Defra Secretary says Government's commitment to farmers 'remains steadfast' after Budget anger

Defra Secretary Steve Reed has insisted the Government's commitment to farmers remains steadfast, following anger from the farming community, industry organisations and opposition politicians over changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) in the Autumn Budget.

Writing in The Telegraph, Mr Reed said the Labour Government has committed £5 billion in the agricultural budget over the next two years.

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"As part of that, we have allocated the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production and nature's recovery in our country's history," he said.

Farming support

He added he was also ‘rapidly releasing' support for farmers affected by flooding.

"The Conservatives left this country in a mess, with a £22 billion blackhole in our nation's finance. Fixing that means we must face some difficult choices, but we will do it fairly," he said.

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"I am not prepared to let our public services continue to crumble while the wealthy buy up huge estates robbing young farmers of their dreams, just to avoid paying their taxes.

"This is scandal."

He acknowledged farmers' anxiety but said rural communities needed a better NFU, affordable housing and public transport.

He claimed only the richest estates would be asked to pay.

Inheritance Tax

"Look at the detail and you will see that the vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all.  They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done," he said, adding it was a ‘fair and balanced approach'.

However, the farming organisations have suggested the Government's figures are incorrect and many more farms will be affected than claimed.

He accused the Conservatives of backing ‘wealthy tax avoiders' instead of supporting plans to fix the economy.

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"Our Labour Government will never forget that farmers are the beating heart of our great country. It is their hard work that puts food on our tables and stewards our beautiful countryside."