Tale of the tape

THE amount of red-tape that has left farmers tied up in knots is reflected by a new study yielding 200 recommendations in six months, proof that bureaucracy has become one of agriculture’s unwanted growth industries.

The challenge facing Ministers is determining those rules that are necessary on health and welfare grounds – and which can be discarded. Two points are particularly pertinent. It makes eminent sense for Defra to involve farmers in the creation of new regulations – and the accompanying paperwork. Their understanding of the English language is, invariably, very different to Whitehall’s double-speak.

Second, given the tendency for Defra Ministers to no longer be steeped in farming or the countryside, it is important that more industry experts are used to assist the decision-making process. For, if this had happened in the past, there would not be so much unnecessary red-tape to be untangled. Having come so far, it is now up to Ministers to implement the changes, particularly those pertaining to Europe.

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