Reducing the Rules and Regulations on UK Farmers

As David Cameron settles into his new home at Number 10 Downing Street, the UK farming industry is waiting to see whether the Conservatives stick to their pre-election pledge to reduce the amount of rules and regulations placed on British farmers.

The Tories have stated that they recognise the need for UK farmers to be able to compete in an open market and that they cannot do this with all the current rules and regulations passed down from Brussels.  The Conservatives maintain that while standards must be maintained, it the outcome that is important and the methods of achieving the required results should be left to the farmers.  Each farmer should be able to determine the best methods available to him and best suited to the conditions on his farm, in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Most farming regulations start off in Europe but the UK Government has the ability to influence how these rules affect British farmers and how the outcomes must be implemented, however under Labour the amount of red tape and paperwork placed on the farming industry has been allowed to proliferate. The Tories have pledged to have an early and active involvement in European farming discussions to ensure that any new rules do not further damage the UK farming industry and to set up a committee to review all current farming rules and regulations.

Many of the existing rules and regulations have placed heavy financial burdens on UK farmers and the Tories have said they will allow farmers to apply for grants from the Rural Development Programme to help them meet the costs of implanting such farming policies.

The Conservatives have recognised that the huge amount of farming regulations and the massive number of agencies involved in implementing all these rules has kept farmers from actually farming and cost the UK public much money in terms of unnecessary letters, forms and inspections. The Tories have stated they will minimise the amount of on-farm inspections and consolidate a lot of the agencies to reduce the cost to both farmer and UK tax-payer. Farm inspections and visits will be geared more towards helping farmers comply with regulations, rather than enforcing rules and punishing farmers.

The Single Payment Scheme has been beset with problems and poor administration and management, putting pressure on farmers and costing the tax-payer millions. The Conservatives say they will review the Rural Payments Agency and move towards great accountability and reliability.

Time will tell whether the UK farming industry will see any of these changes any time soon and whether the Conservatives, in coalition with the Lib Debs, will implement the above, but hopefully there are better times ahead for British farmers.