Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison.

Today, farmers are descending on Whitehall for the third time in as many months. All Members present here, I suspect, know that the Government’s proposals to change APR—and BPR, which we must not forget—have been an exercise in failure: a failure in political judgment and in communication. Based on the latest OBR analysis, they will not even achieve their policy outcomes.

A number of Members have suggested different ways of mitigating this impact, but I point out that there was a report about the half a billion in additional costs to HMRC spent on recouping tax. Funnily enough, that is the same as the £500 million that it is estimated this policy will bring into the Treasury, so perhaps we need fewer loopholes, simpler tax and a way to help working people in this country.

I want to raise an issue mentioned by a number of Members, including the Chair of the Select Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), about agricultural tenancies and their impact particularly in Scotland. Agricultural tenancies have an inheritable value; there are circumstances in which a tenancy can be passed on via a will, the rules of intestacy or, in some conditions, as a lifetime gift. It is not purely a Scottish occurrence, but it is many times more common in Scotland, because of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991. Any tenancy to which that law applies can be passed on by the tenant as part of their estate.

The tenancy is valued per acre according to the difference between market rates and the actual rent, because these tenancies have much lower, preferential rates. According to the CAAV— I know it has written to the Chancellor about this, and I am grateful for its explanation—that means the average value of lowland arable land, for example, would be £3,000 to £4,000 per acre. Therefore, a tenancy of 300 acres breaches the APR threshold and starts paying APR—and that is before taking into account the value of machinery.

Although we have heard broad concerns about the future of farms if they are forced to sell land piecemeal, that just is not an option available to tenant farmers. This is complicated and technical, but I think the Government just have not thought about the impact on Scottish tenant farmers. I have raised this four times in the last three months, both at Scotland Office questions and in the urgent question that the Minister replied to a couple of weeks ago, and I got platitudes. I do not think they have looked at this at all.

I am conscious of the perception that farmers are wealthy. We have made it clear today that this debate is about people who have cash held in their land, but cannot release that without selling it. A constituent I spoke to last week is a farmer, previously a tenant farmer; she bought her farm eight years ago with her family, under a mortgage, and is now transitioning from working tax credits to universal credit. We need to deal with that myth, and I urge the Government to pause this policy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison, and to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats on this incredibly important issue. I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions, which highlight clearly the strength of feeling from around the country. I also thank the people who signed the petition, especially the 520 from Glastonbury and Somerton.

As has been well rehearsed, British agriculture is staring over a cliff edge. It has suffered from an almost never-ending list of difficulties over recent years: Brexit, energy prices, the war in Ukraine, the terrible Tory trade deals and a botched transition from BPS to ELMs. Against that background, the Government’s decision to implement changes to APR and BPR has rightly drawn criticism and anger from across the sector. The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the impact that the family farming tax will have on farmers and rural communities right across the country.

I am in constant dialogue with farmers from across Glastonbury and Somerton. A consistent message from many is that this decision will inevitably lead to many family farms closing their gates for the very last time over the next few years. Just this weekend, I met a farmer’s son, who is in his 40s, on his family farm in Low Ham. He explained that he hoped to move away from his career as a civil engineer and go back to the farm full time, keeping the beef suckler herd at the heart of the business but introducing diversification projects to maintain a baseload of income for when agricultural markets fluctuate. He told me that the changes to IHT

“will be the end of any chances we have of keeping our farm going. I feel totally demoralised.”

[Wendy Chamberlain]

My hon. Friend is outlining the impact of this policy. The example that she gave about her constituent reminds us that there is a multigenerational element to farming, and families often live together. The Government have said that farmers should consider tax planning, but one challenge with tax planning is that a donor cannot keep any benefit from a gift. Do we think the Government intend to suggest that older parent farmers who tax plan need to move off the farm?

[Sarah Dyke]

I thank my hon. Friend for a very well made point, and farming is indeed often multigenerational. This is putting huge stress on farming families. I myself am from a farming family. My mother is 81, and my father died about a year ago. The pressure that it is putting on her to think about whether she can survive another seven years is so distressing, and I know that she is not alone.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Murray]

I have only a few minutes left, so I will not.

