Debate contribution: Inheritance Tax Changes: Impact on Family Farms

Debate contribution by Ms Diana Armstrong on 11 February 2025.

MLA

Ms Diana Armstrong

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

11 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Inheritance Tax Changes: Impact on Family Farms

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4793742

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Like my fellow Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, I declare an interest: I come from a farm family. Like other Members, I welcome Sinn Féin's motion and the opportunity to return to a topic that is of great urgency and profound significance for our rural communities and farm families. I have listened to and heard the many statistics, so there is no need for me to go over them again. The debate gives the House an opportunity to reaffirm its opposition to the disastrous family farm tax, which will rob the young farmers of the future and, as we have heard, threaten the United Kingdom's food security. No farmers would mean no food and a bleak future for us all. In fact, the tax has many ramifications. We can look forward to what happens in supply chains: when our farmers do not produce food, there is a knock-on effect on retailers, butchers, logistics and many others. There may even be a knock-on impact into the future. Think of our colleges of agriculture and what this will mean for the future sustainability of the very institutions that educate the farmers of the future. We really feel that there is an onus on us to represent those people. Since the Government's autumn Budget, we have seen resilient and stark opposition to many elements of their tax-driven agenda and the push to balance the books at the expense of those who do so much to feed the nation and maintain the land. The situation that farm families face is intolerable, and the inheritance issue has served only to highlight the many difficulties facing the sector, including the substantial bureaucracy and economic uncertainty in the agri-food sector. That uncertainty has led to united lobbying in opposition of the changes, spearheaded by the Ulster Farmers' Union, which has actively demonstrated the anger in our farming community with tractor rallies. It continues to lobby at Westminster, which is the only place where the issue can be addressed, and it must be addressed. At Westminster, the Ulster Unionist Party continues to highlight the genuine concerns that the family farm tax raises for our rural communities through Robin Swann MP and Lord Elliott. I am greatly pleased that my colleague Robin Swann presented the UFU's family farm tax petition to the House of Commons and that, like other unionist MPs, he has spoken at every opportunity to highlight the matter, whereas, disappointingly, other NI MPs' voices are not heard. In Northern Ireland, the family farm tax has intensified discussion on two principal issues: the major issue of succession planning; and the issue of land values. As we know, the increasing land values that will push farmers into that threshold of tax will lead us to the largest crisis in family farming in generations and decimate food production in Northern Ireland. Again, no farmers would mean no food and a bleak future. We must understand that the family farm tax does not affect merely the financial bottom line; it strikes at the heart of our rural communities, and, as the Member for Mid Ulster said so clearly and emphatically, it really affects our rural communities. Family farms are more than just businesses; they are a way of life and a tradition that is passed down through generations. In them are embodied the values of hard work, resilience and stewardship of the land, which we must value and protect. To jeopardise the future of family farms is to jeopardise the essence of our rural heritage. Upon taking post, the Minister assured my predecessor, Lord Elliott, that he would balance environmental policies with farming practices. I ask that the Minister continue to give his fullest support to protecting farming families so that the legacy of generational farming can be protected. I support the motion and thank the Members who tabled it.

640 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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