Countryside Stewardship Scheme and Sustainable Farming Incentive: Common Land
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that those who farm on common land are given equitable and swift access to the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier.
Answered by Stephen Morgan
DEFRA understands the importance of Commons and recognises the importance of bringing them under these schemes. For technical reasons, commons groups will not be able to apply for SFI on common land when the application window opens later this month or apply for a CSHT agreement on common land at this stage. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is working on a solution to this issue and actively exploring options for enabling common land applications for CSHT. Once this assessment is complete, the RPA will communicate its planned approach.
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