I have also participated in several meetings with farming bodies since the autumn Budget 2024, and I am meeting farming bodies again shortly to discuss their concerns further. At the same time, it is important to recognise that other organisations have called for the reliefs to be abolished or restricted. Commentators have highlighted that the reliefs currently contribute to an inheritance tax system that means that the very largest estates pay lower effective tax rates than smaller estates. As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has set out since the Budget, the changes we announced will still leave farmland much more lightly taxed than other assets.

I want to address as many of the points that Members made during the debate as possible, but it is worth saying first that it is important to see the changes in the context of wider support for farmers and the rural community. The Budget committed £5 billion to farming over the next two years, including the biggest budget for sustainable food production in our history. It committed £60 million to help farmers affected by the unprecedented wet weather last year, and we are protecting farms and rural businesses by committing £2.4 billion over the next two years to rebuild crumbling flood defences.

We will also continue to provide existing support for the farming industry in the wider tax system. That includes, for example, the exemption from business rates for agricultural land and buildings, and the ongoing entitlement for vehicles and machinery used in agriculture to use red diesel, as the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) mentioned.

On the point made by the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) about the inheritance tax treatment of Scottish agricultural leases, the Government are aware of the issue and officials have already discussed it with their counterparts in the Scottish Government. There is an existing provision in the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 that deals explicitly with the Scottish agricultural leases. Section 177 of the Inheritance Tax Act means that Scottish agricultural leases passed down on death are not included in the value of the estate.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

On that point, will the Minister give way?

[James Murray]

I have only a few moments, so I will not.

My hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) asked about introducing a working farmer test. I draw his attention to the fact that a test where relief was provided only if, among other things, the individual received 75% of their income from agriculture did exist in the UK for a short period, between 1975 and 1981. It was removed, however, because of concerns about its impact on the availability of land for tenant farming.

Finally, I will address an issue raised by a number of Members, including the hon. Members for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) and for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth), about mental health among the farming community. The Government are committed to supporting farmers and agricultural workers in accessing the support they need to protect their mental health. DEFRA already works with a range of farming charities including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and Yellow Wellies, which was mentioned by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. Those organisations have highlighted the mental health challenges for farming communities more generally.

To conclude, as we have heard, the reforms to inheritance tax generate strong views, and I understand that. I recognise that a small number of estates will have to pay more tax, but the reform of the reliefs is necessary given the fiscal challenge that confronts us and the fact that the bulk of the cost of the reliefs had become skewed towards the wealthiest estates. We must put our public finances back on a stable footing and repair our broken public services. We are doing so in a way that involves tough decisions but is as fair as possible and preserves significant relief from inheritance tax for small farms and businesses.

Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs: OBR Costing

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

The comments in the OBR publication yesterday about older individuals reference a point that has been made since the Budget in debates in this place and elsewhere. We have pointed out that our reform of agricultural property relief and business property relief maintains generous exemptions from inheritance tax; £1 million is subject to relief, and there is the 50% relief beyond that, the existing nil-rate bands, and other exemptions in the system.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Unusually, in Scotland tenant farms can be passed down as inheritance. I have been asking the Treasury whether it has made an assessment of the impact on such farms, given that their farmers cannot sell land to meet the APR liability that they might face. So far, the answer appears to be that there is no assessment, so I ask the Minister for an answer from the Dispatch Box: is he aware of agricultural tenancies under the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991, and has he made an impact assessment?

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I recognise the importance of being able to pass on to the next generation the assets people have built up, and we will be setting out more details on all of our tax policies in the Budget tomorrow.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Shared prosperity funding has been used by local authorities such as Fife council to drive economic growth, particularly through support for small businesses. That funding is due to end in April 2025. Can we get a commitment from the Government that funding for these kinds of schemes will continue?

