The UK Government is set to cut £100 million from England’s nature-friendly farming budget, as part of measures to address a £22bn shortfall in the Treasury, The Guardian newspaper has revealed. As a knock on effect there is growing concern this could see less money head to Holyrood as part of the Scottish farming budget. The cut in England amounts to 4.2% reduction which could impact the allocation for the Scottish rural budget.

Nature conservation groups and farmers have expressed strong opposition to the cut, warning that it could undermine the government’s legally binding commitments to improve the natural environment.

Research by the RSPB indicates that this reduction could result in at least 239,000 fewer hectares of nature-friendly farmland. The impact could be even greater if the smaller budget deters farmers from participating in the scheme.

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Sources within the civil service have indicated that ministers are justifying the cut by pointing to an underspend of £100m per year from the £2.4bn budget. The Conservative government’s inability to fully utilise the allocated funds has reportedly made it difficult to argue for maintaining the budget at its current level to the Treasury.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has directed various departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), to find over £1bn in savings. Other departments have been ordered to identify hundreds of millions in cuts to help close the budget gap, which Reeves attributes to the previous Conservative government.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed, responding to reports of the underspend earlier this year, promised that Labour would 'cut through the Tory bureaucracy that has blocked farmers from receiving funding for work that includes protecting nature and wildlife habitats on their land'. He also accused the Conservatives of breaking their promises to farmers.

The English National Farmers’ Union has also expressed concern, warning that a cut to the budget could further erode farmer confidence, which is already at a record low, and undermine food security.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “We have seen a collapse in farmers’ confidence, driven by record inflation, falls in farm income, and unprecedented weather patterns delivering relentless rain this year and a near drought last year.

“In opposition, the government consistently made clear its commitment to agriculture as a key driver of growth. Now it needs to deliver on that commitment. This government has said food security is national security. Now is the time to restore confidence by setting a multi-annual agriculture budget at the level needed to deliver economic growth in all that farming delivers for Britain.”

A Treasury spokesperson commented: “Following the spending audit, the chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare, and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22bn hole in the public finances left by the last government. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the budget in the round.”