Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support farmers whose mental health has been affected by the planned changes to inheritance tax rules for agricultural land and businesses.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We hear the concerns that have been raised around the changes to inheritance tax rules.
This Government will give mental health the same focus as physical health, which is why we are recruiting 8,500 new mental health support workers.
Changes to APR are designed to be fair and sustainable in the long term, and they will not affect most farmers.
Defra has a range of initiatives aimed at supporting farmer’s mental health and wellbeing more generally and we will continue to work with a range of farming charities to ensure that changes in policy are delivered effectively. We have provided £500,000 of funding to deliver projects through specialist organisations to support farmer’s mental health and wellbeing. We will continue to look for opportunities to support farmers and will host a roundtable in December with expert organisations to understand the issues causing mental ill-health in farming communities. Defra’s Farming & Countryside Programme blog also has information relating to external wellbeing services available specifically to farmers and rural communities.
We understand that farmers face numerous challenges which can affect their wellbeing. Recently, we have continued funding support for TB affected farmers and their families through the Farming Community Network, which will provide a national, free-to-access business and pastoral advice service. We will also pay out £60 million through the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers affected by the unprecedented extreme wet weather last winter.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the underlying causes of food insecurity in the UK.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
This Government takes the issue of food security very seriously. Tackling inflation is one of this Government’s priorities. Inflation has more than halved, but it remains a challenge which is why we continue to monitor all key agricultural commodities and work with the food industry to address the challenges they face.
Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Some of these factors are influenced by our trading arrangements with other countries. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors.
Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food businesses throughout the supply chain to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.
UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.