[Rachel Reeves]

We will set out more details in the Budget tomorrow, including the consequentials that will go to the Scottish Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

I am disappointed that the hon. Member is talking down essential investments that we have made in our country’s future. She also seems to be confused: there is a £22 billion black hole because of the unfunded spending commitments made by the Conservative party when it was in government. But she makes an important point about protecting pensioners, which is why it is so important to ensure that all those pensioners who are eligible for pension credit take it up, and I look forward to her support in making sure that they do so.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Statistics from the Trussell Trust published today show that half of people on universal credit ran out of money and could not afford to buy food before the end of the month. What prospect do those people have of an increase in their living standards? The reintroduction of the household support fund is welcome, but what steps is the Treasury taking to make sure that people do not go hungry this winter?

[James Murray]

As the hon. Member rightly points out, the Government are providing £500 million to extend the household support fund in England for another six months, and that will include Barnett consequentials. That is an important measure to help people in the months ahead, but the crucial way to increase people’s living standards and tackle the cost of living crisis in the longer term is to get the economy growing. We have spoken at length about the measures that we have already taken as a new Government—from planning reform and the national wealth fund to Great British Energy. All that is about getting the economy growing, because that is the sustainable way to make people better off and to invest in our public services.

Public Spending: Inheritance

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Monday 29th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I think every single Member of the House will have faced often very difficult constituency casework about young people who are not getting a diagnosis on time and not getting the support they need at school. We will set out all our spending plans and priorities at the spending review later this year.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I welcome the Chancellor of the Exchequer and her team to their place. I am concerned that I have not seen anything in the Chancellor’s statement or the accompanying report on the 1950s women who suffered maladministration of their pensions. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which we all utilise when doing constituency casework, was clear that maladministration was suffered. Could the Chancellor confirm whether she is considering the report and will she provide a statement before the Budget on 30 October, or is the message to WASPI women today that she will not do it?

[Rachel Reeves]

My right hon. Friend the Work and Pensions Secretary is considering that report as we speak.

Financial Conduct Authority: Accountability

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 1st May 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the accountability of the Financial Conduct Authority.

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Philip. I welcome the Minister to his place. I know that he has an interest in these issues, and I hope that this debate will be a productive exercise for us all.

It may be worth explaining a little bit about how I came to be interested in the FCA. I probably speak more about fishing than financial services in this House, but the FCA came to my attention as a consequence of constituents who I have been helping. They were victims of a Ponzi scheme, and they lost hundreds of thousands of pounds as a consequence of fraud. The perpetrator was sentenced to 14 years, later reduced to 10 years, in the High Court of Justiciary.

On no fewer than three occasions, the FCA, or the Financial Services Authority as it was initially, failed to read the warning signs and take action. As a consequence, that was allowed to continue. Had it acted at the first available opportunity, there would have been only one victim of Alistair Greig, rather than hundreds.

As is often the case with these matters, a handful of people were determined to fight, but they were rebuffed at every turn. They were told, “No, this is nothing to do with us. It is not a matter of regulation; it is a question of the creation of a principal and of an agent,” and the rest of it. They took court action, which cost them £2 million, and they lost, but eventually the FCA was forced to put them into the financial services compensation scheme, which gave most of them compensation, albeit capped at £85,000. One of my constituents was out for £130,000, so he is £45,000 down and has suffered a further loss as a consequence of the fact that he was one of the brave souls who was party to the court action. The 95 people who were behind that court action are now left with a bill of almost £2 million.

Notwithstanding the fact that this is a consequence of the way that the FCA has gone about its business, it wishes to have no further part in any discussions with the people who were affected. I organised the screening of a documentary in the House a few weeks ago. Even the judge who heard their case turned up. I have never heard of this happening before, but the Financial Conduct Authority did not want to know. No one from the organisation was prepared to come to this House, sit in a room for an hour with the people whose lives had been most dramatically affected by their decisions, look them in the eye and explain what they had done.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

My right hon. Friend is outlining a very concerning story. When many hon. Members think about the FCA, including me as an MP from the 2019 intake, it is in relation to its legislative authority for ensuring the changes on access to cash. Does he agree that ensuring that people get the right support so that communities have the access to cash that they deserve is a real concern?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Bim Afolami)]

It is a pleasure to be here. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for raising this extremely important issue for debate. Neither he nor the House will be surprised to hear that the Government agree—and I very strongly agree—that accountability for the financial services regulators is of the utmost importance. Before I was in my current post, I set up, chaired and ran the Regulatory Reform Group, which brought together over a dozen Members of this House to think about how we reform the regulatory and accountability structures in this country. I have thought and been concerned about that issue for many years.

