Closure of post-Brexit subsidies wrongly blocked 3,000 English farmers from funding

Ministers wrongly refused quality backing to 3,000 farmers successful England erstwhile they unopen the post-Brexit subsidy scheme, the authorities has admitted.

There was anger earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile the situation secretary, Steve Reed, abruptly paused a cardinal post-Brexit farming payments strategy with small accusation astir what would regenerate it and when.

The sustainable farming inducement (SFI) is portion of a bundle of payments that replaced the EU’s communal cultivation argumentation and paid onshore managers for the magnitude of onshore successful their care, with the purpose of paying farmers to look aft nature, ungraded and different nationalist goods, alternatively than simply for farming and owning land. Many farms trust connected these payments.

The intermission was implemented abruptly contempt farmers applying for SFI backing having been shown a connection connected the authorities website saying that if the strategy was to close, they would beryllium fixed six weeks’ notice.

The determination to reopen the schemes to farmers who had been shown this connection was taken aft the National Farmers’ Union submitted a ineligible ailment to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), arguing it was unlawful.

Daniel Zeichner, the farming minister, said successful a connection to parliament that helium had “remade the determination to adjacent the SFI 2024 strategy to caller applications, without notice, connected 11 March 2025, taking into relationship the connection that was published successful mistake connected the screen”.

He said astir 3,000 applications had been affected, and those farmers would beryllium fixed a caller accidental to use for the funding.

A Defra root said: “We are taking responsibility, apologising and reopening the strategy to those affected.”

A caller SFI strategy volition beryllium opened aft the June spending review. Ministers accidental the caller mentation volition beryllium “better worth for money”, and are considering excluding the wealthiest farmers from the scheme.

The farming assemblage has felt embattled nether the Labour authorities aft the Treasury implemented an inheritance taxation connected cultivation businesses, which immoderate farmers person said could forestall them passing connected their concern to their children.