The speech, which was written for him by the government, gave an outline of the current government’s legislative priorities for the next parliamentary session.
Parliament was prorogued by the King on Wednesday 29 April ahead of the local elections which took place on Thursday 7 May.
The King formally prorogues Parliament on the advice of the Privy Council. Prorogation brings most parliamentary business to an end. However, some Bills can be carried forward to the next session, subject to approval.
This time, that means the Courts and Tribunals Bill (reforming Jury trials) and the Public Office (Accountability) Bill (which will legislate for a ‘duty of candour’ around public officials) have both been carried forward to this session. Meanwhile, due to prorogation, the Assisted Dying Bill has not been carried through.
“Through this legislative agenda, government has the opportunity to boost confidence and strengthen resilience across the industry.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
The King’s Speech has been unaffected by some Labour MPs this week calling for the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to step down or set out a timetable for his departure.
What legislation was announced?
1. European Partnership Bill
Arguably one of, if not the, most consequential Bills in the King’s Speech is the European Partnership Bill which will facilitate the implementation of new deals with the EU ‘both now and in the future’. Prominently for NFU members, this includes the UK-EU food and drink, or SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) agreement.
In a note following the King’s Speech, the government claims that the food and drink agreement could add up to ‘£5.1 billion a year to the economy’ and ‘increase agricultural exports to the EU by 16%’ while cutting queuing time for lorries at the border.
The same note says that the Bill will mean businesses will no longer need Export Health Certificates which cost ‘up to £200 for agri-food goods’, ‘Phytosanitary Certificates costing approximately £25’, and save businesses ‘hundreds of pounds in inspection fees’.
Initial NFU reaction
An SPS agreement based upon dynamic alignment was never the NFU’s preferred approach. However, we do welcome efforts to reduce the bureaucracy and cost of trading with the EU.
The government must secure terms that minimise disruption to farming and growing businesses and ensure meaningful UK input into future EU regulations to which we must align and, in doing so, ensure regulations provide for necessary technical adaptations reflecting GB food production.
Protecting innovation in precision breeding technologies is essential. The Genetic Technology Act 2023 creates a significant opportunity for innovation and investment in English biotechnology and agricultural science which must be safeguarded during negotiations.
Since Brexit, agricultural sectors have experienced differing degrees of legislative divergence from the EU. As a result, some can align quickly with EU rules, while others need time. The NFU is concerned that the government is targeting mid-2027 for implementation, as the proposed timeline leaves insufficient preparation time for some businesses.
Transitional arrangements are crucial, particularly for plant protection and biocidal products and organic production systems, to prevent severe disruption and ensure goods produced in compliance with GB regulations prior to implementation remain marketable.
The government should also support the recovery of EU agri-food exports and expand opportunities through enhanced trade promotion activities and by leveraging its network of agri-food attachés.
Finally, robust parliamentary scrutiny of EU legislative alignment is vital. The UK’s interests must be protected, with Parliament retaining a sovereign “backstop” in exceptional circumstances.
2. Clean Water Bill
The Clean Water Bill comprises of the government’s significant reforms to the water sector, rules for water companies, and new regulations around water pollution, all of which stem from the review by the Independent Water Commission chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, and the following Water White Paper.
The Clean Water Bill confirms that the government plans to create a new ‘independent and integrated water regulator’, bringing together the functions of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England. It also says that the Bill will provide the ‘legislative tools’ to ensure ambitious water quality standards are met, including measures to strengthen agricultural pollution rules.
The Bill also includes plans to modernise frameworks to ensure pollution is ‘tackled at source’ and environmental standards can keep pace with new pressures.
Measures to boost water efficiency, and create a ‘stable, long-term planning framework’ were also outlined. The Water White Paper suggested two core planning frameworks: one monitoring water environment (eg, quality) and one for water supply.
The government hopes this model will enable cross-sector planning at a national, regional, and local catchment scale.
Initial NFU reaction
The NFU has previously welcomed the government’s plans for a new regulator and an improved model for regional water planning. While reforms could offer a more joined up approach to water planning, there is a lack of clarity about availability and abstraction which is essential for growing the nation’s food and for flood management.
It is also critical that agricultural representatives are involved in decisions in order to build trust and ensure the sector supports any future framework.
Although not explicitly referenced in the government’s initial notes on the Clean Water Bill, there are continued concerns over proposals to extend environmental permitting to cattle farming which we have communicated to ministers.