The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland and other Members will be aware that the FCA is operationally independent and must act to advance the objectives that Parliament has set for it. Independence of the regulators, however, must be balanced with clear accountability; appropriate democratic input, for which this debate is one forum; and transparent oversight. That is why the FCA is fully accountable to Parliament and the Treasury for how it discharges its functions.

To ensure that the regulators consider the financial services sector’s critical role in supporting the British economy, as the right hon. Gentleman pointed out, last summer we gave the regulators new secondary objectives to facilitate the international competitiveness of the UK economy and its growth for the medium to long term. By putting growth and competitiveness at the heart of our regulatory system, while retaining the primacy of protecting the safety and soundness for financial services firms and the wider system, we will ensure that the sector remains at the forefront of the global economy. It is vital that we hold the FCA to account for delivering on those objectives; I take that responsibility very seriously.

I will come on to some of the remarks made by the right hon. Gentleman, in no particular order. What comes to my mind first is that he mentioned the FCA’s so-called naming and shaming proposals, which have been covered in the media and elsewhere. The Chancellor has been publicly clear that he thinks the FCA should rethink that approach, and I share his view completely. I am particularly interested in, and strongly support, the remark made by the right hon. Gentleman that it is most often the small players that see the sharp end of that approach. What that does to innovation, competition and actual money for individuals invested in those small players, be they customers or shareholders, is very significant. The right hon. Gentleman explained eloquently that the impact of being named and shamed very early could be significant. I want to put on record, following up on what the Chancellor has said publicly, that I believe the FCA should rethink that and rethink it quickly.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

That is my concern, given what I have heard today in relation to access to cash. One real concern of communities is that banks rush to leave town and leave one bank standing. When we think about banking hubs and communities, we are thinking about ensuring that the most vulnerable have access, so it is really important those bigger players are held to account. Does the Minister agree?

[Bim Afolami]

The hon. Lady makes an important and fair point. I agree with her that access to cash—which, as she knows, this Government legislated for—needs primacy in the way she has described. Banking hubs are a replacement when several banks have shut in a town or large village, and I believe that the assessment criteria relating to where they come in and the speed of the roll-out should be looked at again. To be fair, that is not down to the FCA. The expected timeframe for it to finish its consultation on access to cash is the third quarter of this year, and although the FCA is part of that process, it is worth saying that it is not the primary driver; the primary driver is the industry.

Let me come to a case that I know is close to heart of the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland: the failure of Midas Financial Solutions. Mr Alistair Greig perpetrated a large-scale fraud over a period of several years, lying to those who trusted him with their pensions and life savings. Those were people who had done the right thing in their lives—they had done everything right—and because of the fraud of that individual and his company, they lost out. The FCA intervened in 2014, following the receipt of intelligence related to the Midas scheme. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme was subsequently able to compensate eligible customers for a significant portion of what was lost, and Mr Greig was charged, found guilty of fraud and imprisoned.

It is imperative that the FCA continues to robustly enforce its rules and standards, not just against firms that are carrying out blatantly fraudulent activity as in the case of Midas, but to ensure that all the firms it supervises meet high standards and deliver high-quality outcomes. The FCA operates a risk-based approach, not a zero-failure regime. It is important Ministers say this: we are not in a world—nor should we aim to be in one—where it is impossible for anything to go wrong ever. What we have to do is say to the FCA, “Your job is to maintain a high standard and high quality in the market for all the firms you supervise.”

