Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to minimise bureaucracy for farmers.

George Eustice

During the previous Parliament Defra made significant progress in reducing regulatory burdens on all businesses. These were listed in my Written Ministerial Statement of 25 March 2015. Defra continues to take forward reforms to deliver our policy outcomes more efficiently for farmers. The Farm Visits programme was established in July 2015 to reduce the number of farm visits by 20,000 by 2020, reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and improve customer service. The programme has implemented a single helpline for farmers, started to combine inspections where it is beneficial to the farmer, and, in June established the farm visits coordination unit. I also announced in April changes to the arrangements for reporting livestock movements that will significantly reduce burdens for keepers. A Cutting Red Tape review of farm information reporting requirements is also under way whose recommendations will be published in due course.