Defra has announced it will proceed with the appointment of a commissioner for the tenant farming sector in England following industry lobbying.
Defra said that the commissioner would largely be looking at dealing with complaints on a confidential basis and would report to the Farm Tenancy Forum.
The expectation is that the identity of the new commissioner will be announced in the spring of next year following an open competition.
Depending on the workload, it is envisaged that the new commissioner will work between three and five days per week.
The idea for the appointment of a commissioner came from the recommendations of the Rock Review into agricultural tenancies, conducted by Baroness Kate Rock in 2022.
That recommendation was accepted by the previous government, which announced that it would proceed with the appointment of a commissioner this year.
However, the subsequent calling of the election put that on hold. Nevertheless, the idea to appoint a commissioner did have cross-party support.
Food Security Minister Daniel Zeichner said today: “Food security is national security – and tenant farmers are essential to our country’s food production.
“That is why I am delighted to confirm that this government will appoint a commissioner to advocate for the tenant farming sector.
“I look forward to working alongside our new commissioner, tenants, landlords and the wider industry to boost Britain's food security and support nature’s recovery.”
The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) said it was 'delighted' with the announcement, especially after a 'dark week' following the autumn budget.
TFA chief executive, George Dunn said: “Following the publication of the code of conduct for landlord/tenant relationships within agriculture, it was vital that government took the extra step of appointing a commissioner to oversee that code."
Mr Dunn said he hoped the individual appointed would display similar characteristics to the current incumbent of the role in Scotland, Bob McIntosh.
“Bob McIntosh has shown what can be achieved in what has been a pretty fraught landlord/tenant environment north of the border," Mr Dunn explained.
"And with a TFA survey concluding that 30% of tenants felt bullied or harassed by their landlords and 37% by their landlords’ agents, clearly there is some very important work to do south of the border.
"The TFA looks forward to working with whoever Defra appoints to this important role to ensure we have a resilient and fair landlord tenant sector within agriculture for England."
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said it was crucial for the tenant sector that the commissioner was independent from Defra, as well as fair and balanced for landlords, agents and tenants.
It added: “The commissioner must be a well-respected neutral party with a good understanding of the agricultural world, and have the resources to properly assess any cases that reach them.”
