The CLA View

To borrow a phrase from Forrest Gump: life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

And that is certainly true of the government’s Autumn Budget. Two years on from when former Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced changes to inheritance tax, budget day continues to provoke a nervousness within rural businesses about what is to come. You never know what you’re going to get.

Disappointingly, any announcement in new Chancellor John Healey’s Budget on inheritance tax reliefs was conspicuous by its absence. Despite resounding calls from the rural sector, CLA and other countryside advocates, no changes were announced to the reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR). As a result, we will be continuing our campaign as we seek a full reversal on the decision.

CLA President Gavin Lane remarked after the Budget that ‘the challenges rural areas face have been overlooked.’

The Chancellor says he wants growth in every postcode, but once again, the challenges rural areas face have gone unnoticed. There are too many policies that stifle growth and entrepreneurship in the countryside, and there is still an ignorance of the unique difficulty of running a rural business.

We welcome the extension to the red diesel tax cut and the increase in the business rates threshold. But we would like to see this support extended more widely, recognising the huge range of businesses operating across the rural economy. At a time when nine in 10 CLA members are pausing investment in their business, it is hard to see what in this Budget will change their mind.

When I am out and about across our region, I repeatedly hear how rural businesses are having to hold back on growth, investment and the creation of jobs due to the continuing economic uncertainty.

Increasing costs of food production, inheritance tax and the scramble for funding through the Sustainable Farming Incentive, are all examples of how rural businesses are facing extremely challenging situations.

The frustration is that rural Britain does not lack ambition. Farmers and rural businesses want to invest, innovate and grow. Too often, uncertainty and government policy are holding them back.

But the bigger battle may lie ahead. The government’s next Spending Review will be hugely important and the CLA will be lobbying hard for a strong, long-term funding settlement for Defra, including an increased farming budget that reflects the enormous amount it delivers.

Investment in farming is not simply about supporting farmers. It underpins domestic food production and food security, while delivering for the environment and supporting jobs and investment throughout the wider rural economy. Ultimately, a resilient farming sector also helps keep food affordable.

The CLA will continue to help our members, who include farmers, landowners and a wide range of rural businesses, understand what the Budget means for them.

And we will continue our political engagement, meeting MPs across the region and in Westminster to ensure they are fully aware of the pressures facing rural communities and the action needed to help them prosper.