Speeches by Reed.

“From the data projections, the vast majority of farmers will still pay nothing.”

“In what terms? What are you talking about?”

“Yes, absolutely. I completely understand that profitability within the farming sector is very low at the moment. That is why some of the things we are looking at are about how we can help improve the profitability of farming.”

“It is based on DEFRA data, which shows you the value of a farm, and then people have drawn a straight line to an inheritance tax liability, but you cannot do that because ownership is much more complex than one person, one farm. When you take into account these other factors, as the Treasury has done, as the OBR has do…”

“I am not going to give tax advice. The circumstances change from individual to individual.”

“That is one of the options available. There are many options that would be available, but the best thing to do is not to listen to a Minister of the Crown as to what you should do with your tax affairs. Listen to your tax adviser, who can give you detailed advice based on your own personal circumstances to ensure that …”

“Yes, of course I do; I have been speaking to a lot of people about their circumstances. One of the reasons for the delay in implementing the changes is to allow people to start planning their affairs. It does not come into force until April 2026. It will not be in the Finance Bill until 2026. That gives people more tim…”

“With a taper. That is right.”

“No, but we were elected as the UK Government with a big agenda for devolution, so that is our mandate for that.”

“After concerns were raised with me, I met officials from the Treasury to try to understand better how the projections have worked, and they had taken these other factors into account as well. So it was not just APR.”

“Assuming that these projections from HMRC—validated by the OBR and the IFS—are correct, then many of them, probably happily, are wrong, because there are things that they can do to plan their tax affairs, as most businesses or asset owners would do, to limit their liability. The numbers I have heard bandied around are …”

“First of all, thank you for your welcome, Chair. I am delighted to appear before the Committee. I think I know most members, but not all. I hope, perhaps over the coming years, we will get to know each other better. I am very much looking forward to working collaboratively with the Committee. I started out my parliamen…”

“One’s policy has to reflect the circumstance in which one is taking decisions.”

“That is right. The policy must always reflect the circumstance in which you are taking decisions. Although we did not have plans to change the inheritance tax or APR circumstance applying to farmers or landowners, as you will also be aware, after the election, the incoming Government discovered a £22 billion black hole…”

“The Chancellor and the current Prime Minister made it clear at the time that the intention was always to fix the foundations of the economy, but doing that work required us in the end—I know you are making light of it there, but a £22 billion black hole in the public finances is an incredibly serious problem. Just find…”

“The relief did not exist until 1992, when it was introduced. So presumably up until that point, despite that relief not existing, farms had passed from generation to generation. I would hope that they will continue to pass from generation to generation after these changes have been made. I know, for instance, that the …”

“I will tell you how we came to that statement, Chair, if I may.”

“There are a lot of figures flying around at the moment. We are all aware of the protests going on outside. I am very aware of the concerns farmers feel. I have been engaging with the NFU, the CLA, the Tenant Farmers Association, and some of the people in this room. We were having a chat before we came in, and I have me…”

“If I might make one further point, because people have queried whether these figures from HMRC and the Treasury are accurate. These figures have been validated by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, the independent financial think-tank. So I have every reas…”

“It has got worse since 2018, actually, if you are looking at the figures. It has got more and more difficult. It was hit very hard by the escalating energy prices of a few years ago and which have stayed high ever since. There are things that we can do about all of those things to improve farm profitability. We do not …”