Context
The National Farmers Union reports that three-quarters of commercial family farms will be affected by the family farm tax. The Prime Minister previously acknowledged that some farmers may take their own lives due to this tax.
Question
Happy Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to all Members and staff of the House. At the Liaison Committee this week, the Prime Minister admitted that some farmers will take their own lives because of the family farms tax, but he repeated the claim that three quarters of farms will not be affected. According to the National Farmers Union, the opposite is true: three quarters of commercial family farms will have to pay it. The big idea now is to drive up profitability, but as my right hon Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne) said, the family farms tax is killing investment. Does the Minister think that Baroness Batters was wrong when she said in her report, on page 4, that the closure of the sustainable farming initiative and the family farms tax have left farmers particularly in the arable sector questioning viability, let alone profitability?
Answer from The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
I do not think that the hon Member’s characterisation of the Prime Minister’s remarks to the Liaison Committee is entirely accurate, but I am working on introducing and making available in the first half of next year a sustainable farming incentive scheme that will hopefully be more available to smaller farmers, easier to engage with, and much simpler than the mess delivered by the Government of which he was a part. Let us face it: 25% of the money in the SFI scheme goes to the top 4% of farmers. I want to see a different distribution.
Not addressed: The Minister did not directly address Baroness Batters' assessment and focused on a new initiative instead.
How: Changing Subject, Introducing Alternative Policy
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