Farming in the Uplands - ARCHIVE: Defra

14 Farming in the Uplands
“strategy”, and anticipated that the document would set out a national perspective that
allowed for local flexibility. 61 It would, he told us, contain “serious action points that we
can deliver on.” 62
29. Mindful of our witnesses strictures that it is time to “get on with it”, the
Government should set out an uplands action plan; setting out its policy objectives, the
specific action to be taken to achieve them, by whom, the timescales for
implementation and the scale and source of the resources available. The action plan
should address the breadth of issues considered in High ground, high potential, allow
for flexibility of approach to reflect the variation between upland areas and encompass
action to be taken by each Government department.
Leadership
30. In High ground, high potential, the CRC identified the need to provide “...visible
leadership at a national level to drive genuinely integrated activity across all of the
government departments that have a role to play” 63 The CRC therefore recommended
that:
The Government should appoint an individual with lead responsibility for
developing and ensuring effective implementation of the new uplands strategy. This
individual should be accountable to Ministers of BIS, CLG, DECC and DEFRA. 64
The TFA has expressed concern that following the abolition of the CRC “...there will not be
a sufficient advocate for the uplands”. The Association said that “it is vital that someone or
some agency is given responsibility to take this work [the CRC’s recommendations]
forward.” 65 Professor Shucksmith told us that the CRC was not calling for a ‘rural tsar’, but
rather that “...somebody should have responsibility in Government [...]somebody who [...]
probably would be a Minister—somebody who would have responsibility”. 66 Dr Burgess
told us that he would wish that leadership role taken on by “...somebody right at the top
level of Government, in the Cabinet Office, for example”. 67
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31. William Worsley, President of the CLA, suggested that a Minister should have specific
responsibility for the uplands, “as somebody to champion and co-ordinate” among
government departments and agencies. 68 The NFU, however, suggested that “the diversity
of the English uplands and the range of communities present means a single champion
model is unlikely to be appropriate.” 69 Rather the NFU proposes “an uplands panel drawn
from business and social communities across England with a sponsoring Minister”;
61 Qq 178–179
62 Qq 169, 178–179
63 High ground, high potential, p 11
64 High ground, high potential, p 11
65 Ev 53
66 Q 21
67 Q 21
68 Q 101
69 Ev 63