Land Use Framework won’t be ‘communist’, says Defra minister

Farming minister Mark Spencer has said he doesn’t want the Land Use Framework (LUF) for England to be a “communist” document which dictates what farmers can do with their land.

Former government food tsar Henry Dimbleby described the LUF as the “single most important” step the government could take to solve the problem of multiple competing uses for land – from energy, to housebuilding, forestry and nature conservation.

See also: Land use framework vital to balance needs of food and nature

In June last year, ministers committed to creating a LUF. It was originally due to be published this summer, but is now not expected until later this year.

Speaking to MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee this week, farming minister Mark Spencer said: “The freedom-loving economist in me doesn’t want to be too prescriptive. I don’t think communism works here, by dictating to landowners and managers what they can and can’t do with their land, but I do think we need to look at the levers we have available to us to influence that.

“We can do that through carrots or sticks. I personally believe carrots work a lot better at motivating people in one direction or another.”

There have been a number of notable proponents of the idea of a LUF, including the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission and Dr Julia Aglionby, executive director (England) for the Foundation for Common Land and chair of the Uplands Alliance.

Dr Aglionby has previously said a good LUF could be used to protect the position of upland farmers if it took into account cultural heritage and farmed landscapes.