Rural reforms get £400m boost

The cash will help fund much-needed changes to the industry, proposed by Sir Donald Curry after last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak.

His report, published in January, said £500m over three years was needed for reforms including the shift from intensive food production towards projects that protect the environment.

Unveiling his spending review to the House of Commons, Mr Brown insisted that the "core recommendations" of the Curry Report would be implemented, with a 2.7% a year rise in the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) budget to £2.9bn, by 2005/06.

Flood defences

Rural affairs secretary Margaret Beckett said the settlement would "allow us to move towards a sustainable future for the countryside".

Mrs Beckett welcomed additional funding for flood and coastal defences, with an annual rise of £150m in England alone by 2005/06.

Funding for implementing the Curry report will increase to £200m a year in 2005/06.

It will pay for a two-year pilot project to encourage farmers to shift away from intensive food production and towards environmentally friendly farming.

Animal tracker

There will also be cash to pay for better advice and training to make farmers more competitive.

Extra cash will go towards animal health, with the expansion of programmes for BSE testing and eliminating scrapie.

Better electronic livestock identification systems will make it easier to track animals through the food chain.

Joint Defra/HM Customs & Excise operations will prevent illegal imports of meat and will enhance the department's surveillance and emergency planning capacity.

Fridge disposal

The package aims to ensure farmers and taxpayers make a fair contribution towards the cost of dealing with future disease outbreaks.

It includes cash to help local authorities deal with the growth of municipal waste and the shift away from landfill disposal.

It is designed to meet the shorter-term challenges of fridge disposal and reform of hazardous waste legislation.

The government will take final decisions on additional resources once the performance and innovation unit has completed its report, expected in the autumn, into sustainable waste management.

Following the recent public consultation, a decision on the future of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme will be announced at the same time.