Budget: Implications for Farming Communities Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
James Wild
Main Page: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)Department Debates - View all James Wild's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Budget: Implications for Farming Communities
James Wild Excerpts(1 day, 20 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Daniel Zeichner
The hon. Gentleman shakes his head but, if he talks to people who know about these issues, they agree with me.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
Does the Minister accept that agricultural relief was introduced to protect family farms from being broken up, precisely to reflect their role as food producers and custodians of our countryside? Will he rethink this, do what Labour originally promised, and withdraw this proposal?
Daniel Zeichner
As a fellow East Anglian MP, the hon. Gentleman will know just how complicated farming is, how much it has changed over the last 30 years, and how much it is likely to change in the future. We have to ensure that farming is in the right place to benefit from the changes that we are seeing globally and nationally and, most importantly, that farming can operate in an environmentally and nature-sensitive way. Without that, we will all be in deep trouble.