Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Ulster Farmers’ Union.

My officials and I regularly meet with the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) to discuss the views of the farming community in Northern Ireland, the Government’s international trade policy and movements of agrifood products within the UK internal market.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I wrote to the UFU on 23 December setting out the Government’s changes to inheritance tax and Agricultural Property Relief. These changes will protect more farms and businesses, while maintaining the core principle that more valuable agricultural and business assets should not receive unlimited relief.