Domestic Farming and Food Supply

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Westminster Hall

15:59

[Sir Jeremy Wright (in the Chair)]

Carla Lockhart will move the motion, and the Minister will respond. I remind all other Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and from the Minister. As is the convention in shorter debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered domestic farming and food supply.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. Tomorrow the Chancellor of the Exchequer will stand at the Dispatch Box and tell us what this Government intend to do for the economy. Before those decisions are finalised, I want to make the case for the people who put food on our tables, because whatever Ministers say about supporting working people, farming families have every reason to feel that they have been singled out.

I know personally how hard farmers work. I know the hours, the worry and the sacrifices needed to keep a farm functioning. There is precious little spare money on many farms and certainly no shortage of bills, yet this Government seem to look at a farm valuation and see a pot of money waiting to be taxed. They show very little understanding of how farming actually works. Agriculture is devolved. I get that; I recognise it, and I have plenty to say about the decisions being taken at Stormont. But inheritance tax, trade policy and Treasury decisions are matters for this Government and their consequences are felt on farms throughout our United Kingdom.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend my hon. Friend for bringing this debate forward. The Ulster Farmers’ Union is represented here, and I declare an interest as one of those. Our national food security relies inherently on the economic viability of our local family farms. For the agrifood capital that is Strangford—my constituency—domestic farming is not just an industry. Does my hon. Friend agree with me and share my concerns that the family farm inheritance tax could well be the death knell for family farms in Northern Ireland?

[Carla Lockhart]

Absolutely, and that is the focus of my speech today.

[Stuart Anderson (South Shropshire) (Con)]

I regularly meet South Shropshire farmers, who work night and day to put food on the table, and hear about the challenges that they face. Does the hon. Member agree that everything should be done to unlock all the red tape that the farmers have to deal with to produce food? Food production should be considered part of national security and resilience, because we need to ensure that we are self-sufficient.

[Carla Lockhart]

I agree fully. Labour often says that that is part of national security, but actions speak louder than words in many ways.

Northern Ireland punches well above its weight. We have less than 3% of the UK’s population, but produce more than 10% of its food output by value. We supply about one fifth of UK egg production and approximately one sixth of its dairy, beef and poultry output. Those figures should leave Ministers in no doubt about Northern Ireland’s importance to feeding this nation. In Upper Bann, farming keeps a whole network of businesses going. The feed merchant, the machinery dealer, the haulier, the veterinary practices and the processors all depend on a viable industry. When money stops being spent on farms, those businesses feel it too.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member on bringing this debate to the House. Will she also acknowledge that the Ulster Farmers’ Union pre-Budget membership survey showed that 84% of its membership have postponed, cancelled or reduced investment in at least one of the seven areas on which they were surveyed, and that has a knock-on effect on supply chains across the country?

[Carla Lockhart]

Absolutely. That was my next point: 84% of respondents to this survey have reduced, postponed or cancelled investment. That is really stark. More than half identified inheritance tax policy as a barrier to investment. Farmers are holding back on replacing machinery, improving livestock housing and carrying out drainage work. Ministers keep telling farmers to become more productive. How are they supposed to do that if the money needed to invest is being held back to prepare for a future tax bill? I welcome the increase in the combined agricultural and business property relief allowance from the original proposal of £1 million to £2.5 million per person, but I have never accepted that that resolves the problem.

[Alex Easton (North Down) (Ind)]

I thank the hon. Lady for giving leadership on this issue, and so many others. Does she agree that in Northern Ireland and across the UK, domestic farming must be viable, and that, to achieve that, the Government must provide support to help farmers manage rising costs and ensure that producers receive a fair return?

[Carla Lockhart]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Member’s assessment. I cannot be clearer: the family farm tax should be scrapped, and if Labour does not scrap it tomorrow, the party—and particularly its rural MPs—will not be forgiven at the ballot box. The land, sheds and machinery are needed to earn a living, and their value cannot simply be withdrawn from a bank account. If land has to be sold, the farm loses some of its ability to produce food and generate an income. For a business already operating on tight margins, that can make all the difference. It is not unreasonable for a farmer who has worked all their life to want their children to carry on that work. These are families who have gone without, borrowed, reinvested and spent years building something they hoped would outlast them.

