Memorandum submitted by Sir Don Curry
IMPLEMENTATION OF CAP REFORM IN THE UK
POST PUBLICATION
OF THE
POLICY COMMISSION
REPORT
1. The publication of the Policy Commission
on the Future of Farming and Food's Report in January 2002 was
welcomed by the Government. A high profile seminar was held at
Downing Street on 31 March 2002 when the Prime Minister expressed
his and the Government's support for the Report. All but four
recommendations were accepted.
2. In response to the Report, Defra developed
the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy (SFFS) which builds
on the Policy Commission recommendations. The Government also
provided a response to each individual recommendation. The Strategy
was published in December 2002 and Treasury agreed to provide
£500 million funding for its delivery which was included
in Defra's Spending Review 2002 allocation. The Strategy is based
on the three pillars of sustainability—economic, environment
and social.
SETTING UP
THE IMPLEMENTATION
GROUP
3. I was asked to chair an independent Implementation
Group to drive and oversee delivery of the SFFS by the Secretary
of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with the agreement
by the Chief Secretary and other interested ministers.
4. The Group consists of the following members
During 2003
Richard MacDonald—National Farmers Union,
Director General
Christine Tacon—Farmcare, General Manager
Jeremy Pope—South West Regional Development
Agency, Director
Sir Peter Davis—Sainsbury's, Chairman
Graham Wynne—Royal Society for Protection
of Birds, Chief Executive
Rosemary Radcliffe—Price-Waterhouse Coopers
(former Chief Economist)
Sylvia Jay—Food and Drink Federation, Director
General
Anna Bradley—Financial Services Authority,
Director (until end 2003)
Joining in January 2004
Dame Yve Buckland—Health Development Agency,
Chief Executive
Ed Mayo—National Consumer Council (replacing
Anna Bradley)
5. The Group is fully independent from Government.
Its role is to work alongside Defra to actively challenge progress
on delivery. The Group members represent a spread of stakeholder
interest across the Strategy. They help to engage stakeholders
with delivery and encourage industry to play its part. We were
appointed in the first instance until end 2003. The Secretary
of State has been pleased with the progress made and has requested
that the Group remains involved in delivery of SFFS until the
end of 2004, with its future being reviewed sometime in mid-2004.
MANAGING DELIVERY
6. A team in Defra was set up to take on
responsibility for programme managing delivery. This team is accountable
to me and the Implementation Group, thereby maintaining our independence
from Defra. The Implementation Group and this team worked very
closely with the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) to set
up processes for monitoring delivery.
7. Defra has drawn up a delivery plan for
the Strategy, with the Group's input. The programme was divided
into ten workstreams for manageability and we embedded the recommendations
of the Policy Commission within these workstreams. Nine workstreams
are within Defra, with the tenth being the responsibility of the
Department of Health. Each of these workstreams also has a delivery
plan. I have delegated responsibility for overseeing the workstreams
to individual members of the Group who work closely with the relevant
officials responsible for these workstreams.
8. The workstreams are as follows:
— Animal Health and Welfare
— Consumer Health Needs (Nutrition)—Department
of Health
— Global Context (WTO) and CAP Reform
— Investing in the Future
— New Markets and New Technologies
— Whole Farm Approach and Better Regulation
9. The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit held
six-monthly stocktakes to examine progress—the first was
chaired by the Prime Minister. The response from these stocktakes
has been very positive and Sir Michael Barber (PMDU Head) has
complimented the Group and Defra staff on their progress in delivering
the Strategy. Indicators of progress have been identified in order
to hold Government and industry to account for the delivery of
this Strategy. My team at Defra have been working closely with
the PMDU to spread best practice in managing delivery.
10. The challenge for the Implementation
Group during 2003 has been to ensure that the right structures
are in place to support the farming and food industry through
a time of substantial change as triggered by the CAP Reform package.
We cannot underestimate the huge challenge to the farming and
food industry that this poses. The SFFS will help them adapt to
the changing world in which they must deliver both environmental
goods while learning to live without production subsidies and
becoming more in tune with the markets. The Strategy provide a
framework of support that will help the industry respond to these
challenges.
PROGRESS IN
DELIVERY DURING
2003
11. During 2003, structures have been put
in place to provide this support framework as recommended by the
Policy Commission and endorsed by the SFFS. These structures include
the following bodies. Further information on these can be provided.
— English Farming and food Partnerships
— Red Meat Industry Forum
— Assured Food Standards 2003
— Food Procurement Implementation Group
— Research Priorities Group
12. The Implementation Group has also been
working closely with Defra and the Department of Health and Food
Standards Agency to develop daughter strategies to the SFFS and
action plans in areas where policies need to be clear and joined
up and to ensure that objectives and outcomes are defined in these
areas. This strategic approach will help to focus on delivery.
