Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, in the context of proposed changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

We are clear that the vast majority of those claiming Agricultural and Business Property Relief will not be affected by our reforms. Three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which means farmers in the Aldridge-Brownhills constituency and across the country will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done, while we fix the public services we all rely on.

Further support for farmers was revealed by the Secretary of State at February 2025’s NFU conference. This includes a £110 million investment in innovation, equipment, and technology, an increase in Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) payment rates, an extension of the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme for another year until March 2026, an update on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway’s coverage, and announcements on the reopening of the Capital Grants scheme and on the roll out the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) scheme.

The Secretary of State also announced an extension of the Seasonal Worker visa route for five more years and new requirements for Government catering contracts to favour high-quality, high-welfare products that local farms and producers are well placed to serve, and reiterated the Government’s commitment to uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals

This will all support farmers in the Aldrige-Brownhills constituency and across the country in delivering public goods for the environment and a profitable farming sector and unlocking rural growth.