court. The parties may now seek permission to appeal from the Supreme Court itself. In a statement, the FCA said: “The FCA’s intention has, throughout the process, been to achieve clarity on affected BI policies at speed. We believe that clarity was provided in the initial judgment handed down on 15 September.” That judgement found that most, but not all, of the disease clauses in the sample provide cover against business interruption.

POLICY

Peers back protection of high food standards
An amendment to the Agriculture Bill which requires food imports to the UK to meet or exceed domestic standards has been voted through the House of Lords. Amendment 93 on food standards was tabled by Labour, Liberal Democrat and Cross Bench peers, the government was defeated by 95 votes. This amendment is backed up by amendment 101 which was also agreed and requires the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) to make recommendations to the Secretary of State to promote, maintain and safeguard current standards of food production through international trade policy, including standards related to food safety, the environment and animal welfare. It also requires the TAC to produce a report on any proposed international trade agreement and for parliament to consider its recommendations.

The Agriculture Bill has now completed its Report and Third Reading stages in the House of Lords and will return to the Commons for consideration of the Lord’s amendments. Baroness Jones of Whitchurch described the task of scrutinising the Bill as "mammoth" and said that the Lords had done a good job of tidying up the Bill. Most of the amendments made were in the name of the Minister, Lord Gardiner of Kimble meaning that they have the government’s support. These include increasing the frequency with which the government must report on food security from every five years to every three years. Members of the house succeeded in adding several other clauses to the Bill, they include:

• A requirement to lay a National Food Strategy before parliament within 12 months of the Bill passing

• A requirement to protect members of the public from pesticide applications near buildings and spaces used by residents and members of the public

• A requirement to introduce an interim target and strategy for 2030 which would provide for agriculture and associated land use to reduce and sequester climate change emissions in a manner consistent with the UK meeting its 2050 net zero target. This does not explicitly say that agriculture itself must achieve net zero by 2050.

Exports of UK beef to the US resume
UK beef has now been exported to the US for the first time in over 20 years. Foyle Food Group dispatched the first shipment from Northern Ireland on 30 September. Further shipments are expected to follow from across the UK soon after. The government estimates that beef exports to the US will be worth £66 million over the next five years, and securing a free trade deal will create further export opportunities for British agriculture. AHDB International Market Development Director Dr Phil Hadley said “the US represents an important potential market for our red meat exports”.

Recruiting from outside the UK
From 1 January 2021, freedom of movement between the UK and EU will end. Anyone recruited from outside the UK for the Skilled Worker route will need to apply for permission and demonstrate:

• They have a job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor

• They speak English at the required level

• The job offer is at the required skill level of RQF3 or above

• They’ll be paid at least £25,600 or the ‘going rate’ for the job offer, whichever is higher.

If the job will pay less, the applicant may still apply by ‘trading’ points on specific characteristics against their salary, such as if they have a PhD relevant to the job. Businesses will need a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK. They will also still need to check if new employees have a right to work. Government guidance is available here.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

Protecting 30% of the country by 2030
Boris Johnson has promised to protect 30% of the UK’s land by 2030. In England 26% of land is currently protected by a designation, so an extra 400,000 hectares will needed. While the environment is a devolved matter, the government has said it will work with the devolved administrations and landowners to achieve the goal. Mr Johnson also joined a global pledge from 65 leaders to reverse losses in the natural world by the same date. The Leaders Pledge for Nature includes commitments to prioritise a green recovery, deliver biodiversity targets and increase financing for nature. He said countries must turn “words into action” and “can't afford dither and delay because biodiversity loss is happening today, it is happening at a frightening rate.” He added “extinction is forever - so our action must be immediate”.

In response the Wildlife Trusts has launched a 30 by 30 appeal. The goal is to raise £30 million by 2030 to kick-start the recovery of nature across 30% of land and sea by 2030. The Wildlife Trusts recently called on the government to introduce a new landscape designation for England called ‘Wildbelt’. This would be for the purpose of putting land into nature’s recovery, such as through the creation of wildlife corridors, natural regeneration of woodland, restoration of wetlands, and rewilding. It proposes that any public money spent on nature’s recovery would then be directed towards the Wildbelt.

