Autumn Budget 2024

It has been a deeply troubling time for some CLA members and the wider rural community of late.

In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Labour government announced its first major changes to policies that impact rural communities and business owners. Since then, the CLA has been robustly challenging these decisions. We have been leading the fight back, representing your views to the Treasury and Defra, in Westminster and in the national media.

In this dedicated online hub, explore our detailed analysis and guidance on:

• The proposed inheritance tax changes
• The extensive campaigning and lobbying work that has followed
• And other key considerations for rural land managers in light of the budget

As well as announcing a real-terms cut to agriculture funds, Labour's first budget in 14 years capped agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) – to the dismay of many in the rural sector.

You can discover the thoughts of our experts in the short recording below.

Read our initial reaction to the news here, and learn what the proposed changes to inheritance tax, National Insurance, mean for your business in our comprehensive budget breakdown.

The Autumn Budget included substantial updates to the inheritance tax (IHT) regime, presenting new challenges for rural landowners and family businesses.

To help you navigate changes and ensure that the long-term decisions you make for your business are right, explore the practical IHT advice provided by our tax experts and our useful IHT frequently asked questions.

The inheritance tax reforms threaten to create significant and lasting challenges for rural businesses of all sizes, with adjustments to capital gains tax (CGT) rates also impacting members. Read more about the subsequent next steps for your enterprise here, and in our detailed In Focus review, find out everything you need to know about Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) here.

You can also stay ahead of the inheritance tax curve by watching our insightful tax webinar below - helping you better understand the proposal and its impact on your estate planning.

Despite government assurances that “small farms” would not be affected by fresh IHT proposals, CLA modelling has shown that tax changes could prove a death sentence for many small and medium-sized farms. We have also submitted a detailed response to the UK Government’s consultation on inheritance tax changes and the application process in relation to trusts.

Since the announcement, the CLA has featured in more than 6,500 pieces of coverage in national, trade and regional media as well as extensive radio and television appearances. In these, the CLA has advocated for our members and explained the real-term impacts that decisions will have on landowners in England and Wales.

Shortly after the budget, we spoke to Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed at the 2024 CLA Rural Business Conference and encouraged members to join our 'save rural family businesses' campaign. 7,500 members added their name to a letter to their local MP, calling on them to put pressure on the chancellor to reverse the inheritance tax reliefs decision.

Contrary to misconceptions portrayed by the government on IHT, we created a rebuttal document outlining the truth behind some claims – including remarks from the chancellor that ‘there was no alternative’. We also conducted comprehensive modelling to provide evidence on how farms (we used a typical 350-acre arable farm) would have their annual profits wiped out paying tax bills.

Despite the CLA offering solutions to the government which could generate similar revenue without the disastrous consequences to family businesses, the Treasury seemingly ignored our proposed ‘clawback’ mechanism. Even after a Freedom of Information request was submitted, the government declared that showing its evidence was ‘not in the public interest’.

Below, watch CLA President Victoria Vyvyan's honest reaction to a meeting on IHT with the Treasury.

The CLA has also received support from elsewhere to help strengthen lobbying efforts. This includes backing from the farming industry in committees, campaigning from a cross-party group of MPs, pressure from the general public in tractor rallies at Whitehall, support from the OBR and national supermarkets, as well as a thorough study from sector leaders which suggests that 200,000 jobs could be lost as a result of IHT changes.

Since the first announcements were made back in October 2024, the CLA has been at the pinnacle of lobbying efforts to reverse proposed inheritance tax changes and we continue to keep the pressure on the UK Government on behalf of our members and the rural economy.

As well as making sweeping changes to inheritance tax proposals, in recent months the UK Government has also revealed its plans for digital connectivity and spending on agriculture.

In April, the CLA joined the farming sector in reacting to the sudden and ‘harmful’ closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), before Defra announced its three-year budget plan for agriculture in the latest spending review.

These government announcements, alongside proposed changes to IHT, have long-term and tangible implications for thousands of CLA members and rural communities throughout England and Wales. If you are seeking further advice for your rural business in light of these updates, please explore our catalogue of articles below and do not hesitate to reach out to the CLA.

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