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I have written to the Finance Minister. I have also discussed the issue with Executive colleagues. I had planned to meet the Finance Minister later this afternoon, but, due to Assembly business, the timing of the meeting has moved. It will not be possible to have that meeting today, but I will seek to reschedule it…
Bearing in mind the difficult context that you set out, Minister, will you provide more detail of the work that is being undertaken in conjunction with the Finance Minister to secure the earmarked funding for agriculture, agrienvironment, fisheries and rural development?
Inheritance tax is a reserved matter, because the UK Government take forward taxation policy. I received a letter back from Treasury today that says that they are clearly of the opinion that they are not for turning on the matter, but I will continue to engage with them and urge them to rethink it. I am mindful of the…
Given the widespread concerns about the introduction of the inheritance tax measure, what steps will the Minister take to mitigate its impact on family farms across Northern Ireland?
The uncertainty about earmarked funding from the next financial year onwards is largely due to the departure from the European Union. People would do well to remember that.
I have clearly outlined my position on the issue and on the fact that I am fighting the corner of agriculture in Northern Ireland on the issue of the Budget and the budgetary settlement arising from that. It is key that we come together on inheritance tax and on funding for agriculture, the agrienvironment, fisheries…
The Chancellor says that Labour's tax raid on family farms will bring in £520 million a year. We are told that that is needed to overturn some of the deep, dark holes in our public finances, yet, not even a month later, the same Labour Government have committed £536 million to be spent overseas on 10 programmes to…
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to answer questions 6, 10 and 12 together. I recognise that the changes announced in the Budget regarding agricultural property relief and business property relief in relation to inheritance tax have generated real concern and anger in the local farming community and…
I thank the Member for her question. I know that the issue was raised in today's debate about support for the sheep sector, and I will respond to the concerns as part of that. I confirm that I have not made a final decision. Any decision that I take on the matter will be communicated, in the first instance, to the…
Is the Minister aware of the number of occasions on which I have raised the issue of the Department's stopping testing for maedi-visna (MV) from January 2026? Although he has stated that a decision has not yet been made, the sheep industry is quite clear from discussions that it has had with officials that that is the…
I thank the Member for his supplementary question. It is a useful question, because the Northern Ireland sheep scab pilot project, Stamp out Scab, ran from August 2022 until October 2023. The project was co-funded by DAERA and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Levels of disease…
I thank the Minister for his answer. He referred to the pilot project that ran between August 2022 and August 2023, which coincided with a significant spike in the number of flocks in which the disease was confirmed and in the number placed under restriction in that year. Will the Minister confirm what plans, if any,…
Sheep scab is one of the most severe skin conditions for sheep. It is highly contagious, responsible for large economic losses and a significant welfare concern. Sheep scab remains a notifiable disease in Northern Ireland. The Sheep Scab Order (Northern Ireland) 1970 places a legal obligation on any person who has…
Thank you, Justin, for your question. The Chief Veterinary Officer's report will be published on Thursday. I urge you and others to read it and consider what it says. When I assumed office in February, the Secretary of State had already instructed that there would be a consultation on reducing the level of…
For reasons of financial sustainability, farmers who are dealing with bTB appreciate and respect the compensation for beasts that have been destroyed. There is an issue, however, because herds are being closed down for 12 weeks, resulting in the halting of cash flow. Has the Minister thought about how farmers can get…
Levels of bTB across the UK and Ireland vary. We know, for example, that Scotland's level is so low that it is considered to be free of bTB, whereas the levels of bTB in Northern Ireland are unsustainable. I know that deeply, not just because of the financial implications for my Department but because the matter is…
Does the Minister accept that other regions of the UK and, indeed, the Republic of Ireland have been much more proactive in their fight against bTB and have much lower levels as a result?
I thank the Member for her question, which is a really important one. After the previous North/South Ministerial Council meeting, I had a lengthy meeting with the South's Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, on that specific issue, what the South is doing, what we are doing and how we can work together. In…
Minister, will you outline the collaboration that you have been involved in with your counterpart in the Twenty-six Counties, given that there is quite a gap between the rates of bTB there and the rates here? Is there best practice in the South that we can learn from? I am glad to hear you say that you are worried…
I am aware of the outcome of the judicial review, because I have read the judgement twice. We are seeking a holistic way forward so that we can manage the issues associated with bTB. That goes beyond the issue of wildlife. We need to work together collaboratively to deal with all the causation factors, because that is…
I thank the Minister for his response. Given that 13 months have passed since the previous Minister of Agriculture's proposal for a non-selective cull of badgers was overturned in a judicial review, when will your Department confirm its position on the matter?