A raft of measures to support tenant farmers has been welcomed by Stuart Anderson, South Shropshire’s Conservatives Parliamentary Candidate. The Government has set out its progress one year on from its response to the Rock Review, with work having been completed or in progress to deliver 64 of 75 commitments made. This includes improving access to capital grant offers supporting investment in farming equipment, technology, and infrastructure by reducing minimum grant rates and reviewing intervention rates. The Government has also allowed landlords to underwrite tenants’ applications if both parties want to pursue this option, and no longer requires tenants to have a tenancy agreement in place for 5 years in order to access grants. Instead, they only need to commit to holding the asset for 5 years.
A new Code of Practice was published on 8 April 2024 setting standards of responsible conduct for all parties to tenancy agreements. It supports landlords and tenants, and their professional advisers, to establish and maintain positive, productive, and sustainable commercial relationships, achieved through dialogue and a sense of fairness and proportionality. The Code was designed by the Farm Tenancy Forum, established in July 2023 to facilitate collaborative relationships between landlords and tenants. The Government is now looking to establish a Tenant Farming Commissioner in England to provide oversight of practices in the sector.
Stuart also welcomed action to improve access to Environmental Land Management (ELM) Schemes, given a third of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications are from wholly tenanted and mixed tenure farms. The Government is now offering 3-year agreements to coincide with the average length of many tenancy agreements. It is also ensuring that tenants who expect to have management control for 3 years can apply, meaning many farmers with annual rolling tenancy agreements can access SFI. It is also removing penalties for tenants who may have to exit a scheme early if their tenancy ends unexpectedly and is recommending communication and collaboration with landlords but not requiring the tenant to gain landlord consent to enter the scheme, provided there is no permanent land use change.
The expanded 2024 ELM offer will also have many more actions with a 3-year duration. In addition, Stuart welcomed the Government’s commitment to exploring the possibility of enabling collaborative joint tenant / landlord agreements in the ELM. This could provide a beneficial additional route into some of the longer-term options schemes for some tenants and landlords where both parties want to work together. The Government also announced in the Budget that, from 6 April 2025, it will be extending the scope of Agricultural Property Relief to include land managed under an environmental agreement. This will open up the way for greater collaboration between tenants and landlords so that both parties can benefit.
Stuart Anderson said:
“Tenant farmers play a vital role in our rural economy, feeding the nation and managing a third of farmland in England. So I welcome the Government’s action to remove barriers to help landlords and tenants access our support schemes. Together with a new Code of Practice, these measures will support more fruitful relationships between tenant farmers and their landlords. This will enable them to build thriving farm businesses, while meeting our food security and environmental objectives. If elected as South Shropshire’s next MP, I will put the needs and voices of the tenanted sector at the heart of my plans - ensuring tenant farmers get a good return on their investment.”
