England, Scotland, Wales: Whose future rural policy is better?
Since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on January 31 2020, agricultural and environmental policy has been under the control of the devolved governments.
Phasing out the Common Agricultural Policy and creating new rural policies after 40 years of EU led legislation is no simple feat, particularly against a backdrop of environmental crises and growing interest in how and why we use rural land.
All have prioritised replacing area based payments with a greater focus on environmental outcomes.
The Agriculture Act 2020 sets the scene for England’s future rural policy and since then Defra has undertaken multiple tests, trials and pilots and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is already operational.
However, its vision is for an extended agri-environment scheme only. Both Wales and Scotland have encompassed wider policy goals.
England’s policy is the most developed, however the Welsh government’s recently released plan is admirably detailed and well thought through.
The Welsh and Scottish government have taken much more time to reveal any details about their future rural policies, and although frustrating for some farmers, this may have paid off as both have ensured that their policies join the dots between all the pressures facing rural land use today.
In comparison, England’s policy is more focused on agri-environmental measures like Environmental Land Management (ELM) with relatively little detail on food and farm productivity currently.
England’s policy was initially criticised for hardly mentioning food production. Scotland passed its own Good Food Nation Act in June 2022 which enshrines in law the Scottish government’s commitment to ensuring that people across Scotland benefit from local food production and consumption.
Rural policy proposals in both Scotland and Wales position sustainable food production as a central and essential objective.
England is likely to retrofit an emphasis on food production into its policy as a result of geopolitical concern around global food security.
At the moment, this prize is probably shared between England and Wales. Landscape Recovery is the third element of the ELM scheme in England and is intended to pay for large scale nature restoration and rewilding projects.
The Welsh government has proposed that all farmers will be required to have 10 per cent tree cover and actively manage 10 per cent of their land to maintain and enhance semi-natural habitats, which is a bold stance on nature restoration.
Fundamentally all nations are tackling the same issues and want to help support a thriving rural sector, however we are a few years away from seeing the full picture of post-Brexit agriculture in England, Wales and Scotland. One thing is clear, cross-border farms will have plenty to navigate.
Rhydian Scurlock-Jones is head of rural professional services at Savills
