Number of farms affected by reforms must be clarified

In a letter to the prime minister Alistair Carmichael chair of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee notes that at a meeting of the Liaison Committee in December Sir Keir Starmer said the purpose of the reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) was to raise revenue and that they were not aimed at a particular group. Mr Carmichael says that this is in contrast with the rationale for the changes set out to the committee by the secretary of state and Treasury officials.

He also raises the disputed question of how many farms will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR and asks for clarification of the figures used by the Treasury to predict this number. He states that the EFRA Committee has heard evidence that many more farms may be affected...