A major independent review commissioned by DEFRA and led by Julian Glover has called for radical shakeup of the running of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website. DEFRA will now consider the recommendations made in the review....
Farmers in parts of North Yorkshire and Wainfleet, Lincolnshire affected by flooding over the summer can now apply to the Farming Recovery Fund for grants of between £500 and £25,000 for a range of farm restoration work, including rebuilding dry stone walls, re-cultivating productive land and replacing damaged gates. Further details on how to apply are available on the GOV.UK website....
The National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB have said that at least £2.9 billion per year is needed to support nature-friendly farming in the UK post-Brexit; just under the current CAP UK budget of £3.2 billion. The charities said: "For decades, farmers have struggled within the CAP’s food and farming system that delivers little profit for their produce and few incentives to deliver positive outcomes for the environment. Once we leave the EU and these payments stop, alternative...
The Government is arranging Brexit Business Readiness Events across the UK to help you prepare, starting Monday 16 September. Join us at a free event in your area to meet government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare. The events will combine a keynote address, interactive support, advice stands and in-depth sessions led by subject matter experts. They will provide you with specific business-focused advice and help. Register to attend an event at:...
Following recommendations made in an independent review led by Lord Bew which was looking at what factors should be used to determine the distribution of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 'convergence' funding, the Government has confirmed it will allocate £56.59m of new funding. This should address concerns around the formula used to distribute this 'convergence' funding across the UK so that it rewards land that previously received less CAP funding per hectare than the EU average. The...
We have been told that emails continue to circulate which claim to be from the CAAV, asking members to verify their details. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THESE EMAILS - they are not from the CAAV. Please ignore and delete them.
The CAAV's Kate Russell will chair a series of seminars on Best Practice in Compulsory Purchase and Compensation this autumn in Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham, London and Manchester. CAAV members are entitled to a discount when booking before 9th September 2019 by entering the discount code CAAV820. Further information can be found at https://cptevents.co.uk/event/best-practice-in-compulsory-purchase-and-compensation-1...
There appear to be fake emails circulating which purport to be from the CAAV, asking members to validate their details for our database. These emails were not sent by the CAAV and members are advised not to respond to it. We recommend that members ignore the request and delete the email.
The Government has announced an independently-led review of HS2 to review whether and how the scheme should proceed. The review is expected to report in autumn 2019 in order to inform the "Notice to Proceed" decision for Phase 1, which is to be made by the end of the year. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website.
As part of a wider commitment to achieving a carbon neutral water industry by 2030, English water companies have announced plans to plant 11 million trees over 6,000 hectares across England. Further information is available on the Water UK website.
The Prince's Countryside Fund has announced £50,000 of emergency funding to assist farmers and rural communities affected by the recent flooding in Reeth and Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire. The funding is being provided via The Addington Fund. Further information is available on the Prince's Countryside Fund website. The Addington Fund is also working with Forage Aid to assist farmers whose livestock have been affected and are in need of forage and/or bedding....
£5.25m of emergency government funding has been made available to assist local communities and businesses impacted by the recent flooding at Whaley Bridge. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
With Ministerial responsibilities now being clarified following Boris Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, the Department for Transport has confirmed that responsibility for HS2 has returned to Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, who returns to a role he held previously.
The fourth national round of funding for the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund has opened for applications today. An additional £2.5 million fund has been made available for groups of farmers and landowners to apply for financial support to work together as a facilitation group to deliver landscape-scale environmental improvements over a three year period. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website....
Following the announcement made in June, the RPA has confirmed that the Treasury-funded payments for outstanding Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship annual revenue claims 2015-2018 have now been completed. For further information, please see GOV.UK....
George Eustice has been reappointed as a DEFRA Minister. Having been a DEFRA Minister since May 2015, he resigned earlier this year over concerns relating to Brexit. Mr. Eustice replaces Robert Goodwill. Further information is available on the GOV.UK website.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a statement in the House of Commons on the priorities for the government. The statement can be viewed on the GOV.UK website.
Following yesterday's Cabinet reshuffle which saw Michael Gove become Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Teresa Villiers has been confirmed as the new Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Boris Johnson has delivered his first speech as Prime Minister this afternoon. The transcript of the speech is available on the GOV.UK website.
Boris Johnson has been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party and will take over as Prime Minister later this week. The ballot results were: Johnson - 92,153 and Hunt - 46,656. Further details are available on the BBC News website.