Rural Affairs

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Blake Stephenson]

I entirely agree. A lot is said about sustainable development in planning rules. I know from my community that lots of people feel quite aggrieved by large new developments being built on the edge of villages, fundamentally changing their character. There is more work to do to ensure that our villages grow slowly and sustainably, alongside infrastructure. Lessons should be learned from the many decades of mistakes.

That brings me to another point. We must ensure that our villages are not overwhelmed by suburban dormitories. I am afraid that even though they are rural, some of my communities have been turned into dormitories by house building. People sleep there but head elsewhere to work, so they do not contribute to our local communities as they would have done in the past.

Often, at the heart of our rural communities is a group of unsung people—although they have been much mentioned today—who look after our countryside, employ local people and ensure that every single person in this country has food on their table. They are, of course, our farmers. British farmers might not always seek the spotlight—although sometimes they have shows on Amazon Prime—but without them we would be a much poorer country and our rural communities would be significantly worse off.

We should do all we can to support British farmers and nurture the next generation of them, but instead the Government are regrettably levying a spiteful family farm tax on them. I met farmers in Mid Bedfordshire recently. It is clear that the attack on family farms will force many families to sell up to developers or big international farming corporations, ripping the soul out of our rural communities. For the long-term sustainability of rural communities up and down the country, I urge the Government to reconsider the damaging family farm tax.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Before I call the next speaker, I inform the House that I am now imposing a four-minute time limit.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Members will have observed that we have more Members standing than is possible to fit into the time we have. I propose an immediate three-minute time limit. Please be mindful that we may not get everybody in, even with that time limit.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Roz Savage (South Cotswolds) (LD)]

The gravity of this situation was brought home to me by a letter that I received recently from a South Cotswolds constituent, a farmer near Sherston whose experience vividly illustrates the challenge our agricultural sector faces. He manages a 200-acre farm, a combination of owned and rented primarily arable land, with a small field of Brussels sprouts, where I spent a day helping with the harvest last Christmas. I am no farmer, but that day spent in the mud and drizzle gave me some inkling of just how hard our farmers work and how dedicated they are. Despite their best efforts, their financial reality is stark. Last year, with an above-average harvest and a favourable crop price, they made just £34,000 before even paying themselves anything. This year, with falling crop prices, they anticipate a loss.

The recent Budget proposals have cast a long shadow over our farming communities, adding to an already vulnerable situation. The changes to agricultural property relief threaten to force the sale of farms that have been in the same family for generations. That Brussels sprouts farmer faces a potential inheritance tax bill of nearly £239,000, a sum that could be paid only by selling off part of the farm that has been in his family for three generations.

The Liberal Democrats have long recognised that food security is national security. We understand that environmental stewardship and food production are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing goals. It is in line with this that I have introduced my private Member’s Bill, the Climate and Nature Bill, which would help to support farmers, to support nature and to support us. Our farmers are not just food producers: they are the guardians of our land, regenerating soil, restoring wildlife and enhancing biodiversity.

Many people think that the climate crisis is the cause of the nature crisis, but many believe—rightly, I think—that it is the loss of nature that is contributing to the climate crisis. The Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, in the South Cotswolds, is now starting to pioneer the idea of zero dig, knowing that when we regenerate soil it sinks more carbon, mitigating climate change; it holds more water, mitigating flooding; and it yields more nutritious food, improving human health.

I call on the Secretary of State to heed the voices of our farmers. We need to work together to create a future in which British agriculture is strong, resilient and sustainable—a future where our farmers can produce the food we need while nurturing the land we love.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the shadow Minister.

--- Later in debate ---

[Pippa Heylings (South Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me and David Walston from Thriplow in South Cambridgeshire that the impact of house prices and infrastructure means there is a complete disconnect between land value and income, which is affecting—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order.

[Robbie Moore]

I know David well, as a fellow Nuffield farming scholar, and I agree with him on this Budget’s catastrophic consequences.

