Scottish Land & Estates responds to EFRA committee report on farming
Press ReleaseFollowing the publication of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on the Government’s Vision for Farming, Scottish Land & Estates’ Senior Policy Adviser for Agriculture and Climate Change, Eleanor Kay, commented:
“The EFRA committee has been listening to the concerns of stakeholders about the government’s direction of travel for farming in the UK, and has rightly expressed concerns about many of the policies the UK Government has proposed, including the damaging proposals to tax family farms on inheritance.
“As the committee points out in its report, it is not just a matter of the policies that have been proposed, but the way they have been communicated with the sector. With little or no warning, and without the opportunity to contribute to any meaningful consultation, the rural sector is contending with a funding cliff edge, a mammoth tax bill and a government that is making no attempt to understand the challenges we face in rural areas.
“Instead of dictating policy to our sector, the UK Government should seek to design policy with us, and make the effort to understand the concerns we are frequently raising with them. Only then will we be able to deliver on our shared priorities of food security, tackling climate change, and creating a thriving rural economy.”
A link to the report can be found here: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on The Government’s Vision for Farming