Overview

• The post-Brexit environmental land management scheme replaced EU subsidies with a £5 billion commitment for 2024–26 but faces deep cuts in future budgets.
• Defra sources say revised funding will be restricted to small farms, excluding larger landowners from nature-friendly payments.
• The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and other conservation bodies caution that reduced incentives could stall habitat restoration and reverse biodiversity gains.
• National Farmers’ Union and industry representatives warn that farmers may be forced to intensify production and that rural communities will suffer financial strain.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to confirm departmental budgets, including these cuts, on June 11, with ministers declining to comment ahead of the review.