The Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Parliamentary Committee have published a Call for Evidence on Soil Health. The REA is planning to respond to this. The consultation closes 5th February 2023, and we ask all members to send us their comments by 26th January 2023 latest here.

The Committee invites submissions on the following:

  1. How can the Government measure progress towards its goal of making all soils sustainably managed by 2030? What are the challenges in gathering data to measure soil health how can these barriers be overcome?
  2. Do current regulations ensure that all landowners/land managers maintain and/or improve soil health? If not, how should they be improved?
  3. Will the standards under Environmental Land Management schemes have sufficient ambition and flexibility to restore soils across different types of agricultural land? What are the threats and opportunities for soil health as ELMs are introduced?
  4. What changes do we need to see in the wider food and agriculture sector to encourage better soil management and how can the Government support this transition?
  5. What does UK Government need to do to tackle other stressors on soil health such as soil contamination?

You can read the consultation here.