Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that the government is "getting down to work" alongside farmers.
During his visit to Barrow, he informed journalists: “Last year’s budget allocated £5 billion for agriculture, which was an unprecedented sum.”
The very next day in the House of Commons, Tim Farron, who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale as an MP, drew attention to the challenges being faced by upland farmers in Cumbria.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service Sir Keir stated during his visit to the BAE Systems site that he informed journalists, “Additionally, we have presented a plan concerning agriculture, which has generally received positive feedback. Therefore, we are preparing ourselves to collaborate closely with farmers and will persist in doing so.”
The prime minister continued by stating: "I am eager to advance our procurement efforts since I believe that greater quantities of British produce ought to be utilized in the substantial government-led purchasing initiatives."
'Severely disadvantaged areas'
In the House of Commons, Farron addressed the proposed changes to the Agricultural Property Relief (APR), which affects inheritance tax.
This allowed small family farms to be passed down through generations free of inheritance tax; however, starting from April, taxes will apply to assets exceeding £1 million.
Farron stated, "Does the agriculture minister realize that some of the farmers most adversely affected by the APR modifications are located in highly disadvantaged regions in the upland areas across our nation? In these locations, land values tend to be elevated, yet the income levels remain very modest."
Does he realize that according to his department’s data, by the conclusion of the transition period, the typical income for a hill farmer will amount to only 55% of the national minimum wage?
In response, Minister for Agriculture Daniel Zeichner stated: "He accurately pointed out that the programs we took over did not adequately compensate those regions as much as they needed."
For this reason, as mentioned in our statement a couple of weeks back, we raised the upper-tier stewardship contributions by £30 million. This enhancement will particularly benefit individuals residing in his locality.
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Related internet links
- The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - known as Defra
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