The Lord Bishop of Lincoln

My Lords, it is entirely legitimate for the Government to target rich business owners and billionaires who have bought farmland for the sole purpose of avoiding inheritance tax, However, Jeremy Moody of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers said recently that the reform of APR “hits the people it is supposed to protect, and protects those it is supposed to hit. In doing this, we are jeopardising our food security, the resilience of our farming sector and the very livelihoods of many farmers and their families. On Saturday last, I visited Henry Ward, who farms with David, his 85-year-old grandfather outside Lincoln. They own half the land they farm. David paid off the mortgage only last year. Five generations of the family have farmed there, and now David is made to feel a burden and told me it would be best if he were to die before next April. With an ageing population of farmers, this is a widespread feeling. The likelihood of the break-up of farms makes tenancies uncertain and undermines the job security of agricultural workers. Inheritance tax would be about £1.5 million for Henry, on a farm that had a net income last year of £45,000. Land only recently finally secured would have to be sold. The Country Land and Business Association, a rural membership organisation representing half the rural land in England and Wales, has called for a review of the changes to APR, and last week several major supermarkets echoed this plea. Will the Minister commit to further consultation and engagement with stakeholders across the sector, including family farmers, to mitigate what might otherwise be a truly disastrous negative spiral?