Rural Economy

Lord Wigley Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my registered interest. I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans for introducing this timely debate and I am delighted to follow the noble Earl, Lord Devon, and thank him for the leadership he has given in relation to so many agricultural issues.

I have lived for over 60 of the past 75 years in the same village in rural Gwynedd, since 1947, when my parents moved into a half a farmhouse. I had the huge benefit of living my formative years in close proximity to the next-door tenant farmer, who made a very modest living out of a 60-acre holding.

It may be timely to remember that it was the post-war Labour Government who largely rescued agriculture in Wales, which had suffered massively in the 1930s. Indeed, the Labour Minister of Agriculture, Tom Williams, was tagged “Feather Bed Williams” for giving the farmers too comfortable a time—an accusation which I do not think the present Labour Government are likely to suffer. Agriculture is still the backbone of our rural communities. Its well-being is essential if we believe in producing food from our own resources. I greatly enjoyed a period of 12 years as president of the South Caernarfon Creameries, a good example of agricultural self-help.

The confidence of the industry is vital to maintain the investment needed for our agriculture to work efficiently. The Autumn Budget’s proposed change to inheritance tax rules has undermined that confidence and I urge the Government to reconsider their proposals, so as to exempt modest family farms from a punitive tax regime which will drive small family farms out of business. This will trigger an inevitable outcome: such land will be bought up by rich corporations, pension funds and forestry interests. Ironically, such investment is often driven by tax avoidance strategies, but it inevitably heralds a withering of the food production capacity in rural Wales and elsewhere. Is this seriously what the Government want? There has surely rarely been such a blatant scenario of unintended consequences.

Life is rural Wales is immensely challenging at this time, without being further undermined by government action. Ordinary working families are being driven from rural Wales by a combination of factors. The most fundamental has been the failure of economic policy to deliver a reasonable range of well-paid jobs, leading to a situation where the average income per head in parts of rural Gwynedd is 40% below that of south-east England. This leads to the best of our young people moving away to seek better-paid work, and of those who wish to remain, living in their own communities where they have their roots, they find that they cannot compete in the housing market against those from distant cities with fat chequebooks, buying up local housing stock as second homes.

This is not just a problem for rural Wales; it is equally felt in rural counties such as Cornwall. The effect is to further erode rural life, often leaving villages as ghost communities through the winter. This is exacerbated by the run-down of local services, such as bus services, which makes it increasingly difficult for those on low incomes to travel from rural villages to nearby towns to seek work. Young families are forced out by such factors, leading to declining school numbers and accelerating school closures. We also see rural communities being hit by the loss of facilities, such as banks and post offices, which hits local businesses and older people who are more reluctant to turn to internet banking.

The availability of fast broadband connectivity is very patchy in many rural areas. Surely the UK Government should make it a high priority to ensure that rural areas are not deprived of such an essential part of any modern commercial and social infrastructure.

Some people still believe that tourism offers the solution to the economic problems of rural areas. Of course it can make a contribution, but it is highly seasonal in rural Wales, and any economy which operates at 200% capacity for a few weeks in summer and at 20% capacity for most of the year is, by definition, economically inefficient.

Rural Wales desperately needs capital investment projects, such as the hydroelectric schemes and pump storage facilities which are being considered. The SMR projects at Wylfa and Trawsfynydd should be driven forward without delay, the latter linked to the medical radioisotope manufacturing unit proposed by the Welsh Government.

The loss of young people from rural areas, such as rural Gwynedd, and their replacement by people who move in after retiring has led to a disturbing report this week from Gwynedd council. It projects that, over the next 20 years, there will be an increase of 56% in demand for home help services from the Gwynedd social care department. This emanates from an absence of family living locally to help care for their elderly relatives, and because of an inward migration of retired people who do not have roots in the community into which they move, and in which they have to face the challenges that come with old age.

Unless there is an awakening to the crisis currently hitting rural communities, we shall find the fabric of rural life eroded beyond recovery. I urge the Government to address this issue without delay.