Labour has extended an olive branch to farmers with a plan to offer struggling growers their share in a huge £5billion industry.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has proposed a plan to force schools, prisons and hospitals to prioritise the purchasing of British food.
Reed is reported to be streamlining the way in which public contracts are awarded to prioritise domestic goods over imports.
The reforms are expected to deliver a huge financial boost for farmers shaken by Labour’s tractor tax.
This move is intended to be a peace offering to farmers who have been protesting against Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to restrict inheritance tax exemptions.
Addressing the National Farmers’ Union on Wednesday, Reed is expected to claim that the changes will offer a windfall to struggling growers.
Ahead of the speech, Reed said: “The Government is committed to using its own purchasing power to back British produce.”
“That means buying more British food where we can. This will help farmers compete for a fairer share of the £5billion a year spent on public-sector catering contracts.”
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Under the new plans, public procurement rules will be changed to favour high-quality food grown under British welfare and environmental standards.
Through this, UK farmers will be better positioned to secure Government contracts than foreign firms that ship cheap products globally.
However, the plans could also be beneficial to European growers, since the UK and the EU follow the same animal welfare standards.
Although the Environment Secretary cannot demand the public sector only buys British goods, since this would violate the UK’s international trade obligations, he can set targets to ensure that at least half the food purchased by the public sector comes from suppliers that apply high environmental standards, which would benefit UK farms.
Each year, the Government hands £5billion in catering contracts to companies that supply food for schools, prisons and hospitals.
Under the new reforms, farmers will be in a position to compete for £2.5billion of that business a year.
This comes as farmers were angered last week after the Treasury rejected their offer of a compromise.
They suggested a "clawback" mechanism by which death duties would only be paid if land was sold within a certain time period after inheritance.
The proposals, put forward by the NFU, the Tenant Farmers Association and the Country Land and Business Association, were rejected by ministers from the Treasury and the Department for Environment at a Whitehall meeting last Tuesday.
After the meeting, NFU president Tom Bradshaw, said: “The reaction from our members is going to be one of fury, one of real anger.”
Under the new tax raid, farms worth more than £1million will be made to pay inheritance tax for the first time.
It emerged last week that thousands of farms have begun closing down, and twice as many agricultural businesses are closing as are opening.
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Environment Secretary Steve Reed has proposed a plan to force schools, prisons and hospitals to prioritise the purchasing of British food.
Reed is reported to be streamlining the way in which public contracts are awarded to prioritise domestic goods over imports.
The reforms are expected to deliver a huge financial boost for farmers shaken by Labour’s tractor tax.
This move is intended to be a peace offering to farmers who have been protesting against Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to restrict inheritance tax exemptions.
Addressing the National Farmers’ Union on Wednesday, Reed is expected to claim that the changes will offer a windfall to struggling growers.
Ahead of the speech, Reed said: “The Government is committed to using its own purchasing power to back British produce.”
“That means buying more British food where we can. This will help farmers compete for a fairer share of the £5billion a year spent on public-sector catering contracts.”
MORE LIKE THIS:
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- Labour is pushing rural Britain to the brink - Andrew RT Davies
Under the new plans, public procurement rules will be changed to favour high-quality food grown under British welfare and environmental standards.
Through this, UK farmers will be better positioned to secure Government contracts than foreign firms that ship cheap products globally.
However, the plans could also be beneficial to European growers, since the UK and the EU follow the same animal welfare standards.
Although the Environment Secretary cannot demand the public sector only buys British goods, since this would violate the UK’s international trade obligations, he can set targets to ensure that at least half the food purchased by the public sector comes from suppliers that apply high environmental standards, which would benefit UK farms.
Each year, the Government hands £5billion in catering contracts to companies that supply food for schools, prisons and hospitals.
Under the new reforms, farmers will be in a position to compete for £2.5billion of that business a year.
This comes as farmers were angered last week after the Treasury rejected their offer of a compromise.
They suggested a "clawback" mechanism by which death duties would only be paid if land was sold within a certain time period after inheritance.
The proposals, put forward by the NFU, the Tenant Farmers Association and the Country Land and Business Association, were rejected by ministers from the Treasury and the Department for Environment at a Whitehall meeting last Tuesday.
After the meeting, NFU president Tom Bradshaw, said: “The reaction from our members is going to be one of fury, one of real anger.”
Under the new tax raid, farms worth more than £1million will be made to pay inheritance tax for the first time.
It emerged last week that thousands of farms have begun closing down, and twice as many agricultural businesses are closing as are opening.
Find Out More...