Speeches by Tomlinson.

“I thank my hon. Friend for his continued engagement on this and a whole range of issues that affect rural communities in Cornwall—he is a strong advocate for his constituents. As he says, we have now come forward with a change in the APR and BPR thresholds to make sure we can protect those smaller family farms.”

“As the Minister with responsibility for tax, I am here answering questions about tax, and I am happy to continue to do so. The change that the Government came forward with last month—we will be legislating for it in the Finance Bill—will increase the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million. We are doing that because …”

“My hon. Friend gives me the chance to quote Michael Gove, who admitted that the previous Government had let down British farmers. He said: “I can confirm I think we negotiated poorly with Australia, and New Zealand, but particularly with Australia in defence of our farmers”. He admits that the last Government made mist…”

“May I thank all hon. Members on both sides of the House for their engagement on this important issue today? We have set the threshold at £2.5 million for a single person and £5 million for a couple as a result of the changes announced at the Budget 2025. We think that threshold is right and fair. It means that the numb…”

“We need to continue to do all we can to support British farming so that we can have more British produce on our shelves and so that countries overseas can have more British produce, too. That is why we have been working hard on our trade deals to secure more access for British farmers to markets overseas.”

“This Government have our farming road map. We have also published the Batters review, and we will be taking forward many of the proposals and the recommendations in it, so that we can continue to support profitability and sustainability for farmers and our farming communities.”

“We think that continuing to raise around £300 million from this policy is the right thing to do, so that—alongside the other changes that the Government are making—we can raise revenue in a fair and sustainable way to fund our public services.”

“Yes, I can reassure my hon. Friend that we will continue to listen to, and engage with, the over 150 Labour MPs who represent rural and semi-rural constituencies.”

“Over the course of recent months—since I have been in the Government, from September onwards—Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and from the Treasury have continued to engage with farming communities and with business communities. As has been raised by some Members today, it is worth …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his reminder that the previous Government and previous Conservative Prime Ministers were roundly rejected by the country at the last general election. People in rural communities and communities up and down the country voted for change for the better with this Labour Government and for a Gove…”

“The Government have been listening to rural communities, farming representatives and the representatives of family businesses. That is why, after listening, we have come forward with these changes, which we think strike the right balance between the necessary impulse to ensure a fair and sustainable tax system and cont…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for inviting me to his constituency last year; I believe it was shortly after I was made a Minister on 1 September. It was a very productive and useful visit, and I thank the farmers and members of the community I met when I went to a lovely café and had some lovely tea and cake with my hon. Frie…”

“The Government want to support growth and investment in rural communities. That is why we are putting in £11.8 billion of support over the course of this Parliament and ensuring that we improve our economy and our economic fortunes across the board as a country after the chaos of the last 14 years. We have had six inte…”

“Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend’s powerful contribution. He made important points about how the trade deals negotiated by the previous Government undermined British farming and that there was no consistency of investment and support for farmers up and down the country. What do rural communities think about that? At th…”

“The Government have set the thresholds for tax policies over the period of the OBR’s forecast, and it would not be right for me to comment on the changes that may or may not happen after that. May I say to the right hon. Gentleman that throughout the time that Margaret Thatcher was in power, we did not have a system li…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the strong representation that he has provided for his constituents since he was elected in 2024, and for raising an important issue. I am sure that DEFRA Ministers are alive to that issue and will continue to have conversations with hon. Members.”

“We will not be going ahead with the hon. Member’s proposal of scrapping this change entirely.”

“The Government wanted to ensure that the changes that we are legislating for in the Finance Bill in the coming weeks came forward before that Bill was passed. We have continued to listen to farming communities and family businesses. The changes with which we have come forward, including increasing the threshold from £1…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her strong representation of rural constituents and rural communities. She makes a very important point. It is worth noting that this is a tax relief, and the tax relief as it stood before the changes that the Government have come forward with since the 2024 Budget meant …”

“The amendment, which has already been laid before the House, sets out the changes that the Government are making. In the letter that all hon. Members will have received, we set out our estimate that the number of estates we think will be affected will halve, and that about 85% of farming estates claiming APR—sometimes …”