Voice your opinion on agricultural tenancies

There has been much discussion about the agricultural tenanted sector and what is needed to adapt to the new post Brexit landscape. The Rock Review was published in October 2022 and the government’s published response to it was published last month.

Subsequently, the EFRA Committee has launched an inquiry to determine the priority actions to take forward from the Rock Review, evaluate the government’s response and consider how recent developments in the tenanted sector should be accounted for in any steps taken by the government.

If you would like to share your views there is a CLA email address set up for this purpose tenancies@cla.org.uk as we prepare the CLA submission for a deadline of 20th June.

The questions posed by the EFRA Committee are:-

The growth and viability of businesses in the tenanted sector

1. What pressures and challenges are currently facing tenant farmers and how can the future viability of the tenant sector be secured?

The landlord-tenant relationship

1. How effectively are landlord-tenant relationships operating in the farming sector and what steps can the government take to improve relationships and agreements between those parties? Are certain relationships (e.g. private landlord or multinational company) or agreements (e.g. multi-generational or farm business tenancies) more suitable?
2. How can government better balance the rights and interests of both landlords and tenants?

Interaction with wider Government policies

1. What impact are other government initiatives, for example environmental (e.g. tree planting) or housing policies, having on the tenanted sector? How can any interactions be managed effectively across government?

Access to environmental land management schemes and productivity schemes

1. Are government Environmental Land Management (ELM) and productivity schemes accessible and attractive to tenant farmers? How can participation be encouraged?

New entrants

1. What barriers face new entrants to the tenanted farming sector and what can be done to encourage them?

The Rock Review and the government’s response

1. How successfully would implementing Baroness Rock’s recommendations address concerns in the areas listed above?
2. What assessment have you made of the government’s response to those recommendations?