Efra committee chairman promises inquiry in agricultural spending

A full investigation into government spending on agriculture is a top priority for the new Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee, according to its new chairman, Alistair Carmichael.

Speaking to Farmers Weekly at this week’s Liberal Democrat party conference in Brighton, the MP for Orkney and Shetland said there were a number of Efra inquiries held over from before the general election.

This includes one into fairness in the food supply chain.

Alastair Carmichael, Rachel Hallos, and Tim Farron © MAG/Phil Clarke

See also: Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael confirmed as Efra chairman

“We need to finish that first – but then it is the budget that is front and centre for all farming interests,” he said.

His comments followed recent reports that show Defra has failed to spend some £358m of its allocated budget over the past three years.

Reports also suggest the Treasury is asking Defra to return £100m as part of its contribution to fixing the so-called “black hole” in government finances.

“We know what the Labour party said in opposition about rolling over underspends,” said Mr Carmichael.

“And we know that the budget for Environmental Land Management schemes is not big enough.

“But if you start handing some of that money back to the Treasury – and I have been in hand-to-hand combat with the Treasury for years, so I know how it works – we will never see that money back again.”

Treasury priorities

Lib Dem agriculture spokesman Tim Farron also expressed concern that Defra was low down the pecking order in terms of Treasury priorities.

“I had hoped that, post-Michael Gove [as Defra secretary], the department would have moved up the ranking,” he told Farmers Weekly.

“But sadly it seems to have reverted to where it once was.

“[Current Defra secretary] Steve Reed says he is fighting hard on the budget, but I fear he will roll over to have his tummy tickled by the Treasury.”

Addressing an NFU reception at the Brighton conference, Mr Farron accused Labour of “capitalising on Tory incompetence”.

“They are potentially going to bank the money that the last government should have spent,” Mr Farron suggested.

“We will not stand for that. We believe there should be an extra billion pounds in the budget. 

“We will not tolerate a ‘baked-in’ cut that will mainly hit the small farmers and the tenant farmers.

More budget needed

Hosting the event, NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos thanked the Lib Dems for the extra £1bn promised in its manifesto, but said this was only half of what was actually needed.

“Across the UK, we need an extra £2.8bn, which in England equates to £1.7bn,” she said.

“The NFU believes that the number-one priority – to give farmers the confidence they desperately need to invest in their businesses – must be a multi-annual budget for the duration of this parliament.”

Defra has indicated that spending on the department’s priorities in future financial years will be confirmed as part of the government’s spending review, expected at the end of October.

However, it has warned of “difficult decisions that lie ahead as government seeks to address the £22bn hole in the public finances left by the last government”.