Question follow-through · 39265
Sustainable Farming Incentive
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department did not provide six weeks' notice when closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme for new applications.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Tabled
- 18 Mar 2025
- Target answer date
- 20 Mar 2025
- Answer
- 28 Mar 2025 · 10 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
More questions by this MP on Environment and energy
- Sustainable Farming Incentive: Food Supply · 23 Apr 2025
- Agricultural Shows · 19 Jun 2025
- Livestock: Wales · 19 Jun 2025
- Water Restoration Fund · 20 Jun 2025
- Water Restoration Fund · 20 Jun 2025
Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.
Votes on this topic
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 · 1 Jul 2026
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 4 · 1 Jul 2026
- Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Committee: New Clause 2 · 1 Jul 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
18 Mar 2025
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason his Department did not provide six weeks' notice when closing the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme for new applications.
20 Mar 2025
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
28 Mar 2025
Answer published
The high uptake of the scheme means it is fully subscribed. The decision to close the scheme to new applications was taken at that point. We could not give any advance notice because we needed to ensure fair access to the scheme and avoid creating a sudde...
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Food Supply
23 Apr 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme on food security.
Agricultural Shows
19 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many agricultural shows (a) he and (b) his ministerial team have attended since 4 July 2024.
Livestock: Wales
19 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Welsh Government’s decision to ban the movement of livestock from England into Wales; and what discussions
Water Restoration Fund
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release entitled Government to invest over £100m in water company fines to local environmental projects, published on 19 June 2025, when he decided to use f
Water Restoration Fund
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of funding through the Water Restoration Fund will be used to support water (a) quality and (b) infrastructure projects.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the revenue that will be raised from fines imposed on water companies for environmental breaches in the next 12 months.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how long discussions have been taking place within government on the allocation of water company fines towards water restoration and infrastructure projects.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what options were considered by his Department for the use of water company fines before the decision to direct them towards water projects was taken.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any fines levied on water companies are being used to support water quality improvements at Lake Windermere.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which rivers have been identified by his Department as priority sites for improvement using funds raised through fines on water companies.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether funds raised through fines on water companies will be allocated to support (a) water quality and (b) infrastructure improvements in the same areas where breaches occurred.
Water Companies: Fines
20 Jun 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what options his Department considered for the use of fines collected from water companies.