More than a third of respondents to the UFU survey anticipated an inheritance tax bill of at least £100,000, and more than seven in 10 are less confident about passing on a financially viable business. Almost nine in 10 reported increased family stress or worry because of the changes. I ask the Minister to think about the conversations behind those figures—a father wondering what will happen when he is gone; a mother worried about the burden being left to her children; a young person who wants to farm but cannot see how the figures will stack up. There is enough worry in farming without the Government adding to it. Tomorrow, the Chancellor can lift some of that uncertainty, and I urge the Minister to make the case for restoring the historical reliefs and allowing working family farms to be passed on.

There are also decisions closer to home that are holding the industry back. In Northern Ireland, farmers are told to improve their buildings, reduce emissions and invest in better slurry management but when they try to do those things, they can find themselves caught in planning delays and environmental assessments with no clear way forward. In some cases, they cannot even get betterment through the planning system. A farmer may want to replace an old shed with a modern building, improve animal welfare and reduce emissions yet still struggle to secure approval. How does leaving the old building in place help anyone? I accept that applications must be properly assessed, but there must be a workable route for proposals that demonstrably improve the existing position.

Farmers are spending money on advice, reports and revised applications while the costs of proposed work continue to rise. Ministers at Stormont need to get to grips with this. Farmers cannot be expected to modernise if the system prevents them from doing so. The situation is exactly the same here in GB, and farmers are fed up with being made the fall guy in the pursuit of net zero. They are expected to produce affordable food, look after the countryside and pay for the changes demanded of them, often without any realistic explanation of how their business is supposed to bear the cost. Some of those making the demands would do well to spend a week on a working farm.

[Edward Morello (West Dorset) (LD)]

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech and raises many points that go far beyond Northern Ireland. She is talking about the need to improve farms and combat climate change, but how are farmers supposed to engage seriously in this process? My farmers in West Dorset are unable to apply for the sustainable farming incentive because the window is closing so quickly and it is not properly funded. That is leaving them drastically under-budget for the financial year ahead and wondering why they are continuing to meet all the demands being made by the Government when they are not getting a fair settlement.

[Carla Lockhart]

The hon. Member’s farmers will have heard his point very clearly. He is a real advocate for the farming community in his constituency, and he is absolutely right. Driving production overseas will not remove the need for food. It will leave us buying more of it from elsewhere, with less control over how it is produced and with further distances to transport it.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

The hon. Lady is being incredibly generous with her time, as ever. She will recall that the Defence Secretary told families last weekend to be ready for potential shocks that might come our way. Does she agree that, given what she was just saying, the UK as a whole needs to be far more ready to become food secure? Only 60% of the food that we eat here is produced across our four nations. Is it not the job of all four Governments in this country—the three devolved ones and the UK Government—to ensure that we have farm payment schemes that encourage the production of food, so that we can become food secure?

[Carla Lockhart]

Absolutely. Farm payments are critical to ensuring just that. I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member, who is another real advocate for our farming and rural communities.

Our farmers will make improvements where there are practical, affordable ways to do so, but they should not have their livelihoods put at risk by targets pursued with little regard for the consequences. The same applies to imports. Earlier this year, I raised concerns about imported eggs and egg products, including reports that imports had increased by 60% since 2021. Our producers have spent considerable sums meeting the standards required of them. They are rightly angry at the prospect of being undercut by egg producers under systems that would not be permitted here. Government cannot impose those costs on our farmers and then shrug their shoulders when cheaper products arrive from elsewhere.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

On imports, the hon. Lady might be touching on one of the really important topics for the farming community, which is the huge power of the supermarket chains in setting prices. Farm-gate prices are clearly making it very difficult for farmers to earn the decent living that they so deserve. Does she agree that the Government should absolutely take on board some of the comments by Baroness Batters on that, and do everything they can to ensure that farmers get a fair price and that competition works not just in the interests of the supermarkets, but in those of our farmers?