I am not sure how many farmers the Secretary of State spoke to in Croydon over the weekend, but I can tell him that the many farmers I spoke to are up in arms. Just last week I was at the northern farming conference in Hexham where, perhaps unsurprisingly, a huge number of complaints were raised by the farmers in attendance, with some even protesting at the gates. Ian Brown, a constituent of the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith), said that this Budget will have catastrophic consequences for the farming community, yet all we heard from the Minister during that conference was a defence of the new Government, and not a single word about how they may have got it wrong. I understand that when he addressed the egg and poultry conference this morning, the Secretary of State concluded that farmers are exaggerating the consequences of the Budget. It is just staggering.

I am sure that many of the new Labour MPs, representing some of our fantastic rural constituencies, have received huge amounts of correspondence from farmers outlining their disgust at Labour’s Budget, but we heard very little from them in voicing their concerns. I am not sure whether the Whips are silencing them from raising their concerns, or whether they are completely tone deaf to the Budget’s direct impact on many of their constituents. If they would like some help, maybe I could outline some of the things they should be raising in this debate, such as increases in taxes on machinery, fertiliser, building materials, farm diversification and employees, and, worst of all, the crippling family farm tax, which risks forcing thousands of hard-working farmers to surrender their life’s work to the Chancellor.

Labour Members do not understand that the vast majority of family farmers are not multimillionaires; most are cash poor and operate under tiny margins, with many struggling to break even. To sustain their businesses, they generally operate from an asset base that has a high value. That is why the APR and BPR caps that have been imposed are so out of touch with the reality on the ground, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) rightly outlined. When the value of the farmland, the farmhouse and perhaps a cottage or two is taken into account, and then the value of any livestock, growing crops, machinery, stocks or crops in store is added, along with the value of any farm diversification project that may have taken place, the value of any asset is likely to be well in excess of the £1 million cap, so the tax will impact the vast majority of farming businesses.

The Minister will say, “Look at the detail”, but I assure him we have looked at the detail, as have the NFU, the CLA, the Tenant Farmers Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, and many professionals, be they accountants, solicitors or land agents working in the sector, as well as many of the constituents of right hon. and hon. Members on the Conservative Benches. We have all come to the same conclusion: Labour’s positioning is wrong, will have catastrophic consequences and must change. I again ask the Minister to provide clarity on the information he is relying on to make these decisions.

The smokescreen of a £3 million cap is incompatible with many farming businesses. It will not provide many farming businesses or family farming set-ups with the reassurance the Chancellor claims to be giving them. The same can be said about the justification of the 10-year payment for any IHT debt. That debt would result in assets having to be disposed of, because businesses will simply not have the funds to pay, nor will the banks be willing to lend against any IHT tax, should it be imposed, because many farmers will not be able to service such a loan. Will the Government publish a full impact assessment of the consequences their Budget will have on many farming businesses, food security and the larger rural sector?

We should never forget that this debate is about people. Hard-working farmers are at the heart of the debate. Some of their lives will be changed for ever. Farming can be a very lonely business, with long hours and the constant stress of battling against the odds. Our farmers are under extreme pressure, but unfortunately this Budget has done nothing to provide them with any reassurance, support or certainty that the Government are on their side. It is no surprise that charities are raising concerns about the shocking rise in mental health issues among our farming communities following the announcements in the Government’s Budget. I pay tribute to those farming charities and organisation that help to provide much-needed support, not only to our farmers but to all those involved in our remote rural communities.

To sum up, sometimes in politics it is hard to admit to being wrong, but after speaking to farmers, agricultural businesses and farming organisations up and down the UK, it is clear that the Government have got this wrong and are completely off the mark. I suspect even the Ministers on the Treasury Bench know that they have got this wrong, but they have chosen to double down. For the sake of our farmers and our rural communities—in fact, everyone who has been impacted by the Budget—I say to the Government that change was one of Labour’s key promises in the election and, right now, nothing would be more welcome.