HMRC Self-Assessment Helpline

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

Yes, I am sorry to hear about those circumstances for the hon. Lady’s constituent. As I said, I have to be careful given the need to keep at arm’s length in individual cases, but she also raises a broader policy point. A lot of training and work goes on. I repeat that some 60,000 people work for HMRC, many of whom are dedicated, hard-working and well-trained individuals, and they often do a thankless job, but she makes a valid point, and I will happy raise that issue. I spoke incorrectly a few moments ago, so may I take the opportunity to correct what I said, Mr Speaker? HMRC staff are required to work in the office 60% of the time, not 40% of the time.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

The Government were forced to extend the state pensions top-ups through to April next year because of unacceptable delays on the Department for Work and Pensions/HMRC helpline for that issue. The Minister has mentioned that a review will take place; will that helpline be in its scope? It is a concern to many, many constituents.

[Nigel Huddleston]

As I say, I have ongoing engagement with HMRC. It is operationally independent, but I do have some oversight, and ministerial guidance is appropriate. I appreciate all the comments made by hon. Members today. These will be live conversations, and HMRC is listening to the conversations today. I will be happy to raise with it the points that she makes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Laura Trott)]

I commend my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington (Felicity Buchan) on their great work on this project. There appears to be a compelling case, and I know that the programme team at the Department of Health and Social Care is looking closely at the proposal.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

T2. The Fife whisky festival took place in Cupar earlier this month, and was a great success. The industry welcomes the freeze in alcohol duty, but notes that it is only for six months. When will the Government provide the longer term consistency that the industry needs?

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Gareth Davies)]

Our support for the Scotch Whisky Association is long-standing, and it was a pleasure to meet its representatives recently. We have frozen or cut duty for Scottish whisky in fiscal events going back many years. We are representing the Scotch Whisky Association in trade agreements, and that support will endure long into the future.

Autumn Statement

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his role in the transformation of the east midlands, through his other responsibilities in the councils there. Levelling up will work only if we harness the enterprise and ideas of local civic leaders, and he is a fantastic example of that.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Today is Equal Pay Day, which means, because of the gender pay gap, it is the day on which women, based on their average earnings, stop being paid compared with men, who continue to be paid to the end of the year. More concerning is the pension gap, which is 35% and means female pensioners stop being paid on 26 August. That is often because older women have chosen, and sacrificed their earning potential, to care for loved ones. When will the Government consider reforming carer’s allowance, which is currently an active disincentive to carers going into work? When we will start addressing this cliff edge, rather than making it shorter and sharper?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I am always happy to engage with any hon. Members if they have concerns about the way the benefits system operates in terms of disincentivising people who would like to work but cannot do so. Caring responsibilities are an area that she has raised and I am happy to engage with her on that outside this House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

The hon. Gentleman is well aware that there are real dangers that what he is proposing would make the UK a less attractive destination—that is a very important issue. The City pays for a huge amount of our NHS, for example, and non-dom taxpayers were liable to pay £8.5 billion in UK income tax in 2021-22 and invested more than £7 billion in the UK.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

7. If he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of uprating benefits in line with inflation.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Laura Trott)]

The Government are committed to supporting households with the cost of living, delivering over £94 billion of support, including uprating benefits by 10.1% this year. As I have said, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is undertaking his review, and I cannot pre-empt that.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

Figures from the Trussell Trust show that food bank usage is at its highest ever level, and over the summer months a record 41,878 parcels of food were provided to 21,000 children in Scotland alone. Meanwhile, child poverty costs the Government £39 billion per year in poor health and educational outcomes. In order to tackle child poverty properly, will the Government commit to keeping benefits in line with inflation and lifting the two-child cap?

[Laura Trott]

We understand that things are really tough at the moment, which is why we have put in place £900 of cost of living support this year, but we also all need to work on bearing down on inflation. We are seeing it start to come down, but we know it is still too high, and we hope we will reach the Prime Minister’s pledge of halving inflation, because that is the biggest help we can give to households this year.