Red tape is starving British farms and threatening food security, writes Sir Mark Spencer
21 May 2025, 08:37 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 09:45
British farmers need all the help they can get.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Facing up to Labour’s inheritance tax relief raid next April, constantly battling the UK’s unreliable weather and desperately trying to make a profit as supermarkets push them ever harder on prices – it’s no wonder this most vital of sectors feels under the cosh.
That’s why farmers need to make savings where they can, including on the pesticide products used to enhance the growing of crops.
With UK food security once again under scrutiny, maximising the amount of produce grown here at home is vital for keeping shelves stacked, meals on the table and families fed.
But unacceptable delays in authorising chemicals for use are hampering farmers’ attempts to cut their costs and keep their operations going. Applications for some pesticide and fungicide products are months behind schedule.
These products and active ingredients would protect all manner of crops, from wheat to potatoes, barley to carrots. But an unacceptable backlog has built up and the agrochemicals industry is being starved of competition.
The body responsible for checking and authorising applications is the Chemical Regulations Division of the Health and Safety Executive.
Freedom of Information requests have found that between April 2019 and April 2023, the number of authorisations issued by the CRD in a calendar year fell from 983 to 637 - a drop of 35%.
Over the same period, the average length of time taken for an authorisation more than doubled from 157 days to 341.
These delays in bringing products to market mean farmers can’t legally buy them and are forced to rely on other, often more expensive, alternatives.
While products sit under CRD’s microscopes awaiting formal approval, farmers are being denied the chance to benefit from cost reductions of up to 20% at a time when the industry is struggling commercially and customers are suffering from soaring shelf prices.
Delays crippling the sector also send a message to the wider agrochemicals industry. Farmers will need access to the very latest technology and molecules if we are to assist in feeding the world and tackling climate change.
We require a regulatory system that can react quickly to the development of new technology and chemicals. Indeed, a more responsive, efficient environment would be a real opportunity for the UK to gain a commercial advantage over our international rivals in research and development.
I understand HSE receives more than 2,000 applications a year, but the CRD is badly under-resourced. Many newer employees are undergoing training or deployed on the simplest applications.
Others are unable to perform peer reviews because they simply do not have the necessary experience.
The CRD needs to speed-up its authorisation process so companies lodging applications get them turned round in time for crop planting seasons and farmers can use them on their land to provide food for our kitchens and dining rooms.
As a former farming minister, and a farmer myself, I am acutely aware of the regulatory and economic pressures affecting farms across the country. I understand how difficult it is to turn a profit in this industry – and how frustrating bureaucratic red-tape means farmers try to do their crucial jobs or feeding Britain with one hand tied behind their backs.
Sir Mark Spencer was the Farming Minister between 2022-24
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk
