Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings ministers in the Department for Transport have had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Minister for Aviation, in the Department for Transport, regularly meets with stakeholders across the sector and values this engagement.
For the period in question, the Minister for Aviation has held no meetings with the Mayor of London, and therefore, has not discussed Heathrow Airport expansion proposals.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings ministers in the Treasury have had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor meets regularly with the Mayor of London and has discussed Heathrow expansion with him on several occasions.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor meets regularly with the Mayor of London and has discussed Heathrow expansion with him on several occasions.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Secretary of State for Transport has had with the Mayor of London to discuss proposals to expand Heathrow Airport since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State met with the Mayor of London in February 2025. The agenda of this meeting was not to discuss Heathrow Airport Expansion. However, the expansion proposal was briefly raised in the appendage of the meeting.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Chancellor of the Exchequer has had with Heathrow Airport Limited since its acquisition by a consortium led by Ardian in December 2024.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers regularly meet with airports and other stakeholders across the aviation sector and value this engagement. Ministers have met with Heathrow Airport Limited during this period. These meetings continue to inform the Government’s position on Heathrow expansion.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings Ministers in the Treasury have had with Heathrow Airport Limited since its acquisition by a consortium led by Ardian in December 2024.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers regularly meet with airports and other stakeholders across the aviation sector and value this engagement. Ministers have met with Heathrow Airport Limited during this period. These meetings continue to inform the Government’s position on Heathrow expansion.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings Ministers in the Department for Transport have had with Heathrow Airport Limited since its acquisition by a consortium led by Ardian in December 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport and ministers in the Department for Transport regularly meet with airports and other stakeholders across the sector and value this engagement.
For the period in question, the Secretary of State for Transport has met with Heathrow Airport Limited on 4 occasions and ministers in the Department for Transport have met with Heathrow Airport Limited on 1 occasion.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings the Secretary of State for Transport has had with Heathrow Airport Limited since its acquisition by a consortium led by Ardian in December 2024.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport and ministers in the Department for Transport regularly meet with airports and other stakeholders across the sector and value this engagement.
For the period in question, the Secretary of State for Transport has met with Heathrow Airport Limited on 4 occasions and ministers in the Department for Transport have met with Heathrow Airport Limited on 1 occasion.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many farmers committed suicide in (1) 2022, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024 to date.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Earl of Effingham
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
29 November 2024
Dear Lord Effingham,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many farmers committed suicide in (1) 2022, (2) 2023, and (3) 2024 to date (HL2788).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England and Wales[1]; the latest available figures were published in August 2024 and covered calendar years up to 2023. Also published regularly are provisional statistics on suicide death registrations by quarter in England[2], the most recent of which were published in August 2024 and provided provisional death registrations up to Quarter 2 (April to June) 2024. The ONS holds death registrations for England and Wales only; separate figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland and are available from the National Records of Scotland (NRS)[3] and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)[4], respectively.
The ONS’ mortality statistics for England and Wales are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. Deaths caused by suicide are investigated by coroners, and due to the length of time it takes to hold an inquest, there is delay of around six to seven months between the date of death and the date of death registration. As such, deaths are presented by date of registration rather than date of occurrence. With the deaths statistics linked above and provided in Table 1, many of these will have occurred months or, in some cases, years previously.
Occupation is reported at the time of death registration by the informant. Data on occupation is coded using the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC). For deaths registered from 2023 onwards SOC 2020[5] is used for coding, for deaths registered prior to 2023 it was SOC 2010[6]. The recorded occupation likely reflects the deceased’s main lifetime occupation or their occupation at the time of death.
The number of suicides by sex, country and occupation, deaths registered 2011 to 2021 can be found on the ONS website[7]. The numbers of suicides among farmers between 2022 and 2023 can be found in Table 1. Data for 2024 deaths registrations is not yet available.
Table 1: Number of suicides in farmers aged 20 to 64 years, in England and Wales combined, deaths registered between 2022 and 2023[8],[9],[10].
Year of death registration | Number of suicides among farmers |
2022 | 55 |
2023 | 62 |
Farmers are identified by combining the following occupation groups: managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture (SOC code: 1211), farmers (SOC code: 5111), agricultural and fishing trades not elsewhere classified (SOC code: 5119), agricultural machinery drivers (SOC 2010 code: 8223), farm workers (SOC code: 9111) and fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations not elsewhere classified (SOC code: 9119).
Please note the numbers detailed here cannot be used to ascertain the risk of suicide among occupations, as relative suicide rates accounting for population size of occupation groups are not provided. Differences in numbers of deaths may merely reflect the underlying population structure as opposed to differences in risk.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[3]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/probable-suicides-2023/
[4]https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/cause-death/suicide-deaths
[8]Figures are based on the National Statistics definition of suicide for those aged 20 to 64 years; this includes deaths from intentional self-harm and deaths caused by injury or poisoning where the intent was undetermined.
[9]The area is based on the persons usual residence as provided by the informant upon registration. Figures for England and Wales combined (area code K04000001) include death of non-residents.
[10]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to hold an inquest, the deaths presented here may have occurred months, or even years, before they were registered.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted an impact assessment of the impact of inheritance tax changes on the predicted number of tenant farmers in the UK for the period 2024–2030; and if so, when they intend to publish it.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
The Government is committed to supporting farmers and agricultural workers in accessing the support that they need to protect their mental health as they undertake the vital work of producing food and looking after the environment. For example, through its Farming and Countryside Programme, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) already works with a range of farming charities, including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the Yellow Wellies charity, which have highlighted mental health challenges for farming communities. Defra provides £500,000 of funding to help farming welfare charities support farmers.