On 11th November 2020 the Agriculture Act 2020 finally received Royal Assent and became law, providing a framework for what agricultural policy will look like as we leave the EU. Areas covered include support payments and trade whilst the underlying objectives are to increase competitiveness, productivity and the use of technology whilst generating fairer returns.
Perhaps most notably it confirms the gradual but continual reduction of the Basic Payment Scheme as we enter a seven year transition period to ELMs, a scheme which looks to pay public monies for public goods.
We are a long way off knowing the detail on all aspects of this Act which are yet to be confirmed via statutory instruments. We will continue to keep you updated as soon as further detail emerges.