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<blockquote data-quote="Janet Hughes Defra" data-source="post: 8157137" data-attributes="member: 153068"><p>I can absolutely assure you that we are definitely listening. (That doesn't mean we can agree with or act on absolutely everything everyone says though, so we're not going to satisfy everyone all of the time unfortunately, much as we might like to.)</p><p></p><p>On showing we're listening - here is an example from today: There were some comments on here and through our pilot about the fairness and balance of our contracts within our schemes. </p><p></p><p>We've published the terms and conditions for SFI today (along with the optional 'how to' technical guides). The terms and conditions include some significant changes based on feedback. For example it no longer has a clause in which Defra can change the rules or requirements, following feedback on here and in the pilot - we can now, for anyone coming into SFI, only make changes with the farmer's consent or in a genuinely exceptional situation (which is specifically defined, so that it's not in any doubt): <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance#terms-and-conditions" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance#terms-and-conditions</a></p><p></p><p>It's just one example, I realise, and I'm not saying that responds to all the feedback and input we've ever had - I just thought I'd share it as it came out today as an example of how we are listening to and acting on feedback and co-design.</p><p></p><p>We've also done quite a few things in the design of SFI in response to co-design and feedback, including:</p><p>* making the standards more flexible</p><p>* making the application process much quicker and more straightforward</p><p>* making it possible for tenants to have SFI agreements even if they are on 1-year rolling contracts</p><p>* taking a much fairer, more proportionate approach to controls (eg we won't withhold payments just on suspicion of a breach, as we did in the past in other schemes)</p><p></p><p>We have set up practitioner groups to co-design the next sets of standards for SFI and options for LNR, along with the learning from the piloting, tests and trials you and others are doing, so we can make sure they work for farmers.</p><p></p><p>We're currently testing a number of things through the pilot that are directly informing design of the scheme, including how different standards work including how they work together, how we manage visits and controls, how we manage flexibility (allowing people to change their agreements each year), and how we can best offer useful advice and guidance.</p><p></p><p>I'm not claiming we have this all perfect, and there is always plenty of room for improvement - I'm all ears as to any feedback and improvements you'd all like to see in how we engage and what we're doing. But we are absolutely committed to listening, working together and making sure what we're doing will work for farmers, and I think we can clearly show that we are doing that, albeit not perfectly and not in a way that pleases everyone all of the time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Janet Hughes Defra, post: 8157137, member: 153068"] I can absolutely assure you that we are definitely listening. (That doesn't mean we can agree with or act on absolutely everything everyone says though, so we're not going to satisfy everyone all of the time unfortunately, much as we might like to.) On showing we're listening - here is an example from today: There were some comments on here and through our pilot about the fairness and balance of our contracts within our schemes. We've published the terms and conditions for SFI today (along with the optional 'how to' technical guides). The terms and conditions include some significant changes based on feedback. For example it no longer has a clause in which Defra can change the rules or requirements, following feedback on here and in the pilot - we can now, for anyone coming into SFI, only make changes with the farmer's consent or in a genuinely exceptional situation (which is specifically defined, so that it's not in any doubt): [URL]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance/sustainable-farming-incentive-full-guidance#terms-and-conditions[/URL] It's just one example, I realise, and I'm not saying that responds to all the feedback and input we've ever had - I just thought I'd share it as it came out today as an example of how we are listening to and acting on feedback and co-design. We've also done quite a few things in the design of SFI in response to co-design and feedback, including: * making the standards more flexible * making the application process much quicker and more straightforward * making it possible for tenants to have SFI agreements even if they are on 1-year rolling contracts * taking a much fairer, more proportionate approach to controls (eg we won't withhold payments just on suspicion of a breach, as we did in the past in other schemes) We have set up practitioner groups to co-design the next sets of standards for SFI and options for LNR, along with the learning from the piloting, tests and trials you and others are doing, so we can make sure they work for farmers. We're currently testing a number of things through the pilot that are directly informing design of the scheme, including how different standards work including how they work together, how we manage visits and controls, how we manage flexibility (allowing people to change their agreements each year), and how we can best offer useful advice and guidance. I'm not claiming we have this all perfect, and there is always plenty of room for improvement - I'm all ears as to any feedback and improvements you'd all like to see in how we engage and what we're doing. But we are absolutely committed to listening, working together and making sure what we're doing will work for farmers, and I think we can clearly show that we are doing that, albeit not perfectly and not in a way that pleases everyone all of the time. [/QUOTE]
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