UK's first hydrogen power plants
A Bilsthorpe family farm has been given the green light to pioneer one of the UK's first hydrogen power production plants. A 1.25 megawatt electrolyser will be used to generate hydrogen by splitting water. It will be powered by the farm’s existing solar array and wind turbine. Producing hydrogen from sustainable and renewable sources in this way can help the UK shift towards carbon neutral energy. When the hydrogen is turned back into electricity through a fuel cell, only water vapour and warm air are emitted. While using renewable energy to produce another energy source may appear to be wasteful and inefficient, the key benefit is that hydrogen can be stored for use when energy demand is higher. While it did not have a specific planning policy for hydrogen energy schemes, the local council expressed full support and took less than nine weeks to grant approval.

Early next year the UK government will publish its plan to create a “world-leading” hydrogen market. The European Union has put hydrogen at the heart of its green recovery plan, whilst the French government has earmarked €7 billion to support the fuel and Germany has announced a €9 billion plan. Outside of Europe, Japan and Australia are pushing the fuel as a key part of their future energy mix. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the plan would set out a pathway for investment in clean fuels such as hydrogen.

Principles of sustainable game management
The GWCT has published the principles of sustainable game management which promote best practice and aim to deliver a net gain for biodiversity. They have been developed over the past year through discussion at 19 shoot briefing meetings and an online consultation which gathered over 340 responses and demonstrated that over 90% support for the principles. The principles include biodiversity ambitions, release timing, legal predator control and wildlife and habitat management.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

Greener homes – The rural challenge increases
The government has announced plans for as many private rented sector homes as possible to be upgraded to EPC band C by 2030. To let a home in England it currently needs to be EPC band E or better. Under the government’s plans new lettings would need to be EPC band C by 1 April 2025 and all tenancies would need to comply by 1 April 2028. Upgrading traditional rural properties to meet these requirements will be particularly challenging as their construction often includes solid walls, solid fuel heating and sash windows and cannot be upgraded easily. There is a cap on the expenditure which landlords are required to make, but it is proposed this will increase from the current £3,500 limit to £10,000. A consultation on the proposals is open until 30 December 2020.

Commercial tenants get extra protection
Measures to protect businesses from insolvency will be extended until 31 December. They prevent the use of Statutory Demands and Winding Up Petitions when the unpaid debt is due to Covid-19. Commercial tenants are already protected from lease forfeiture and the use of Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery until the end of the year.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

And finally…
National Inclusion Week
The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) has started an open-source list to help find diverse voices contributing to conversations around the future of food and farming to coincide with National Inclusion Week. The idea was sparked following social media criticism of an all white, all male panel for a webinar on the future of farming. The FFCC say the document is open access “in the hope that anyone organising events or conversations about these issues can use it and add to it”. The list began with women’s voices but the FFCC is encouraging contributors to “expand this to a more diverse list in every sense”. At the time of writing, the list has already exceeded its goal of 100 individuals and continues to grow.

Singing to a different song
With lockdown came quieter streets, and with quieter streets, many claimed they heard birdsong more clearly than ever before. It turns out birds also noticed the quieter streets and sung a different song. To many the song might have seemed louder, yet sparrows actually sang more quietly. But these sweeter, softer songs travelled further given the lack of background noise. The sparrows of the San Francisco Bay area have been recorded since the 1970s, creating a rare historical record of song behaviour. It's well known that birds living in cities have had to adjust their songs in recent decades, much like people having to talk louder at a crowded party. This is known scientifically as the Lombard, or cocktail party, effect.

The new songs of five birds have not been so well received however. The African grey parrots at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in Friskney started ruffling a few feathers amongst visitors with their choice language. Park chief executive Steve Nichols said the parrots "swear to trigger reaction or a response". When people looked shocked or laugh, they are only encouraged to do it more. They have now been moved into different colonies although there is a concern that they could teach other birds the foul language and the park could end up with a bigger problem.