[Carla Lockhart]

Again, I agree; it is a point well made. Another area in which the Government can help our farmers is public procurement, and they should be doing far more. I have challenged the sourcing of food for Northern Ireland schools. Information provided to me showed that approximately 80% of the Education Authority’s beef came from the Republic of Ireland, with around 20% from Northern Ireland. Given the quality of beef produced on our doorstep, I believe that is wrong.

I have also raised the use of halal-certified chicken. The Education Authority has said that it could not meet demand if halal chicken were excluded from its supply. Again, when we look at Northern Ireland and the number of chicken producers there, that should not be the case. We should be able to supply our own markets. Parents are entitled to know what their children are being served and to have clear information about the choices, and they want home-grown food. I want the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland, and indeed the Treasury here, to use public money wisely and to support our local markets.

I also want to return to an issue that I have raised repeatedly with this Government: illegal meat imports. Our farmers can do everything asked of them on biosecurity and still have their livelihoods put at risk by failures at the border. In January last year, around 600 kg of non-compliant meat was stopped at Larne after travelling through Great Britain. I commend the officials who intercepted it, but it should concern every Minister responsible that it had travelled so far without being detected.

At Dover, almost 99 tonnes were seized during 2024, in 868 separate seizures. In December that year, more than six tonnes were intercepted within just 14 hours, including pork reported to have come from areas of Romania affected by African swine fever. In the first three months of 2025 alone, 58 tonnes were seized. I have raised this issue in writing and directly with Ministers. Last year, the Government outlined joint working between agencies, funding offered to Dover Port Health Authority and plans to tackle vehicles used by smugglers. I want the Minister to tell us today what has changed as a result: how much additional inspection capacity is now operating, what prosecutions have followed, whether our enforcement agencies are getting the resources they need, and whether the Government have properly addressed the weaknesses raised about the border target operating model.

Farmers remember foot and mouth. They remember the destruction, the restrictions and the heartbreak. We cannot allow those lessons to be forgotten. The cost of effective enforcement must be weighed against the devastation that a serious disease outbreak could cause. Those involved in this trade need to face consequences that make them think twice. Seize the products, disrupt the operation and pursue prosecutions wherever the evidence allows.

Northern Ireland’s farmers also face additional friction within the UK market created by the Windsor framework. A great deal has been made about how the EU reset will benefit them. We are apparently supposed to welcome the rest of the United Kingdom being brought under SPS rules that it does not make and cannot change.

[Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)]

There is a certain irony in the title of this debate: domestic farming. In one part of the United Kingdom, we are governed not by domestic laws but by foreign EU laws. Does the hon. Member agree about the folly of a reset that would subject the whole United Kingdom to that same disenfranchisement of being governed by laws we do not make and cannot change? Does she note that the Government are yet to tell us how much the reset on farming would cost in the EU’s demands for contributions to its budget?

[Carla Lockhart]

I absolutely agree. Maybe the Minister can elaborate on that. I have never been convinced that the answer to the disenfranchisement of Northern Ireland is the disenfranchisement of Great Britain. How can laws made elsewhere, without the United Kingdom having a vote on them, be the right basis for governing our farming industry?

Some changes applying to Northern Ireland barely attract scrutiny. The Windsor Framework (Retail Movement Scheme: Plant Health) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 changed requirements in Great Britain to match those already applying in Northern Ireland. Parliament was considering legislation for GB, while the corresponding requirements in Northern Ireland were already a fact of life. That is no way to treat part of our own country.

We should also remember the freedoms denied to Northern Ireland farmers. England has legislation to allow precision breeding. Work is progressing on cattle TB vaccinations in Great Britain, while Northern Ireland remains subject to the EU prohibition. Since 1 January, retailers in Great Britain have been unable to supply veterinary medicines directly to Northern Ireland. Other supply arrangements remain, but farmers have lost an established route for obtaining medicines from the rest of their own country.

