Defra has been forced to reopen the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 scheme to around 3,000 applicants, after a group of NFU-backed farmers threatened litigation over its decision to close the SFI without notice.
The government’s u-turn will allow applications to be made to the scheme by those who had started an application within two months of 11 March 2025, but who had not yet submitted their application. However, while welcome for thousands of NFU members, the government’s announcement today doesn’t go far enough as it has stated there will be some restrictions on who can apply and what they will be able to claim.
It came after a group of farmers, supported by the NFU, wrote to the Defra Secretary of State to inform him of their intention to legally challenge his decision to close the scheme to new applicants without notice.
One of the arguments raised by the group of farmers related to the assurance which had been provided by Defra that they would be given six weeks’ notice of any intention by Defra to close the scheme to new applicants. This appears to have influenced the Minister’s decision to review his decision to close the scheme without notice, with the Minister admitting that a mistake had been made.
The farmers concerned received significant support from the NFU’s Policy and Legal experts, as well as funding support from the NFU’s Legal Assistance Scheme.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The government’s abrupt and wholly unacceptable decision to close the scheme was always wrong. While it’s good to see an acknowledgement that the decision to close the scheme was flawed, we are disappointed by the constraints imposed which will still leave many farmers unfairly disadvantaged.”
Right of Reply – DEFRA Response
In response to this article, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, provided the following statement:
“We inherited farming schemes which were underspent, meaning millions of pounds were not going to farming businesses.
Last October Government outlined plans to invest a record £5 billion into farming, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. As a result of this investment, a record number of farmers are now in farming schemes, and more money is being paid to more farmers under the SFI than ever before.
However, an error was made in closing the SFI scheme as a message shown to applicants, who had started but not submitted their applications, suggested they would be given six weeks’ notice to complete their applications.
I apologise wholeheartedly for confusion this caused. We are addressing the situation by allowing the 3,000 applicants, who had started an application within 2 months of 11 March 2025, to submit their application.”
- More information will be made available to these applicants about how and when to submit their applications.
- More information: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-05-12/hcws626