Key daughter strategies/action plans published
in 2003
— Animal Health and Welfare Outline
Strategy
— Veterinary Surveillance Strategy
— Business Skills Action Plan
Key strategies/action plans currently under
development
— Non Food Crops Strategy
— Diffuse Water Pollution from Agriculture
Action Plan
— Food Industry Sustainability Strategy
— Food and Health Action Plan
— Final Animal Health and Welfare Strategy
13. In addition, pilots for three key and
complex areas of the Policy Commission Report and the SFFS are
underway. The development of the Agri Environment Entry Level
Schemes (called the Broad and Shallow scheme in the Policy Commission
Report) will reward farmers for good stewardship and enhancement
of the land on which they farm. The Whole Farm Plan will reduce
the regulatory burden on farmers, simplify paperwork, improve
compliance with regulation and the ease of verification and improve
participation levels in schemes. It will be linked to the roll
out of the Entry Level Schemes. A pilot network of demonstration
farms aims to test the effectiveness of different types of demonstration
farms and associated activities in improving the economic and
environmental performance of farms and their integration into
the food chain and rural economy. The project will be evaluated
by March 2004. Positive results are emerging from all three pilots.
14. In addition to the milestones achieved
outlined above, considerably more work has been done across all
ten workstreams. More information can be provided if required.
IMPLEMENTING CAP
REFORM
15. The Policy Commission on the Future
of Farming and Food identified the need for fundamental CAP Reform
as a key step towards a more profitable, sustainable future. We
said that it was essential to remove distorting production-linked
subsides to allow the industry to become competitive, to protect,
sustain and enhance the environment and to be fair to the taxpayer.
The recommendation said that:
— remaining price supports and associated
production controls must go;
— direct payments should be phased
out and decoupled from production; and
— resources should be transferred for
rural development and environmental protection schemes.
16. This recommendation in the Report formed
the basis for the Government's position in the CAP Reform negotiations
in June. The Government is now implementing the successful June
CAP deal which almost completely reflects the recommendation in
the report. Monitoring progress on CAP implementation has been
subsumed into the process for reporting on delivery on the rest
of the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy. This ensures that
this is linked to the other initiatives in the programme and across
Defra.
WORKING WITH
GOVERNMENT AND
INDUSTRY
17. The Implementation Group's role is to
ensure that both Government and industry play their parts in delivering
the SFFS. The Group has been helping to share best practice and
to overcome barriers to delivery. Defra officials and ministers
have been extremely co-operative in working with the Implementation
Group and I have been impressed by the considerable progress that
has been made this year. Defra colleagues are committed to delivering
the SFFS and I have been assured by Ministers and the Permanent
Secretary that delivery of SFFS, including implementation of the
CAP reforms continues to be one of the Department's highest priorities.
18. In terms of working across Government,
this is not just a challenge for Defra. The health agenda is being
promoted by a joined up approach from Dept of Health, the Food
Standards Agency Department for Education and Skills and Defra.
The farming and food industry are actively engaged in the consumer
health needs workstream which covers nutrition and diet.
19. In general, food industry have been
extremely supportive of the SFFS. Large retailers in the food
industry have given over £400,000 this year, to help fund
English Farming and Food Partnerships, the Food Chain Centre and
Assured Food Standards 2003. The Prince of Wales also made a substantial
donation to aid this valuable work which will help industry to
work more efficiently and to reconnect the food chain.
REGIONAL DELIVERY
20. The Government Offices, alongside Regional
Development Agencies, have produced regional action plans detailing
the projects and actions their region is planning to take forward
as part of the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy. As part
of this process, each region established a regional steering group,
made up of key stakeholders in the region, to oversee the drafting
of the regional plan and set the priorities included in it. Each
of the eight regions has produced at least a draft, with five
plans having been finalised. The plans are seen as a living documents
that will be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.
21. During May, June and July of 2003 members
of the Implementation Group visited each of the Government Office
regions to meet with the regional steering groups, farming representatives
and visit examples of projects and initiatives already underway
which support the delivery of the strategy. A further series of
visits are planned in 2004.
CONCLUSION
22. Many of the essential building blocks
have been put in place to help the farming and food industries
reconnect themselves to the market, to reconnect the food chain
and to make their regulatory and environmental responsibilities
easier to uphold. During 2004, we expect to begin to see the real
world benefits of this large programme of work.
Sir Don Curry
December 2003
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