There are also differences in the rules governing mycotoxins in cereals and additional requirements on organic production. Those are practical matters affecting what farmers can use and produce and the cost. I want Ministers to look again at properly enforced trusted traders schemes for goods crossing the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, protecting the EU market through targeted controls on goods entering it and allowing trade within the United Kingdom without these barriers.

Extending rule taking to Great Britain does not restore Northern Ireland’s voice. We should be protecting the freedoms secured through Brexit and ensuring that Northern Ireland’s farmers can benefit from them, too. At the end of the day, this debate is about domestic farming and food supply, yet in Northern Ireland so many of the laws governing our agrifood industry are made by the European Union, with no vote for those we elect and no ability to change the laws.

How can Ministers talk about securing our domestic food supply while accepting that part of our country must take its agriculture rules from elsewhere? Northern Ireland’s farmers help to feed the United Kingdom and deserve the same democratic voice in the decisions affecting their livelihoods as farmers elsewhere. All these pressures fall on the same businesses: rising costs, disease, planning difficulties, barriers to trade and uncertainty over whether the next generation will face a tax bill it cannot afford. Ministers may deal with those issues separately; the farmer has to deal with them all at once.

That is why tomorrow’s Budget matters so much. The Chancellor has an opportunity to restore confidence, release investment and give farming families some certainty about the future. I will continue to speak up for the farmers of Upper Bann, Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom. They have worked hard and kept producing through some exceptionally difficult years. They have been patient and made their case and they deserve to be heard.

Once a family farm is broken up, it is not easily put back together. Once a young person walks away from farming, we may never get them back. We cannot keep weakening the industry, assuming there will always be someone else to carry it on. Scrap the family farm tax, let farmers invest, give the next generation a reason to stay: no farmers, no food, no future.

16:19

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I want to start by thanking the hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) for securing this debate. She knows agriculture is a devolved issue. We are committed to working closely with the devolved Governments as we work to support UK farmers and boost the nation’s food security. I welcome her focus on UK matters today, alongside the various insights she has brought from Northern Ireland.

Before I respond to the debate, Chair, allow me to begin by stating that farmers are the backbone of our food system, rural economy and national resilience. Yet I recognise that many are working under extraordinary pressure, with volatile markets, extreme weather, animal disease, and rising input and energy costs.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The Minister has outlined accurately that although matters are devolved, there are issues that fall to the Treasury and to his own responsibility. He has heard the concerns, which I am sure he has heard many times before. Can he outline the representations that I am sure he has made to the Treasury on behalf of the farming community ahead of tomorrow’s Budget?

[Stephen Morgan]

Matters of taxation are for the Chancellor. More will be known in the Budget tomorrow, but I can certainly share that I work closely with my colleagues in Northern Ireland. Under my previous ministerial responsibility, I was delighted to visit Northern Ireland, and hope to do so in future on the important issues being discussed today.

The importance of the pressures that I have mentioned cannot be overstated. Agriculture alone contributes £14.5 billion to the economy, and the wider food and drink sector contributed £153 billion in 2023. The agrifood sector employed 4.1 million people in 2025. Food security is about national security.

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Ind)]

After months of drought, 175 wildfires and 369 cases of bluetongue this summer alone, Cornish farmers have had an exceptionally hard year. Rising fertiliser costs, driven by disruption from a completely avoidable conflict with Iran, have placed a particular burden on British farmers. Can the Minister comment further on media reports that the Government are going to support the cost of fertiliser in tomorrow’s Budget? If that is the case, that will be very good news indeed.

[Stephen Morgan]

The hon. Member is a real champion on farming issues, as was very evident from my time in Cornwall over the summer with the Prime Minister. I know that he is a real champion on those issues. I obviously cannot comment on speculation. There is an indication that there might be announcements tomorrow that will be supportive of our farming community, but I ask him for a little more patience ahead of the Chancellor’s statement tomorrow.

I thank the hon. Member for Upper Bann for identifying specific issues. Trade is a very important matter that of course affects Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. To address the pressures that were raised by farmers in Northern Ireland and across the country, markets must work fairly. UK farmers should not be undercut by imports produced to lower standards. We will maintain our food and animal welfare standards. We will use quotas, exclusions and safeguards where necessary, and open new export opportunities for high-quality UK produce.

The last four deals we concluded, with Switzerland, India, the Gulf Co-operation Council and South Korea, created new opportunities for Northern Irish exports, while protecting sensitive sectors such as pork, poultry and eggs. Tariffs on Northern Irish beef, lamb and dairy exports will be removed in the Gulf and reduced further in Switzerland. Tariffs on whisky exports to India have been halved and will continue to go down over the next 10 years.

We also have a global network of 16 agrifood and drink attachés who create new opportunities for export and help businesses to access markets around the globe. So far this year they have removed 26 barriers, worth nearly £90 million annually. The proposed SPS agreement with the European Union is intended to remove the routine border checks and costly paperwork, reducing friction for exporters and supporting the UK’s food supply and security. The agreement will remove almost all SPS checks and certificates between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That will reduce costs for a whole range of businesses and increase choice for consumers. I know Northern Irish farmers welcome the deal. They see the benefit in removing checks on used agricultural machinery such as tractors, which are often bought from Great Britain. As another example, seed potatoes will be easier to bring in, and Northern Irish farmers will be operating under the same rules, for example on pesticides, as the rest of the UK.

We are also supporting farmers across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland, through our programme of fair dealing reforms. On 2 October, the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza of this season was confirmed in Scotland, and we have now had our first case in England. Stringent biosecurity remains the best defence for protecting the health and welfare of birds, and reducing the risk of avian influenza entering kept bird populations. On bovine tuberculosis, it is worth stating that the Government are developing a cattle vaccine and a DIVA—detect infected among vaccinated animals—skin test, widening sensitive testing, expanding badger vaccination and working towards TB-free status for England by 2038.

The reason I stress those points is that the hon. Member for Upper Bann made a number of points about enforcement at our borders and illegal meat. I can confirm that the Government continue to work across Departments to develop a new framework, in partnership with the Home Office, Border Force, the Food Standards Authority and others. More details will be published in due course.

With regard to tax matters that have been raised in the debate, I recognise that when the Government initially announced reform to the agricultural property relief and business property relief in 2024, there was significant concern in the industry about the impact. The Government listened to those concerns and acted, going further to protect more farms and businesses. Up to £5 million can still be passed on free of inheritance tax, depending on people’s individual circumstances. Farming families will be able to pass the family farm down to their children, just as previous generations have done.

Let me turn to the points raised about the certainty to invest and planning issues. The farming roadmap was published earlier this year. We recognise that those in the sector need confidence to invest to grow their businesses, plan for the future and secure farms for the next generation. These are important for profitable food production and resilience to global shocks. In England, through our farming roadmap, we have set a new long-term direction for the sector—one that is more profitable, productive, sustainable and resilient, and that will be better able to withstand climate, market and geopolitical shocks. Through the roadmap, we have committed to maintaining domestic food production at least at current levels, and our commitment to farmers is backed by a record £11.8 billion for sustainable farming and food production over this Parliament. This year, £788 million in new funding has been committed to boost productivity, develop new technologies and maintain a healthy natural environment. Support includes £225 million for capital grants, £173 million for productivity and innovation, and £15 million for on-farm reservoirs to strengthen drought resilience.

On red tape and bureaucracy, I recognise farmers’ frustration with ever-increasing bureaucracy. Regulation is necessary to address risks, but compliance requirements can be a burden and slow growth. We are delivering actions through the Government’s regulation action plan to reduce these burdens on farmers and will take further action.

The pressures facing UK farming are real, and no responsible Government should dismiss them. I thank the hon. Member for Upper Bann for her insight into the issues raised in today’s debate. Our task is to stand alongside farmers, strengthen profitability and resilience, and to ensure that UK farming can continue to produce the food on which we all depend.

Question put and agreed to.