CUMBRIAN MP Tim Farron has led a Westminster Hall debate on the future of funding for upland farmers.

Mr Farron accused the Government of driving farmers out of business by cutting their incomes by a third, and called for ministers to allocate an extra billion pounds in supporting farmers deliver environmental goods.

It comes as the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed to Mr Farron last week that just 25 farms out of the entire Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency have signed up to the new Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Mr Farron also warned that an exodus of farmers could jeopardise the future of Cumbria’s landscape and put at risk the Lake District’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Farron said: “It is our upland farmers in Longsleddale and Kentmere, who protect thousands of homes in Kendal, Staveley and Burneside from flooding; it is our upland farmers in the Lakes who maintain water quality for the whole North West of England; it is our upland farmers who produce food, who maintain, shape and protect our historic landscapes – so much so that UNESCO awarded World Heritage Site Status to the Lake District, largely on the basis of how the national park is farmed.”