Aphra Brandreth

The hon. Member makes an important point: this issue impacts every part of our Union. I will refer to the impact on young people later in my speech. To go back to the RABI survey, the report found that the farming community has lower than average mental wellbeing compared with the wider UK population. A point of concern is that over a third of those who completed the survey had significantly low mental wellbeing scores. Worryingly, a similar number said that they were probably or possibly depressed. Nearly half of respondents said that they were experiencing some form of anxiety. Tragically, one in five respondents knew someone who had attempted to take their own life. I remind the House that the survey had 15,000 responses, so that is a shockingly high statistic, and I hope that its gravity hits home with Members across the House. Since the report was launched in January 2021, things have not become any easier for farmers and the rural community. Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and its consequences for energy and fertiliser prices, and for the flow of commodities such as grain and oilseeds, have caused farmers a great deal of concern. Economic factors such as inflation have also hit farmers hard, and like several places across the country, we in Cheshire have had a particularly bad year with regard to rainfall. Those problems all compound existing challenges, thereby putting a significant strain on farmers who are already under huge pressure.