If it is expanded, it must involve meaningful consultation with the industry, including full consideration of an industry-led option. The NFU has already been working to develop a farmer-led approach in partnership with the supply chain that would help recognise and reward the actions farmers are already taking to reduce pollution.
3. Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill and Highways (Financing) Bill
The Northern Powerhouse Rail Bill legislates to implement the government’s plans for NPR (Northern Powerhouse Rail) which it says will provide more frequent services between the North of England’s key cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York, as well as making services to Newcastle via Darlington and Durham, as well as Hull and Chester for connections to North Wales.
The Bill says the first phase will focus on upgrades to lines east of the Pennines (Leeds-Bradford, Leeds-Sheffield and Leeds-York corridors). The second phase will take forward a new route between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington, while the government says the third phase will deliver ‘better cross-Pennine links’.
Meanwhile, the Highways (Financing) Bill legislates for a new financing approach to fund large-scale road schemes, enabling the delivery of schemes through private investment.
Initial NFU reaction
The NFU recognises the importance of reliable, modern infrastructure, but lessons must be learned from the chaotic impact HS2 has had on impacted farming businesses.
HS2 led to years of disruption, delays and insufficient communication and many farms were, and continue to be, uprooted. This Bill is an opportunity to treat farming families better.
In the construction of any future project that these Bills will facilitate, the NFU will engage with delivery companies and urge them to work constructively with farming families. It is crucial for our national food security that farm businesses are able to be productive and profitable throughout this process and remain focused on what they do best – producing food and caring for the great British countryside.
4. Regulating for Growth Bill
This Bill aims to reform the UK regulatory system, which the government says is ‘frequently complex, risk averse, slow to adapt and poorly suited to modern technologies and business models.’
The Bill makes the ‘consideration of growth’ more pivotal to the decisions of government arms-length bodies, including Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), asking them to prioritise growth without ‘undermining their core functions’.
The Bill makes it clear that it is not about deregulation, and instead aims to strengthen the agility regulators can act with.
Initial NFU reaction
Regulation which is no longer fit for purpose or has become overly burdensome acts as a barrier to growing rural businesses and can have a negative impact upon the wider rural economy. Currently, the implementation of regulations such as the Habitats directives, EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, and Environmental Permitting are impacting upon the ability of farm businesses to grow.
The NFU firmly believes that regulation and policy decisions must be underpinned by robust, transparent scientific evidence to achieve their intended outcomes. Science, evidence, and innovation-led regulation with a clear assessment of risk should sit at the core of all policy and regulatory decision making.
It is critical that regulators understand how farm businesses operate in practice and the impacts of regulation. This is essential to achieve proportionate and effective regulation but also to provide long-term stability and certainty for farm businesses, supporting productivity and economic growth.
5. Police Reform Bill
The Police Reform Bill will reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales, while bolstering ‘Local Policing Areas’, which will be headed by a senior officer who will be accountable to their local area and meeting community needs.
It will also create a new national police force – the ‘National Police Service’, which will set stronger national policing standards and ensure a consistent service is received by the public, no matter where they are in the country.
Police and Crime Commissioners will also be abolished, which the Bill says will promote collaboration across the service, and ensure a ‘whole-system approach’ to crime prevention is taken.
Initial NFU reaction
The NFU welcomes the Police Reform Bill’s stated aims to ensure responsive and accountable local policing.
We know how underfunded and overstretched rural policing currently is.
This Bill must recognise the unique pressures facing rural police forces, the nature of the crimes impacting our rural communities, and must ensure that funding is distributed so that the police can put a stop to these criminals.
Organised crime is a major threat to rural communities, with more than 22 gangs responsible for widespread thefts of machinery, vehicles, and GPS equipment, according to the National Rural Crime Network.
Relentless fly-tipping and the growing menace of hare coursing are also causing significant financial loss and deep emotional distress to farming families and their businesses and impacting food production across the country.
Criminal gangs frequently operate across multiple police force areas to evade capture, and they target rural areas where policing is thinly stretched. The new forces must be given the support to co-operate across their borders.
As part of these reforms, the funding given to rural police forces must reflect rural needs, including remoteness, vulnerability, and seasonal population pressures. NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt recently held a meeting bringing together rural policing representatives to discuss how to secure fairer funding to help rural police forces tackle rural crime.
6. Energy Independence Bill
The Energy Independence Bill demonstrates the government’s aim to go ‘further and faster’ in delivering more clean energy projects and infrastructure. To do this, the government says it will ‘reform market, planning and regulatory frameworks’ to enable quicker delivery of offshore wind, hydrogen and smart grid technologies.
