Robin Swann
Main Page: Robin Swann (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)Department Debates - View all Robin Swann's debates with the HM Treasury
Family Farming in Northern Ireland
Robin Swann Excerpts(2 days, 2 hours ago)
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Carla Lockhart
Absolutely. It does not take much arithmetic to work out the facts of that scenario.
In a recent joint letter to the Chancellor, signed by all MPs and peers from Northern Ireland, we set out a clear position:
“Agriculture is not simply an economic sector; it is a way of life. The removal or restriction of Agricultural Property Relief will place an unfair and unsustainable burden on family farms, jeopardising their ability to pass on their farms to the next generation and threatening the future of family farming.”
Those are not my words alone. They are the voices of rural Northern Ireland, speaking in unison in the House today.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing a debate that focuses specifically on Northern Ireland. Does she agree that what the Treasury and the Government have missed in the proposal is the unique nature of farms in Northern Ireland, where 99% are actually family owned? Even that promise of the opportunity to spread the tax bill over 10 years restricts families who want to invest in their farms, and puts pressure on not only the older generation who are concerned about the farm they are leaving, but the younger generation who are looking to the future.
Carla Lockhart
I agree with the hon. Member.
According to an estimate from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, the policy will impact a third of all farms and three quarters of dairy farms. Think about that for a moment. Three quarters of our dairy farms—the heart of our agrifood export industry—could be hit by a tax change that would make succession financially impossible.
The knock-on effects will be vast. Meat factories will face reduced throughput and rising costs, forcing scale-back and possibly relocation. Feed and supply companies will see demand collapse, threatening jobs and investment. It is not just farms that will be hit, and this is not a matter of large estates or wealthy landowners. The average Northern Ireland farm is about 40 hectares. Land values in some counties, including my own, are in excess of £30,000 per acre. It does not take much arithmetic to see that many modest family farms would easily surpass the £1 million threshold.