Government Announces An Independent Review Of Funding For Farming Across The UK

The government has announced an independent review to deliver fair funding for farmers in all four parts of the UK when it leaves the EU. An independent advisory panel will look at what factors should determine the distribution of agriculture funding between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in this Parliament.

The terms of reference for the review, which is expected to take up to six months, set out what it will look at and how it will be carried out. The government is also committing that it will not simply apply the Barnett formula to changes in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) funding beyond this Parliament. This means that farmers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will not just be allocated funding according to the population size of each nation, which are in each case significantly smaller than England.

Environment secretary Michael Gove stated that the review will help ensure farmers across the UK receive a fair share of funding after Brexit.

Sources: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fair-funding-for-farmers-across-all-parts-of-the-uk

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-farm-support-funding-reviewing-distribution-across-the-uk-from-2020-to-the-end-of-the-parliament