It also says it will accelerate the deliver of ‘vital gid infrastructure’ with measures to stop ‘unnecessary delays’, including reforms to land access rules and networks consenting’.
The Bill also outlines powers to take a strategic approach to planning and building energy infrastructure, and to make the electricity system operate more efficiently.
Initial NFU reaction
Farmers and growers are already generating clean energy and helping meet renewable energy ambitions, alongside their traditional role in food production and delivery of other environmental and land management services.
Generating clean energy can work alongside food production, but farmers’ inability to secure grid connections and planning permission means they are limited in what they can do.
The NFU welcomed new permitted development rights and updated guidance rights for agricultural reservoirs, small-scale wind turbines, protected cropping (including polytunnels and glasshouses), and essential farm infrastructure.
We would like to see the extension of agricultural permitted development rights, especially within protected landscapes, including barn conversions, rooftop solar and external lighting, so rural businesses within these areas remain viable and able to diversify.
7. Electricity Generator Levy Bill
The government says this Bill will break the link between electricity and gas prices, helping to lower energy costs. It says this is because our energy prices are still being driven by the price of gas, even though more than 50% of our energy is produced by renewables, which are typically producing energy at a lower cost.
The Bill will also increase the rate of the Electricity Generator Levy, to ensure that any ‘exceptional revenue’ that generators receive from a spike in gas prices is available to the government so it can support businesses and households with the cost of living.
Initial NFU reaction
The NFU welcomes the government’s plans to bring down energy prices by decoupling electricity prices from gas prices. Farmers are under immense pressure from high energy prices, exacerbated by the Iran conflict and the recent increase in standing charges.
However, it is vital that renewables producers, often farmers who have invested in diversifying their businesses, are not disadvantaged by this Bill and are able to receive a fair market price for the good they deliver.
8. Overnight Visitor Levy Bill
The Overnight Visitor Levy Bill delivers a Labour manifesto commitment to transfer power out of Westminster by giving regional Mayors additional revenue raising powers through a ‘tourist levy’ – a fee charged to people when they stay or visit a destination.
This Bill is the first of its kind giving regional leaders their own income-generation powers away from the Treasury, and may pave the way for more of these powers to come to mayors in the future.
Initial NFU reaction
The NFU is opposed to an Overnight Visitor Levy in principle.
For many years, rural businesses, including farms, were encouraged to engage in diversification.
Government schemes were launched to help farms and other businesses to generate supplementary income from different diversification projects. The Rural England Prosperity Fund, among others, helped rural businesses diversify into tourism.
Now, some 72% of all rural businesses are estimated to be involved in some form of diversification according to Defra statistics. In some cases, farm diversification could have included creating a small rental property with a restored farm cottage, or using a plot of land to create a small campsite.
The implications of this proposed levy include a potential loss of business, an additional administrative burden and unclear prioritisation for how any funds raised would be directed back to support the growing interest in rural tourism across England.
Opportunity to boost confidence
Responding to the King’s Speech, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “With a new legislative programme set out in Parliament today, there are several areas where we can work in partnership with government to shape policy on behalf of farmers and growers.
“From the European Partnership Bill, Energy Independence Bill and Police Reform Bill to the Clean Water Bill, there are clear opportunities to help create the right policy framework for resilient, sustainable and profitable farm businesses that both produce food and protect the environment.
“Farmers and growers are the foundation of the country’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink – worth £153 billion to the economy and supporting four million jobs. However, confidence remains extremely low, with repeated global shocks from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine to increasingly volatile weather making producing food highly risky.
“Through this legislative agenda, government has the opportunity to boost confidence and strengthen resilience across the industry. In the short-term, it can take action to ensure farmers and growers remain profitable and resilient by tackling the current spiralling costs of fertiliser, fuel and energy because of the war in the Middle East.
“There’s also an urgent need for clarity on SFI with little information available ahead of the first application window opening in June. Ensuring a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU that minimises disruption to UK farmers and growers, protects innovation and ensures necessary transitional and technical adaptations is also vital.
“In the longer term, as part of the Police Bill ensuring fairer funding for police forces to tackle rural crime is key and meaningful consultation with the sector on the Clean Water Bill will be essential to building trust and securing support for future policy which understands the importance of water availability for food production.
“We will continue to work with government to ensure the voices of farmers and growers are represented at the heart of Westminster.”
