Reports in a national newspaper claim the government is to cut £100m from England’s nature-friendly farming budget.

Asked to respond, the Treasury did not directly deny the claim, saying "difficult decisions" are required to address a £22bn hole in the public finances.

The Guardian newspaper reported the cutbacks, citing sources within the Civil Service who indicated that ministers are justifying the reduction by pointing to an underspend of £100m per year from the £2.4bn budget. The Conservative government’s inability to fully utilise the allocated funds has reportedly made it difficult to argue for maintaining the budget at its current level to the Treasury.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has directed various departments, including the Defra, to find more than £1bn in savings.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed, responding to reports of the underspend earlier this year, promised that Labour would "cut through the Tory bureaucracy that has blocked farmers from receiving funding for work that includes protecting nature and wildlife habitats on their land".

In response to The Guardian report, a Treasury spokesperson said: “Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22bn hole in the public finances left by the last government. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round.”

Nature conservation groups and farmers have expressed strong opposition to the cut, warning that it could undermine the government’s legally binding commitments to improve the natural environment.

The Budget is due to be announced on October 30.