On behalf of its 45,000 farming and growing members, the NFU has
written a letter to Prime Minister Sir calling on him to stand by his
commitments to British farmers and growers by delivering a
renewed agriculture budget and confirm the continuation of
Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on 30th October.
While in opposition at the NFU's conference in 2023, the Prime
Minister said that British farmers and growers need a government
that “seeks a new relationship with the countryside and farming
communities… based on respect, on genuine partnership”. He also
said, “we can't have underspends in the allocated money, we can't
have farmers struggling while they wait for the right Sustainable
Farming Incentive (SFI) standards to be announced. We can't have
everyone burnt out by the bureaucracy and constantly moving goal
posts, it's too important”.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: “The Prime Minister's words were
warmly greeted at NFU conference. We finally heard recognition of
the certainty and stability needed for a thriving food and
farming industry – one that underpins the UK's largest
manufacturing sector food and drink which delivers £148 billion
to the economy.
“However, reports that the government is considering cutting the
agriculture budget due to the failure of the previous government
leading to an underspend of £358 million, and a possible review
of Agriculture Property Relief (APR) are incredibly concerning.
“We are asking for a renewed multi-year annual agriculture budget
of £5.6 billion1, not because it would be nice to
have, but because it is an essential investment to deliver the
government's environmental goals, increase growth and support the
economic stability of farm businesses. The loss of
APR2 could mean family farms, who are vital to
producing food for the country, providing jobs and looking after
our countryside, having to be sold to cover the costs. Changes
would amount to a “Family Farm Tax”. It would also have a
devastating impact on tenant farmers3 and new
entrants.
“At a time when farmer and grower confidence is at its lowest on
record due to high production costs, extreme weather and
uncertainty during the agricultural transition, we need stability
and that genuine partnership with government which the Prime
Minister spoke of. That is why on 30th October we're
asking for an increased agriculture budget and confirmation of no
change to APR. This will deliver certainty to our food producing
businesses and ensure our food security and environmental
targets, all of which contribute to the government's own missions
for growth and prosperity.”
The NFU is also asking the Treasury to:
- Ensure adequate resourcing to deliver the Farming and
Countryside Programme, maintain flood defences and deliver the
government's new bTB strategy.
- Introduce enhanced capital allowance to incentivise
investment in climate smart investments.
- Only apply Capital Gains Tax increases to non-business or
short-term gains.
- Commit to a full consultation ahead of the proposed abolition
of the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime.
- Confirm a further round of the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
-ends-
Notes to editor:
- The NFU commissioned the independent Andersons Centre to
model the public funding needed to deliver statutory environment,
climate and policy ambitions in England over the next
Parliament. It showed an annual agriculture budget of
around £4 billion would be required which would translate to a
UK-wide budget of around £5.6 billion.
- NFU analysis of APR suggests that scrapping it, in isolation,
would only save the Treasury £120 million a year.
- Around two thirds of the farmed area in England is occupied
by working farmers who rent in some or all of their land. If APR
was abolished is it likely that land owners would no longer be
willing to let their land and seek to end existing tenancies. An
alignment of APR in the 1990s resulted in a significant increase
in the availability of let land.
