Politicians welcome move to partially reopen Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme

Following legal pressure from the NFU, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would allow farmers who began an SFI application within two months of March 11, but had not yet submitted it, to complete the process for a grant of up £9,300.

The NFU had warned of a potential legal challenge that Defra had acted unlawfully by shutting down the scheme without any warning after participation levels had led to the full allocation of the programme’s budget.

Nevertheless, the union had argued more than 3,000 farmers had begun applications when SFI applications were scrapped and that some had sustained financial losses in the process.

For farmers like NFU North Regional Board chair William Maughan, who was carefully considering SFI options before starting an application, the move still leaves them facing uncertainty about their future planning and income streams.

Some people, he said, through no fault of their own, had been unable to access SFI because they’ve been tied into other schemes. Mr Maughan said the scheme’s sudden closure had “knocked confidence”.

Reacting to the Government U-turn, Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, said farmers who were mid-application had been “abruptly shut out”. He said the sudden closure of the scheme had caused “unnecessary stress and uncertainty for many farming families”.

Mr Skaith said: "The SFI is an important scheme to support farmers to do right by their land and their livelihoods.

“Credit is due to the NFU and others who raised serious concerns and kept this issue on the agenda.

“Putting it right is a positive first step – and one that can begin to rebuild trust by showing that farmers’ voices are being heard."

Shadow Farming Minister and Keighley MP Robbie Moore said farmers had been promised six weeks’ notice if the scheme was to be withdrawn, but instead were “given just a few hours by Labour”.

Mr Moore said: “At last, finally that sleight of hand has caught up with the Government and they have been forced to re-open applications for 3,000 eligible farmers.

“The incompetence being foisted on our farming community couldn’t be more obvious.

“Whilst this change is welcome is does not go anywhere near far enough.

“The fact remains that SFI should never have been closed in the first place. Labour are still hiding the full farming budget breakdown.”

Charles Raine, a director at northern surveying firm, youngsRPS, said the sudden pause in the scheme had caused “significant disruption for farming businesses”. He said: "While this is by no means a perfect solution, it does offer temporary relief for those already engaged in the process.”

Country Land and Business Association president Victoria Vyvyan described the concession as “a limited amount of money”, which helped “take a bit of the sting out of the suddenness of the closure”.