00:00It's a pleasure to serve with you in the chair and I also thank the Honourable Member for
00:05South Norfolk for opening the debate today. Now it's the first time North Shropshire has
00:09been in the top 10 constituencies in a petition. 713 people have signed and that's not surprising
00:15when you think that there are over a thousand farms in the constituency covering 62,000
00:19hectares. It's one of the 20 most rural constituencies in the country. And producing food for the
00:25country is our main activity, not just in farming and the thousands of people supporting
00:30those farms, but food production, food storage and food distribution all being major industries
00:34as well. Now farmers have had a tough time. Incomes are historically low and those farmers
00:40can ill afford to pay inheritance tax when an estate sadly passes on. The government
00:45estimates that 288 farms will be affected in Shropshire, in North Shropshire, and even
00:50if that's not an underestimate, which we strongly suspect it is, that's a whopping 27% of the
00:55farms in my constituency. More than a quarter will have to sell off land rather than further
01:00invest in the rural economy and that is shocking. I will give way.
01:06I thank my Honourable Friend for giving way. These policy changes could force hundreds
01:12of family farmers in my constituency of Stratford-on-Avon to sell their productive land. Does my Honourable
01:18Friend agree that as well as causing uncertainty to tenant farmers, these policies undermine
01:26our ability to address the threats to food security without discouraging those who land
01:32bank for tax purposes?
01:33Well I do agree with my Honourable Friend and I will come on to that point in a moment.
01:38I just want to mention Robert whose family farm has been forming a traditional mixed
01:45dairy and arable farm for 120 years near Oswestry. Their farm is valued at £6 million
01:49which sounds like a lot but their income is only £60,000 a year. So even if the £3 million
01:56dual relief that we've been told about by the Treasury applies, it would wipe out their
01:59income for 10 years to pay it off and in fact they estimate their liability would be higher
02:04than that. And it's not just traditional farms that are affected, rental businesses, nurseries,
02:11horticultural businesses, all fearing that they can't pass on their business at the time
02:15of death as a result of this ill-thought-through policy.
02:19Now the Chancellor wanted to put off wealthy non-farmers from buying land to avoid inheritance
02:22tax but I reckon if you are able to get 20% with 10 years to pay us off, that's a pretty
02:29attractive alternative to paying 40% now. And with such a low threshold of £1 million,
02:34many small farmers will be left with a liability they simply can't afford to pay because land
02:39does not translate to cash unless you sell it.
02:43This tax doesn't achieve its mission at all. The idea that farms can survive this isn't
02:47true. Years of being taken for granted by the Conservatives have left farms in a desperate
02:51state. 8,000 farms shut their doors last year, that's one in 25, and farm incomes have been
02:57dropping year on year. It's down to a number of factors, soaring inflation, which was beyond
03:02the Government's control, and the botched implementation of the SFI which wasn't. The
03:07disastrous trade deals with Australia, New Zealand and the CPTPP have set an alarming
03:11precedent, especially when the President of the United States is holding anyone to ransom
03:17who doesn't give him what he wants in terms of trade tariffs. The Government must protect
03:22the farming budget. We need our family farms to thrive, for economic growth which is so
03:28crucial in rural areas, to produce our food and to protect our environment. There is still
03:33time to reverse this disastrous decision. I urge the Government to listen to these valid
03:38concerns and demonstrate its commitment to rural Britain. Let's axe this family farm
03:42tax.
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