Contribution
My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Hereford for highlighting what we know to be an incredibly serious issue for the agricultural sector. I highlight my entry in the register of interests as receiving rental income from an agricultural grain store.
It is unclear to many why the Government do not appear to understand the farming industry and those whose livelihoods are connected to agriculture. The president of the National Farmers’ Union summed up the situation:
“The human impact of this goes way beyond the economics. It is something that just is not being considered by the Government, and it is so sad”.
Self-inflicted UK government borrowing costs at 28-year highs, hurting hard-working people, have been coupled with punitive taxes specifically targeted at those in agriculture. It is a fact that those are choices made by this Government. It should therefore be no surprise to noble Lords that only 15% of rural residents believe that this Government care about the countryside, while nearly half feel that the Government have actively waged war on their communities. The Countryside Alliance has identified 27 harmful policies since 2024 that negatively impact rural communities, the most significant being the Government’s changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
The actions of the party opposite suggest that they are simply not listening to farmers, who repeatedly explain that most family farms do not have liquid assets to sell. Since the family farms tax was announced, investments in their businesses were either paused or cancelled in order to save for inheritance tax costs. As a direct consequence, as my noble friend Lord Gardiner put so well during a recent Oral Question, that means lower investment in innovation, food production and the very reservoirs that so many people want to see. Almost one in four family farms and businesses has a reduced head count. It is absolutely no surprise that the frightening question being asked in so many quarters is: do this Government care more about social security than national security and food security?
The noble Baroness, Lady Batters, former president of the National Farmers’ Union, has warned that our food self-sufficiency is plummeting. It was only yesterday that the noble Lord, Lord Lemos, rightly spoke from the Government Dispatch Box about mental health support for prisoners on licence. His Majesty’s loyal Opposition would say absolutely; of course; yes—but what about mental health support for farmers who have committed no crime but have lost their livelihood due to this Government’s policies?
My noble friend Lady Shephard highlighted YANA, the You Are Not Alone helpline. Its calls are up 40%, and this is just one example. So why did the Government close the £10 million mental health support fund for farmers—the farming resilience fund, which came in under a Conservative Government—and what will now replace it?
The 2025 McCain Farmdex report found that 90% of farmers felt the UK economy was negatively affecting their farm’s financial position, with 86% feeling pessimistic about the UK’s long-term food security. Some 51% considered leaving farming altogether due to financial constraints. Forty per cent believed they might be forced to exit the industry within the next decade.
These are not the actions of a responsible and decisive Government. Do any noble Lords disagree that we need to ensure our long-term food security and, as a result, have a duty of care for both the physical and mental health of our farmers, who work every possible hour of the day? The right reverend Prelate reminded us that behind most pieces of food that we eat is a human being—a farmer. My noble friend Lord Fuller was entirely correct when he said that the farmer is the chief executive, the chief financial officer, the human resources director and the compliance director. These are immense pressures for just one person or one family to navigate.
Last month, Members in the other place signed a letter to the new Prime Minister calling on the Government to reverse the farming inheritance tax changes in full. The response was: “We will look again.” The noble Baroness the Minister said:
“I will ensure that the new Chancellor is aware of the strength of feeling on this matter”.—[Official Report, 7/9/26; col. 441.]
Actions speak louder than words, and the entire farming community is waiting. It is not just the family farm tax; it is the increased employer national insurance, the higher energy costs and the accelerated decline of delinked payments—the cumulative wrecking ball of this Government’s policies.
As my noble friend Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton put so well at the Campaign for the Countryside launch on Monday, we have
“no national security unless you have food security”.
It is surely crystal-clear that we should be looking after our farming communities, not destroying them.