Young NFU Cymru members lobby MPs in Westminster on inheritance tax changes

Two young NFU Cymru members have given MPs a stark warning about their farming future should the UK Government press on with its planned changes to inheritance tax reliefs.

Carys Jones, a dairy farmer from Magor, and beef, sheep and vegetable farmer Naomi Williams-Roberts were part of a group of 14 young farmers explaining to MPs how the UK Government’s proposed family farm tax could impact them. NFU Cymru has been highlighting how planned changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) could drive many farmers out of the industry.

The Monmouthshire duo attended the MP drop-in session at Portcullis House on Monday 10^th February ahead of a Westminster Hall debate on a petition against changes to inheritance tax relief for working farms. The petition had received over 150,000 signatures. This also coincided with a large-scale rally that saw hundreds of tractors descend on Whitehall.

Speaking of the impact of the changes on her dairy farm, NFU Cymru Next Generation Group member Carys Jones said: “I farm in partnership with my parents and we were planning a programme of reinvestment to expand our dairy enterprise, producing more milk and more food for the British public. But these planned tax changes have had huge implications for our business and how we plan going forwards; they’re going to cripple our business. We’re now looking at potentially changing that reinvestment programme and reducing livestock production going forward.”

NFU Cymru Student & Young Farmer Ambassador Naomi Williams-Roberts said: “As a tenant farmer I’m really concerned about how these changes – and the added uncertainty they bring – will impact our farm and the wider industry. It was good to have the opportunity to speak to MPs from across the UK and explain to them the significant threat that these proposals pose to the viability of family farms, all at a time when profit margins, for many, are already extremely tight.”

NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said: “We are grateful to Carys, Naomi and the other young farming ambassadors who travelled to Westminster to share their stories so eloquently and passionately. It’s extremely disappointing to hear how the enthusiasm and ambition from the nation’s young farmers is being stifled by the UK Government’s poorly designed policy changes. These proposals are going to drastically affect hard-working, family businesses that are feeding the nation.

“I want to thank those MPs who attended the NFU drop-in session to listen to our members, as well as those who attended the subsequent Westminster Hall debate. Together with my colleagues from the other UK farming unions, I urge the UK Government to work with the industry to find a constructive solution that doesn’t leave our family farms high and dry.”

(L-R) – NFU Cymru President Aled Jones; NFU Cymru Student & Young Farmer Ambassador Naomi Williams-Roberts; Steve Witherden MP; NFU President Tom Bradshaw