Helen criticises ‘Insane situation’ with farming payments

Helen Morgan MP has asked the Secretary of State for DEFRA to intervene in an ‘insane situation’ impacting one of the farmers in her constituency over the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

The MP detailed how a farmer paid up-front for a project to build a stone track to prevent soil washing onto the road as part of the scheme, but because the BACS transfer left his account three days later, DEFRA are now demanding their money back.

This means that the farmer has been left to either foot the bill entirely or turn the track up and sell the stone.

Many farmers have raised concerns with the Sustainable Farming Incentive and the often perverse incentives it offers. Helen Morgan has consistently argued for a strategy rooted in food production which works for farmers, and to keep payments at an equal level to where they were before the old scheme was phased out.

The North Shropshire MP made a plea to the DEFRA Secretary to stop penalising farmers for timing differences and to make the new environmental scheme workable.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “One of the concerns that farmers have raised with the Sustainable Farming Incentive is the fact that they have to pay money up front before they receive compensation or reclaim that money from the Government.

“I’ve got a farmer who installed a stone track to prevent soil washing onto the road. He committed to the payment before he received that money from DEFRA, but because it left his account three days later he has now got to pay his DEFRA money back.

“It is an insane situation, he can’t afford it and is going to have to take the track up and sell the stone.

“Can the Secretary of State help me with this case so we can get those environmental protection schemes in place and don’t penalise people for timing differences.

Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said, “I agree with her on the wider point. I have been very clear with the Rural Payments Agency that we need a more trusting relationship in terms of payments and to accelerate those payments so that they are paid more quickly. To be fair to the RPA, one of their constraints are often National Audit Office rules around the checks they need and the error rate.

“We are working with them to shift that relationship to one built more on trust where payments go out in a more expedited fashion.”