Basic Payment Facts | England 2018

In February 2018, DEFRA published its consultation paper on the future for food, farming and the environment, outlining its vision for what it deems a “Green Brexit”.

The foreword says that the Government plans to seize the once-in-a-generation opportunity that leaving the EU presents to reform agriculture, with the overarching goal being to change the way land is used, to promote “health and harmony”.

Contact our Farming Team for more detailed analysis and advice on the steps that you should be taking to prepare. In the meantime, these are some of the main points:

• Direct Payments in England will be completely phased out, by the end of an ‘agricultural transition’ period, which is of unspecified length.
• The new policy will be underpinned by payment of ‘public money for the provision of public goods’, with the principal public good being environmental protection and enhancement.
• There is a strong message that land managers will be expected to help themselves, through training, benchmarking and risk management, so the industry is more self-reliant in the long-term.
• There will be a review of the inspection regime, including crosscompliance, but no lowering of British animal and plant health standards.
• The Government continues to view technology and better use of data as a way of overcoming some of the challenges currently facing the sector, and improving agricultural productivity.

Download your copy

Download our Basic Payments Leaflet, an overview of the 2018 Basic Payment Scheme, here.

Request a printed copy

If you’d like a printed copy, please email hayley.clifton@struttandparker.com.

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