Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) peer, Lord Tom Elliott, has called on Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, to campaign vigorously for a reversal of in the UK inheritance tax changes, introduced last autumn.
The Co. Fermanagh politician has highlighted the particularly severe impact the changes are expected have on Northern Ireland’s farming community.
Lord Elliott explained: “I was somewhat disturbed to hear Minister Muir indicate in the Northern Ireland Assembly that Treasury were suggesting that they are clearly of the opinion that they are ‘not for turning’ on the matter.
“This – along with him outlining plans to scale up the Farming for Generations Scheme to assist with succession planning – could give the impression of a defeatist attitude from the minister.
“The agri-food sector is a hugely important part of the Northern Ireland economy. It feeds 10 million people at a time when there is rising food insecurity.”
Lord Elliott also noted that the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report had stated that “around 733 million people faced hunger in 2023, which is equivalent to one in eleven people globally”.
He said: “If the UK government are going to further squeeze the community that already feeds millions, then the level of world food security will worsen.
“It is vital that the agri-food sector is supported – we don’t want the minister taking a weak attitude and giving up on the sector that provides so much to the local society, but also to the world community.”
Previously Minister Muir said: “I stand firmly with the agriculture sector in calling for these damaging changes to be reversed. Northern Ireland will be disproportionately impacted due to the makeup of our agri-sector and it cannot continue.”
He has also urged the UK government “to turn back and reconsider the planned tax changes given the disproportionate impact on family farms, particularly in Northern Ireland”.
Minister Muir said: “The ability to pass farms down through generations of farming families is crucial to securing the future of our agri-food sector.
“I will continue to do everything I can, working with stakeholders and my ministerial colleagues to make representations to UK government ministers.”
Zoning land
Separately, Lord Elliott has also called for land in Northern Ireland to be officially zoned according to use.
The UUP politician believes that such a development should be included within the principles established for a new Nutrients Action Programme (NAP).
He said: “Our best land must be kept for the purposes of food production. And in this context, the adequate application of the required nutrients is critically important.
“Every farmer in Northern Ireland wants to see water quality improved and will act accordingly.
“But there must be a strategic assessment carried out of the way in which land is used. For example, the development of solar farms on high quality agricultural land is wrong.
“The same principle holds where the establishment of new woodlands is concerned. Tree planting should be concentrated on marginal land only.”
However, Lord Elliott greatly favours the securing of much higher tree-planting levels in Northern Ireland.
He said: “The greater use of trees within buffer strips established close to water courses has significant merit.
“This approach will help to reduce the quantities of excess nutrients escaping to the environment in the first place, while helping to boost the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered.”
