Weekly round up: Prime Minister under fire as he pits Inheritance Tax changes against NHS waiting lists

In today's Farming In Five, head of news and business Alex Black talks about Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's comments that the UK can have a 'tax break' for farmers or bring down NHS waiting lists. The comments caused anger across the industry. It comes ahead of meetings between farming organisations and HM Treasury next week. And in Mind Your Head Week, farmers have been urged to take a break during a busy spring schedule for their mental health.

Alex Black
clock • 1 min read

More on these stories:

Join our FREE webinar: How to navigate the IHT fallout and plan your farm's succession

FARM LOANS & RE-MORTGAGES

FARM LOANS & RE-MORTGAGES

VIEW ADVERT
£POA

BNG National Habitat Bank Creation & Unit Sales

BNG National Habitat Bank Creation & Unit

VIEW ADVERT
£POA

Commercial Secured Bridging Loans for Business Purposes

Commercial Secured Bridging Loans for Business

VIEW ADVERT
£POA

More on Farming in Five

March 17: Emergency roundtable called between farming organisations and Farming Minister later today to discuss SFI fallout

March 17: Emergency roundtable called between farming organisations and Farming Minister later today to discuss SFI fallout

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown understands an emergency roundtable meeting has been called for later today between farming organisations and Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner to discuss the fallout from Defra's decision last week to suspend new applications to SFI. She also reports on the appointment of Dr David Llewellyn as the independent monitoring and reporting commissioner for the recommendations from the UK Farm Assurance Review. And why a Cambridgeshire tenant farmer has been left 'fuming' at Defra after he was left with no compensation from the Farming Recovery Fund

Rachael Brown
clock 17 March 2025 • 1 min read
Farming in Five: Defra under scrutiny over its decision to close SFI, with questions around why farmers were given little notice, and its transparency over the budget. But who will be the winners and losers?

Farming in Five: Defra under scrutiny over its decision to close SFI, with questions around why farmers were given little notice, and its transparency over the budget. But who will be the winners and losers?

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown reports on the latest from the fallout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive closure. Defra is under scrutiny over its failure to give farmers' notice as the industry questions whether all the budget has been spent. She also looks ahead to next week, a special podcast on Donald Trump, tariffs and what this means for machinery markets and UK farming going forward and the livestock team are heading to Borderway UK Dairy Expo at Carlisle this week, the first dairy show of the year

Rachael Brown
clock 14 March 2025 • 1 min read
February 13: Farming Minister said giving notice on SFI closure would have led to a 'spike in applications'

February 13: Farming Minister said giving notice on SFI closure would have led to a 'spike in applications'

In today's Farming in Five, chief reporter Rachael Brown analyses the fall out from the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), with the Farming Minister telling MPs that farmers were not given notice on closure as it would have led to a 'further spike in applications'. The National Trust says Defra's decision to close SFI to new applications will leave farmers facing a 'four month funding gap'. And she takes a look at the NFU's farmer confidence survey which is reportedly at an 'all time low'

Rachael Brown
clock 13 March 2025 • 1 min read