Agenda item

Mr Alan Clifton-Holt, Regional Board Chair and Kent Officeholder for the National Farmers Union (NFU), Ms Carol Ford, Chair of the Fresh Food/Horticulture Group and Mr Huw Jarvis, Programme Manager, were in attendance for this item.

1.      Ms Carol Ford, Chair of the Fresh Food/Horticulture Group, provided a presentation by way of a series of slides which are attached to these minutes. Ms Ford stressed the importance of ensuring that the fresh food sector was fully supported across all levels of government, especially in public procurement.

2.      Mr Clifton-Holt spoke about the Land Use Framework, for which there was currently a government consultation. He said the NFU welcomed the Land Use Framework in relation to the pressures on land use such as housing, commercial use, transport, leisure and tourism, and renewable energy, each of which had a huge impact on land. He said it was expected that at least 9% of Kent agricultural ground would be lost to other uses each year. Mr Clifton-Holt spoke about the difficulties in relation to compulsory purchase and compensation rules which effectively gave power to local government to compulsory purchase land for other uses, for example housing. He stressed the importance of working with the Council to ensure that the Land Use Framework was sensible and balanced.

3.      Secondly, Mr Clifton-Holt spoke about inheritance tax in particular agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR). He explained that APR and BPR had had a zero rate band for the past 30 years. Land could be passed on to the next generation at a zero rate inheritance tax and BPR applied to business assets. Mr Clifton-Holt went on to explain the changes the government had announced in the autumn budget which included a million pound threshold of 20%. Farms were asset rich, with most valued in the region of £7million to £8million, and UK agriculture had a return on investment of, on average, 0.5 %.  Therefore, farming was capital wealthy, but had a very poor rate of return. He explained the NFU had been campaigning hard, particularly on APR and there had been protests in London, petitions and letters sent to MPs. The primary legislation to change the inheritance tax rule would go before Parliament in September 2025. He stressed that this family tax was unfair and that farmers were now being forced to urgently reconsider their options.

4.         Further to questions and comments from Members, it was noted that:

•        Members expressed their support for the issues presented and welcomed a report back to the committee.

•        Members discussed the importance of food security within the UK and educating residents to choose UK produce.

•        Members expressed their agreement with the points raised regarding tax relief on agricultural land. It was noted that a motion regarding this was resolved at County Council on 19 December 2024.

•        Food production in England was still viable and should be protected.

•        The UK was capable of growing high-value quality produce and different crops were being grown due to climate change in the UK providing more opportunities. 

•        The significant amounts of money that could come from renewable energy and housing was a temptation to a lot of farmers. The Land Use Framework would be useful to the wider community in providing a balance. 

5.      RESOLVED to note the presentation.