Small Farms

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Monday 1st December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. I will have to write him with the details of the review. Agritech and engineering biology, such as precision breeding, are frontier growth sectors, which is why they were put in the Government’s industrial strategy that was published in June this year. We have a clear vision to make the UK the best place in the world to start growing and investing in agritech, in a safe and scientifically responsible way. To date, the farming innovation programme has supported almost 300 projects, which include a wide range of interesting uses of new technology that will benefit small farmers particularly, whether it is bio-derived fungicides, monitoring tools for dairy cow welfare or equipment to help maximise strawberry yields.

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, last week BBC “Countryfile” broadcast an interview with an 82 year-old farmer who said he had considered suicide in direct response to the Government’s family farm tax. Given that the Budget makes clear the Government’s intention to press ahead regardless with a tax that dwarfs profitability, will the Minister commit to recording and publishing in a timely manner the number of farmers and family business owners who commit suicide in the run-up to April next year when the rules change? I refer the House to my registered interest as a farmer.

[Lord Katz (Lab)]

My Lords, this is a subject of the utmost seriousness. I cannot commit to publishing data without understanding that the data is available to be published in a correct and statistically reliable format. This is something that the Government take very seriously. The noble Lord will be aware that, since May 2024, Defra has funded the farmer welfare grant, which provides half a million pounds to support charity projects focused on improving the mental health and well-being of farmers in England. That fund runs until next March; we are currently evaluating how it works to see whether it is possible to extend and expand this fund post 2026.

In the wider NHS, we have hired 8,500 new mental health support workers, which will help access for anyone in distress. It is important that we do not politicise mental health issues across society, particularly when we have sectors that are impacted by it. This Government stand behind their farming sector. We understand that the changes that we had to make in last year’s Budget, which we have ameliorated in this year’s Budget, are tough on farming businesses, but it is important that we make decisions that put farming on a firm footing and are fair by the public finances.