Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 January 2025
Correspondence from the Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, regarding oral evidence before the Committee on 19 November, dated 17 January 2025
Summary
Secretary of State Steve Reed responds to follow-up questions from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee following his November 2024 oral evidence. The letter addresses agricultural tax impacts, farming profitability proposals, ELMS scheme performance, food security, water company stability, fisheries preparation post-Brexit, circular economy reforms, and cross-departmental environmental coordination. Defra commits £5 billion to farming over two years and outlines progress on packaging reforms, deposit return schemes, and environmental improvement plans.
Key findings
- Top 7% of agricultural property relief claims (117 claims) account for 40% of total value, costing taxpayers £219 million; top 2% (37 claims) cost £119 million.
- Up to £3 million can pass free of inheritance tax; amounts above are taxed at 20% rather than 40%, payable interest-free over 10 years.
- Sustainable Farming Incentive received 9,900 applications by mid-December 2024 with 6,700 agreement offers issued; average processing time is 24 days.
- Rural Payments Agency resolves 60% of SFI application calls on first contact; written queries resolved within average of 4 days, 98.4% within 30 days.
- Packaging and circular economy reforms projected to support 21,000 jobs and stimulate over £10 billion investment in recycling over ten years; deposit return scheme regulations laid November 2024, expected to come into force January 2025.
- Defra commits to greater data transparency on ELMS schemes including agreement-level, action-level, spatial information and impact analysis.
- UK Food Security Report laid December 2024; cross-government food strategy in development to address food security, economic growth, health and environmental sustainability.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Steve Reed, Alistair Carmichael, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Rural Payments Agency, Groceries Code Adjudicator, Thames Water, Ofwat, Dan Corry
Notable line
“The government's commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. It is why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years – more money than ever …”
Key Quotes
“The government's commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. It is why we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years – more money than ever for sustainable food production and nature's recovery.”
“Depending on people's individual circumstances, up to £3 million can be passed on free of inheritance tax. Anything beyond that will be taxed at 20%, rather than the usual 40% normal rate of inheritance tax.”
“The latest figures show that the top 7% of claims (the largest 117 claims) account for 40% of the total value of agricultural property relief. This costs the taxpayer £219 million.”
“60% of calls on the application process to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) contact centre (1,506) are resolved during on the initial call.”
“The Collection and Packaging Reforms have the potential to support 21,000 new jobs and stimulate over £10 billion of investment in recycling capability over the next ten years.”
“We are aware that the EU are keen to hold discussions about fisheries' access arrangements and will listen to what they have to say.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