Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to (a) Agricultural Property Relief, (b) Sustainable Farming Incentive and (c) other financial subsidies on the mental health of farmers.

This Government is committed to supporting the mental health of those working in farming and agriculture.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances in a fair way. With the reforms, those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992.

The Government continues to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This currently funds three charities to deliver projects which support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities.