Small Farms and Family Businesses

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to my noble friend Lord Leicester for securing the debate and for speaking so eloquently, setting out the difficulties of the Budget proposal. I also add my heartfelt tribute to my noble friend Lady Cumberlege who, as the daughter of a GP, has maintained a life-long interest in healthcare. She will be much missed.

My focus today is on the human aspect and the potential social crisis unfolding as a result of the Government’s proposals, in particular what the implications will be for the uplands and tenant farmers. Issues of food security have been recounted in the debate but I recognise that taking land out of production for farming, such as the plans for solar farms on a small scale in Old Malton and on a much greater scale in East Yorkshire—up to four square miles—are just nonsensical. Reducing basic farm payments with a slow uptake of ELMS and the complexity of the SFI on top of the removal of capital grants for those farmers equipping themselves to farm in an environmentally friendly way are deeply regrettable.

What exactly will the impact on tenant farms be? If you look at North Yorkshire, County Durham and many northern counties—the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle mentioned Northumbria—48% of farms are tenanted, yet it is deeply unclear how these proposals will apply to them. At the very least, will the Minister, in summing up, commit to issuing draft legislation or the usual tax information and impact note before July next year to ensure that tenants can prepare in the best way possible for these proposals, well in advance of the timescale that the Government are minded to introduce?

Your Lordships will be aware that farmers are fiercely proud, private and independent. They are reluctant even to visit the GP and seek healthcare when they most need it. What I regret most about these Budget proposals is the mood of anxiety, distress and uncertainty that they have created about the future, affecting whole families—not just the adult farmers but their children, who are now displaying signs of mental health issues which need to be addressed. As others have mentioned, this impacts on the whole rural community; farmers are the glue holding it together.

I pay tribute to the farming charities, which are being called on to intervene even more this year—such as RABI, the Farming Community Network, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services, of which I am a patron, and the chaplain to the auction mart at Thirsk, Yvonne Bowling, whom I meet regularly. She is deeply distressed by the hardship caused to the farmers, particularly financially, and she requests urgent action to address this. The Government have not even brought forward greater climate resistance to the farming system nor ensured that productivity does not compromise their farms. Yvonne Bowling says:

“The health issues for our farmers are still serious with many issues, but as chaplains, we continue God’s work listening and walking alongside farmers in their worries and concerns”.


I am deeply grateful that she and others are showing concern for farmers in this way.

Farmers are in a unique and vulnerable position, and the Government seem totally incapable of understanding the uncertainty that they face. I hope that the noble Lord in winding up today will be respectful and mindful of what they are facing at this time.

Road Pricing

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 29th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend raises an important point about the cost of motoring. That really is top of mind for the Government. It is why we have frozen fuel duty since 2011 and had a 5p cut on fuel duty since March 2022. We recognise that for many people—particularly those in rural communities—using their car is essential, and it can be quite costly.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will the Minister assure the House that, were the Government ever minded to introduce road pricing, rural communities and those who drive on rural roads—particularly in North Yorkshire, where we have the longest transit routes for people on their way to work or pleasure—would be protected?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

As I said at the outset, the Government have no plans to consider road pricing. Therefore, I cannot give my noble friend that assurance, because it would be purely hypothetical.

Alternative Investment Fund Designation Bill [HL]

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 1st March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord. I was introduced to investment trusts by my late father, who was a proud Scot and a modest investor. Sadly, since his passing, my investment portfolio seems to have been on the downward trajectory.

I congratulate my noble friend Lady Altmann on the excellent and timely Bill before us, along with the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, who is supporting it. I lend my full support for the proposals contained therein. I commit to their energy and enthusiasm for the provisions of the Bill and the aim of protecting investors, whether minor or major, who are shareholders in investment trusts. My noble friend called for the urgent issue of guidance, and I support her request. Can my noble friend the Minister say whether there is any reason why guidance could not be issued? That would support the call from the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, for an urgent review and revision of the law.

I press the Government on the matter of a consultation. Will my noble friend the Minister bring forward a consultation at the earliest possible opportunity, with a view to introducing legislative measures in short order thereafter? Presumably, that could be by way of statutory instrument and regulations, rather than the need for primary legislation such as that before us today.

Further, does my noble friend the Minister agree with my noble friend Lady Altmann, the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, and others who have spoken that the current situation is unacceptable and—as the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, said—highly misleading to potential investors? This is a serious but typical case of gold-plating, whereby, as I understand it, the original directive was not prescriptive but a domestic interpretation, through regulation, added bells and whistles.

This is not the only example of this. From my personal experience of serving as a Member of the European Parliament, I know of the abattoir directive. That was very much a framework directive, but the home department, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, looked at it as the opportunity to close a number of family-run abattoirs, with the perverse effect that animals had to travel further to slaughter. Another example is the toy safety directive, which, in its domestic implementation, added all sorts of provisions that meant that the donation of second-hand toys to charity shops dried up. That led to the then Trade Secretary—the noble Lord, Lord Heseltine—calling time on that highly-damaging practice to the domestic industry.

In support of the Bill, I can do no better than quote my noble friend Lady Altmann from a recent article in Money Marketing. She wrote:

“UK investment companies have historically been a world-beating success story, offering an excellent way for investors to back sustainable British growth. But this once thriving sector, with over 350 companies quoted on London stock markets and assets exceeding £250bn, is in crisis”.


She concluded:

“It is … galling to see new EU-derived cost disclosure rules, not applied in the EU or any other country”,


undermine

“a once thriving UK financial sector”.

In the words of the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, the Brexiteers won and have achieved their goal, but they must accept that this is the complete opposite of a Brexit dividend. It is highly damaging to both existing and potential investors, and has been highly damaging to the financial sector. The Bill is an opportunity for my noble friend the Minister to address that, and I hope that she will take that opportunity today.

King’s Speech

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, we have heard two brilliant maiden speeches, and I congratulate both speakers on making such excellent contributions.

I welcome and congratulate the right reverend Prelate to this House. As a member of the Rural Affairs Group of the Church of England Synod, I particularly welcome him. His impeccable credentials are proved on both rural and environmental matters. I understand that we were both educated in North Yorkshire and are both alumni of Edinburgh University, so I think that is a very good start for him. I am delighted that he reflected his strong sense of community in his maiden speech. He serves the diocese of Norwich, which proudly boasts of a beautiful garden widely known as the Garden of Eden. To continue the theme of my noble friend Lord Bridges, that is possibly not disconnected from the fact that it neighbours the well-frequented “Adam and Eve” hostelry.

The right reverend Prelate serves with distinction; his work on medical ethics as a board member of the Human Tissue Authority is exemplary. He has also found time to publish a book on walking, The Way Under Our Feet: A Spirituality of Walking, and, as he mentioned, is lead Bishop on the environment; we first worked together on national parks. He is also an avid beekeeper and has chaired the Forestry Commission’s forestry and woodlands committee in the north-east. He is passionate about biodiversity. I look forward to working together on rural and environmental issues, and to his many future contributions to this House.

I turn to the contents of the gracious Speech as regards the rural economy, food and farming. The animal welfare and livestock exports Bill will ban the export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain to the EU. Why is this ban not reciprocal? Why is it at present nigh on impossible to export cattle from this country for breeding purposes, but there is no ban on imports from the EU? Given that we have high standards of animal welfare in this country, which I welcome, I urge the Government to closely and properly monitor the imports of live animals, plants and food products into this country. I watch with alarm the explosion of bluetongue. We appear to be accepting live animals into this country, but my understanding is that there is no centralised quarantine point and, as yet, no border control points. That does indeed threaten the very basic domestic biosecurity in this country.

Last week the FSA, in its second annual report on our food, mentioned a specific alert about shortages in key occupations needed to keep our food safe, such as, in particular, vets and food inspectors. The FSA, both for England and for Scotland, goes on in the report to call on the Government to introduce import controls on food imported from the EU, and to reduce the risk of unsafe foods entering the UK from the EU and other third countries. How do the Government intend to respond to the FSA report and the alarms it has raised?

In view of the recent floods and the third storm this autumn, it is disappointing that the gracious Speech makes only fleeting reference to adaptation and other aspects of flooding. Residents have suffered appalling flood events and farmers have seen their land waterlogged, threatening food production, food security and the vital role that farmers play in food protection to communities downstream. This could represent a potential loss to the economy and a threat to food security and to the environmental protections that farmers provide.

While it was agreed that it would be best not to build on flood plains, 60% of potential building locations are on flood plains. Would it not be better to renovate existing properties in market towns and cities, in particular focusing on the provision of one or two-bedroom homes in rural areas rather than this fixation with four or five-bedroom homes? In particular, it is extremely important that farmers nearing retirement can remain in a rural area; a small one or two-bedroom home would be ideal.

The role of mapping is very much the preserve of local authorities, particularly mapping the division between zones 3a and 3b as regards flooding. We established that this is not being done through the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act. How can we identify the areas most prone to flooding and reduce the risk of flooding going forward? I hope this is something the Government will focus on in any legislation on adaptation and mitigation.

I urge noble Lords to spare a thought for farmers at this very difficult time. Some 58% of grade 1 agricultural land is situated on a flood plain and 9% is at high risk of coastal flooding. Fields are currently waterlogged or flooded. Farmers cannot plant crops or feed their livestock.

As with all commercial insurance, the availability of flood insurance is primarily determined by flood mapping. Using these flood maps, insurance underwriters will then consider their stance on floods and align their acceptance of risk, with some having a more lenient approach than others. Flood risk is usually built into farm insurance as standard, if available, when it comes to buildings and equipment, including crops in store. However, it is routinely unavailable in respect of livestock and straw in fields or for growing crops, which means that farmers will effectively face the total loss of any crop failure due to flooding.

Some farmers are now attempting to reach agreement with the Environment Agency to offer their land for flood alleviation in return for specific payment, which I hope my noble friend will look favourably on when she comes to review the gracious Speech in terms of the impact on the rural economy, farmers and residents who have been affected by recent flooding.

VAT: Building Repairs and Maintenance

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

Let me relate that to the topic at hand. The temporary zero rate of VAT that I have referred to, which applies to installations of qualifying energy-saving materials, will be expanded to Northern Ireland on 1 May this year.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not agree that, with rural churches closing at an alarming rate, there is a case to be made for VAT to be either reduced or abolished on repairs for local churches?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

As I referred to earlier, we have in place the listed places of worship scheme that provides support to places of worship, which runs until March 2025.

European Structural and Investment Funds and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I am aware that there are elements of funding from the European Social Fund in Northern Ireland that are due to come to an end at the end of this month. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is administering a competition to replace that funding, and it received strong and positive responses from organisations across Northern Ireland seeking to deliver the aims of that programme. It is working very hard to make the final selection decisions as quickly as possible.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend accept that, for two categories of farmers—particularly hill farmers and tenant farmers—the level of income from the European funds is falling faster than initially expected? Will she work with Defra to ensure that their incomes are protected, and that they continue to produce the excellent food that they do for this country?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure that Defra will want to support the work of all farmers in our economy. My noble friend referred to two different categories of farmer: I know that my noble friend Lady Rock did an excellent review into tenant farmers, and a number of her recommendations have been taken forward. As Defra develops its programmes for the sustainable farming incentive and other replacements for EU funds, it will want to take into account the needs of different farmers across the UK.

Energy Profits Levy

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 7th February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I would like to reassure the noble Baroness on that second point. We have the energy price guarantee in place and specific support going to the most vulnerable households. It is at the forefront of our minds that people have faced a difficult winter and that energy prices will remain elevated for some time. We are also putting support into improved energy efficiency and insulation to help bring down bills.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, while I welcome the investment the Government are making in renewables, is it not wrong that vulnerable households are paying between 9% and 12% of their electricity bills in green levies? Would it not be more appropriate for the renewables industry to carry this itself or for it to be a charge placed on energy companies or electricity distribution companies?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

Renewable levies have helped drive the successful track record I referred to earlier, but we are always conscious of consumers’ bills rising. That is why we have put in the significant support that we have.

Alcohol Duty Bands

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My Lords, as I have said, in keeping alcohol duty rates under review we aim to balance the impact on businesses with public health objectives. The reforms we have made to alcohol duty rates are the biggest reforms that we have had in 140 years. It is right that businesses have the time that they need to adjust to those changes.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

Is my noble friend able to tell the House today what position the Government have taken on the public health aspect of reducing alcohol consumption between higher and variable rates of alcohol, depending on the strength of the alcohol, as opposed to minimum-unit pricing?

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My noble friend is right that the Government’s preferred approach has been to reform alcohol duties and align them all based on the strength of alcohol. As I have said to other noble Lords, that is an approach that has public health at its heart.

Financial Services

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My Lords, what I actually said is that the FCA guidance on bank branch closures has recently been strengthened. I do not recognise the picture the noble Lord paints. Firms are expected carefully to consider the impact of planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and to consider alternative arrangements. The strengthened FCA guidance has specifically looked at enhancing protections for consumers who rely on those branch services. For instance, there are examples of banks placing people in those branches to ensure that they can help their customers to access banking through digital means such as mobile or online banking. There is also the rollout of Post Office banking hubs to provide more in-person services to customers.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

What consideration have the Government given to the ability of residents in rural areas to continue to draw cash from ATM machines, and to the security implications of rural businesses not being able to bank their cash at peak times?

Cross-Government Cost Cutting

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 6th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure the Home Office takes that into account. This Government have a strong record on protecting women who have had to flee violence; we brought forward the Domestic Abuse Act, among other things. Even when looking back to previous years, from 2010 onwards those budgets were protected.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, would my noble friend look closely at the property portfolio? As of January this year, only 34% of government office property had been onboarded, as it is apparently called. There is obviously scope to add more to this. Will my noble friend look closely at NHS properties in particular? For example, in a city such as York, with all the different organisations that have owned various properties, I would be interested to know how many are occupied and used for NHS purposes at this time.

[Baroness Penn (Con)]

I reassure my noble friend that the Government continue their efforts to reduce the government estate, and progress is being made to hit the £500 million per annum asset disposal target. There are significant property sales under way, including the empty sites and outdated buildings around the Royal London Hospital, which will create a new home for life sciences in London: the Whitechapel Road life sciences cluster.