Written evidence submitted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The composition and role of the Food Supply Chain Resilience Forum (FSCRF) and the Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG).
The FSCRF is a daily call with over 80 senior representatives from across the food supply chain, and its remit is the end-to-end supply chain for food in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an effective forum for communicating to industry the huge amounts of work underway in Defra to support all sectors in the food supply chain, quickly raising industry concerns and encouraging industry to collaborate to solve issues independently of government.
The FCELG is the industry sector working group with membershi p drawn from food chain sectors, mainly from trade bodies, and relevant government departments, including Devolved Administrations and agencies. The group usually meets quarterly to identify and mitigate potential risks to food supply and interdependent sectors. It is also convened in an emergency to act as the conduit between the food industry and central government. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the FCELG met on 6 March and has continued a rhythm of weekly meetings each Friday. The group allows us to communicate the latest UK government position from respective departments and Devolved Administrations to its members. It also allows industry to communicate issues related to food supply to the relevant government teams.
Fisheries negotiations
As you know, the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and is currently in a transition period until 31 December 2020. At the end of the transition period the UK will be an independent coastal State, outside the CFP, and will automatically take back control of our waters, and others’ right to fish in them. This is the automatic position under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and does not have to be negotiated. Any agreement must reflect these basic facts. In line with the practice of other independent coastal States and the precedent of other fisheries framework agreements, the agreement would provide a framework for annual negotiations on access and fishing opportunities and set out a mechanism for cooperation on fisheries matters where we share an interest with the EU.
Given the latest COVID-19 developments, EU and UK negotiators have jointly decided to review the format of negotiations and remain in regular contact with the European
Commission to explore alternative ways to continue discussions, and will be guided by scientific advice. The UK and EU have committed to use best endeavours to agree a new fisheries agreement by 1 July 2020 and this has not changed.
Recent flooding events
As you know, government acted quickly to activate the flood recovery framework following the November 2019 floods and Storms Ciara and Dennis in February. The framework en- compasses several schemes:
- Flood-hit households can apply for up to £500 in financial hardship payments to give cash quickly to those in short-term need;
- Households and businesses significantly affected will be eligible for 100% council
tax and business rates relief for at least three months;
- Small-to-medium sized businesses which have suffered severe, uninsurable losses will be eligible for up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant; and
- Flood-hit homes and businesses can apply for up to £5,000 to help make them more resilient to future flooding.
The Farming Recovery Fund provides assistance to farmers whose agricultural land has been damaged by flooding from the overtopping or breaching of river banks and declared a natural disaster by the government. It is administered by the Rural Payments Agency on behalf of Defra. The Farming Recovery Fund was originally opened to help farmers in Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire as a result of the summer 2019 flooding. The Fund was extended to help those most affected by overtopping of flood defences and breaches in rivers caused by the flooding in November 2019.
A further extension, bringing the total value of the fund to £10m, has been announced to assist farmers recover from the impacts of Storms Ciara and Dennis and the late February flooding. This extension will cover parts of East and North Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Herefordshire. Defra is working with the Environment Agency to finalise the details and more information about the fund will be published in due course.
Defra has announced that it intends to relax the crop diversification requirements (known as the ‘three-crop’ rule) for all farmers for 2020, so that those farmers who have been unable to access their flooded land to plant spring crops over the coming weeks and months will not be unfairly penalised.
The government remains dedicated to providing support to communities and businesses that have experienced devastating flooding across the country whatever the wider circumstances. Defra and MHCLG are engaging with councils, the insurance industry (via the Association of British Insurers) and farmers to understand how the pandemic is affecting the implementation of these schemes. All of the schemes remain open and active and we will change our approach where required. We will do whatever we can to ensure support is delivered effectively for those affected.
Agricultural Transition
Defra remains committed to creating new policies and schemes for English agriculture. This includes moving to a system that rewards farmers for delivering goods valued by the public, whilst producing healthy sustainable food, from 2021.
We are also carefully considering the amendment to the Agricultural Bill tabled in the name of the Chair, and will respond accordingly at Report stage. The Government has beenclear that in all our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high standards of food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare.
I hope that the information provided is helpful to the Committee and gives useful detail on our approach to the COVID-19 pandemic on food supply and other related industries.
