David Smith

As I will go on to say, I can confirm that I have had many messages of support for this change in policy. It has been a pleasure to work with the Labour rural research group and other colleagues on this matter, as my hon. Friend mentioned. As I thank farmers, I also want to thank the Government for listening, learning and acting. It is the hallmark of a mature Government and of a healthy parliamentary debate that we have got to this point. A multitude of structural factors contribute to the sustainability of intergenerational farming. There are many similarities between Britain’s blue-collar workers in the factories and what we might call green-collar workers in the fields. Both are squeezed by commercial interests and a globalised race to the bottom in pricing, costs and wages, which is why the laissez-faire approach to farming economics, such as in the imbalanced trade deals of the Conservative party, work against the sustainability of farming. We have to plough a new furrow that will make farming genuinely sustainable in an intergenerational way. Protecting farming will require Government to form a new covenant with farming and green-collar workers more generally. The implementation of the Batters review will be very important here, particularly the farming and food partnership board, so that the whole supply chain can be examined and improved. It is high time the supermarkets in particular gave a fair price for the produce of our famers. Despite what the Liberal Democrats spokesperson, the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard), said, the Secretary of State announced last week the plan for the SFI application process later this year. I particularly welcome the fact that there will be ringfenced support for smaller farms within that. As I draw my remarks to a conclusion, I will just mention that some larger farms will be impacted even after the changes to APR and BPR. For those just above the threshold, I encourage the Government to consider addressing the potential time and capacity challenges for accurate estate valuation and speedy probate, which must dovetail with the expectation of inheritance tax payments, so that estates that need to pay have clarity and are not penalised for blockages in the wider system. I know that the Government are totally committed to the success of farming. That is vital, because the country needs a flourishing farming sector.