Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 September 2025
Correspondence from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs dated 18 August 2025 relating to Farming in Wales in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities
From: Welsh Affairs Committee
Inquiry: Farming in Wales in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities
Summary
Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies responds to the Welsh Affairs Committee's inquiry on farming challenges and opportunities. He details Welsh Government support through £366m agricultural funding, defends the Sustainable Farming Scheme, opposes a formal inheritance tax impact assessment, welcomes removal of the ringfenced agricultural budget, acknowledges Brexit complexities while highlighting an 80% increase in food and drink export values to the EU, and emphasises ongoing UK-EU negotiations on sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Key findings
- Welsh Government allocated £238m to Basic Payment Scheme and £102m for optional support in 2025, representing a £27m increase from 2024-25.
- Inheritance tax is reserved to UK Government; Welsh Government will not undertake a separate impact assessment, arguing farm-valuation-based assessments cannot accurately assess individual farm circumstances.
- Removal of ringfence on agricultural funding means Welsh Government now controls agricultural spending levels; Barnett formula applies only to future changes in England spending.
- Welsh food and drink exports to EU increased in value by 80% between 2014 and 2024 (£352m to £634m), though volume increased by only 0.45%; EU remains destination for 76% of Welsh exports.
- UK-EU negotiations on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area seek to reduce trade barriers while preserving GB biosecurity controls; Welsh Government submitted views to ensure Welsh stakeholder interests represented.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Huw Irranca-Davies, Ruth Jones MP, Welsh Affairs Committee, Welsh Government, UK Government, Farming Connect, UK Treasury
Notable line
“We believe that decisions about Wales should be made in Wales. That is why we asked UK Treasury to remove the ringfence on agricultural funding after the UK left the …”
Key Quotes
“We believe that decisions about Wales should be made in Wales. That is why we asked UK Treasury to remove the ringfence on agricultural funding after the UK left the EU.”
“Impact assessments such as the NI assessment, primarily based on farm valuations, cannot provide a robust and accurate assessment of the likely impact.”
“The EU remains an essential export market for agricultural and food products from Wales. The exit from the EU has introduced significant complexities, materialising as trade barriers which may disproportionally affect SMEs.”
“Welsh Food and Drink exports increased by 80% in value between 2014 and 2024. Total UK Food and Drink exports increased in value by 23% across the same period.”
“… agreement. Parties agreed that the UK should be able to take targeted action to protect its biosecurity and public health, in the same way as Member States under European Union law.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