Rural communities in the spotlight

The recent Budget has impacted every business in the country, particularly with changes to National Insurance Contributions, which may lead to fewer jobs, lower wages, higher prices or a combination of all three.

However, the big story for rural communities is the decision to change the way Inheritance Tax is applied to agricultural property. It has turned the spotlight not only on farmers but the whole rural way of life and it will eventually raise broader questions of how resources are distributed between those who live in cities and those who do not.

Farmers have been fast to respond, travelling to London to protest in very large numbers and they have made it clear that they will continue their campaign to defeat the proposed changes. They have pointed out that so many are asset rich, but cash poor. In other words, they have land but may not have much in the way of actual folding money.

We all know of family farms across the Chew Valley that have been handed down through the generations and we would like that to continue. They make such a contribution to our way of life, not only producing food but maintaining the countryside that we can all enjoy.

Farmers are saying that will all change in the future and there is a risk that we’ll move away from smaller holdings to a countryside which is dominated by the largest agricultural companies. Who knows what the consequences might be?

It’s strange that this debate should come at the very moment when there is much talk about food security and energy supplies, especially relevant during times of international uncertainty.

Our national strategy, by Governments of all political colours, seems to have been not to be too worried about domestic production, safe in the knowledge that we can buy what we need from abroad. However, as we saw during the Pandemic and have seen more recently with events in Ukraine, things can change very quickly and who knows how things in the Middle East will play out and what impact that could have on what are currently relatively stable energy supplies ?

All we can do is keep watch as things unfold, doing all we can to remain optimistic, representing the interests of our members where we can and highlighting the importance of what all businesses operating in a rural area bring to the local economy and the community of people who rely upon it.