Row erupts over ‘broken’ farm funding pledge

A bitter row has erupted over levels of funding for farmers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 2021-22, following chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review announcement on Wednesday (25 November).

Welsh farm leaders said Treasury documents published as part of the review showed that budgets were being slashed – rather than maintained at current levels, as promised by the Conservative government.

The documents state that farmers and land managers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive £1.1bn in 2021-22. In addition, Scotland and Wales will receive a further combined £28m in 2021-22 – as recommended by the 2019 fairer funding Bew Review.

See also: Devolved regions attack Treasury plans to cut farm support

A breakdown of the £1.1bn total suggests Scotland will receive £570m, Northern Ireland £315m, and Wales £240m.

But the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said the £240m figure represented a cut of some 28% from an expected £337m.

FUW president Glyn Roberts said this was in direct contradiction to the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto commitment and amounted to “a complete betrayal of the farmers who have kept producing food and feeding the nation throughout the coronavirus pandemic”.

‘Woefully short’

Lesley Griffiths, Welsh government rural affairs secretary, also branded the chancellor’s announcement as “a betrayal of rural Wales”.

“The UK government committed in its manifesto to fully replace the funding that Wales previously received from the EU to support farming. It’s clear this announcement falls woefully short of that promise and disproportionately impacts on Wales. 

“We are more than twice as badly affected as any other administration, and consequently our rural communities will be significantly disadvantaged. Wales is faced with 35% less funding than anticipated next year.”

‘Scaremongering’ 

But the government insists it is meeting all its commitments. “We have not broken any promises,” said a Treasury spokesperson.

According to former Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh government was guilty of scaremongering and the FUW was having the “wool pulled over its eyes”.

He explained that the EU is continuing to put some £97m into schemes for Welsh agriculture, so the £240 UK funding brought the total back up to the full £337m.

A letter from Defra secretary George Eustice to the three agriculture ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland sent on Tuesday (24 November) makes the same point.

“The manifesto commitment is being achieved through a combination of Exchequer funding and EU funding that will continue to be accessed for CAP Pillar 2 under the terms of the withdrawal Aagreement until those funds are exhausted,” he wrote.

Calls for clarity

Earlier, industry leaders called for clarity on post-Brexit funding plans after farm ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland suggested Treasury spending proposals appeared to cut more than £400m from devolved agriculture budgets.

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said agriculture and rural development needed vital investment to enable farming and crofting to deliver on the increased expectations being placed on the sector.

“Greater volatility for market returns is likely and input costs will be unpredictable, so the reliance on promised farm support will increase,” he said.

See more