The CLA said the Government’s decision to move all Environmental Stewardship agreements to a yearly cycle will delay payments and cause cash flow problems for rural businesses.
CLA President William Worsley said he was "pleased" the Higher Level Stewardship budget was set to increase as it proved the Government had "recognised the importance of the environment". But he added: "The changes to Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements as a result of the EU Commission’s audit mean that many rural businesses will be affected by delays to regular ES payments of up to 9 months, which has major implications for managing cash flow."
Mr Worsley said: "It is extremely frustrating that this major change has been made to safeguard a tiny sum amounting no more than £1,000 out of the £307.2 million currently spent on agri-environment schemes each year."
In response to Defra’s decision to end revenue payments for providing countryside access, Mr Worsley said: "In the current economic climate, the removal of most of the payments for access is not entirely surprising. Clearly, the focus has to be on supporting the environment. However, it is good that one-off capital payments to support access to the countryside, including hosting farm visits for schools, will still be available, and existing agreements will be unaffected."
Other changes to Environmental Stewardship funding include a £150,000 cap per project, over a three-year period, on payments for the maintenance and restoration of Traditional Farm Buildings (TFB) under Higher Level Stewardship (HLS).
Mr Worsley said: "This cap will be a serious constraint to landowners with heritage buildings as £150,000 does not buy a lot of repair work under the very cautious conditions of HLS agreements which end up greatly inflating the costs."
The CLA recommends that farmers and land managers continue to part take in environmental schemes. Mr Worsley said: "As well as providing a useful stream of income, the schemes support the voluntary approach taken by the Campaign for the Farmed Environment. The Campaign is there to help us beat regulation but if we fail to meet its targets, any farm with cultivatable land could be asked to put up to six percent of it into Environmental Management options through cross-compliance. This means the environmental work will no longer be paid for."
