The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has legally challenged Government following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme.

A threatened legal challenge co-ordinated by the NFU, which asserted that ministers had acted illegally in suddenly closing the 2024 SFI scheme without notice in March, has reportedly “forced the Government to rethink” the closures.

The NFU coordinated and fully funded the proposed legal action, through a group of NFU members, arguing the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had not given the proper notice period of any closure it had promised to farmers applying for the scheme.

According to NFU, this meant thousands were left marooned with half completed applications, with some suffering financially having invested ahead of starting the SFI. The NFU also said that more than 6,000 farmers had started SFI applications when the scheme was suddenly scrapped, and that their cases should be processed.

NFU stated that lawyers for the Government said that the Secretary of State for Defra “is retaking the decision to close the SFI Scheme 2024 without notice”, and Defra has told its stakeholders to await an update relating to those farmers, alongside a promise to launch a new SFI scheme.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “We said from day one that this sudden closure, with just minutes’ notice, was wholly unacceptable and always wrong.

“The NFU was determined to use its expertise to challenge this devastating decision, and I would like to thank those members and staff who led this work.”