HL Deb 13 November 2003 vol 654 c226WA
Baroness Byford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

(a) how near the Linking Environment and Farming audit is to a satisfactory whole-farm assessment scheme; and (b) which factors currently absent from the Linking Environment and Farming audit are required for it to be 100 per cent satisfactory as a whole-farm assessment scheme. [HL5390]

Lord Whitty

The Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) audit supports and promotes farming practices that are compatible with the system of integrated farm management (IFM) LEAF have developed. However, not all farming practice is compatible with the LEAF audit, a good example being organic production. A satisfactory whole-farm assessment scheme should be inclusive and open to the widest range of farmers possible, and to all farmers if it seeks to be a regulatory tool.

In developing the whole farm appraisal we aim to reduce the amount of paperwork that farmers have to face. Making use of data already provided by farmers for existing audits such as LEAF will help reduce the need for farmers to submit the same data twice.