Committees

Soil Health

Inquiry

This inquiry is analysing the Government’s role in preventing further soil degradation and restoring soils across England, including through its Environmental Land Management Schemes and Soil Health Action Plan for England, expected in early 2023.

To inform this inquiry, the EFRA Committee launched a farmer survey on soil health. The Committee wanted to hear about your experiences when it comes to improving your soils. Your feedback helps us identify areas of difficulty, scrutinise the Government’s work and could shape our future recommendations for change.

This survey closed on 21 August 2023.

If you want to learn more about the background to this inquiry, you can read the original call for evidence here, which closed on 9 February 2023.

 

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 11:59pm on 9 February 2023.

Upcoming events

View all events

No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 18 July 2023
3:15pm Private
4:00pm Public
Soil Health - Oral evidence 18 July 2023
4:00pm
  • Rt Hon Mark Spencer (Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Fiona James (Deputy Director for Policy Design, Farming and Countryside Programme at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
  • Sion McGeever (Deputy Director for Access, Landscapes, Peatland and Soil at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Room 15, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 13 June 2023
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Soil Health - Oral evidence 13 June 2023
2:30pm
  • Tony Grayling (Director of Sustainable Business and Development at Environment Agency)
  • Dr Eleanor Reed (Principal Specialist in Soils at Natural England)
  • Professor John Gilliland OBE (Special Adviser at Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB))
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 24 May 2023
2:00pm Private
2:30pm Public
Soil Health - Oral evidence 24 May 2023
2:30pm
  • Professor Karen Johnson (Professor in Environmental Engineering at Durham University)
  • Dr Martin Blackwell (Soil Biogeochemist at Rothamsted Research)
  • Professor David Spurgeon (Ecotoxicological researcher at UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH))
3:30pm
  • Helen Browning (Chief Executive at Soil Association)
  • Jenny Grant (Head of Organics and Natural Capital at Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA))
  • John Williams (Head of Soils and Nutrients at ADAS)
  • Dr Jane Gilbert, Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 9 May 2023
2:00pm Private
3:00pm Public
Soil Health - Oral evidence 9 May 2023
3:00pm
  • James Robinson (England Vice Chair at Nature Friendly Farming Network)
  • Richard Bramley (Chair at NFU Environment Forum)
  • Professor Pippa Chapman (Chair in Biogeochemistry in the School of Geography at University of Leeds)
  • James Woodward (Sustainable farming officer at Sustain Alliance)
Room 6, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone. Please be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints.

  • Email: efracom@parliament.uk
  • Address: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA