Latest news with #Llanelwedd
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
M&S backs farmers over UK Labour ministers in inheritance tax row
A senior executive at major UK retailer Marks and Spencer has criticised planned changes to inheritance tax, warning they will put off young people from working in April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20%, half the usual McLean, M&S head of agriculture and fisheries, told BBC Wales the policy will "definitely" be a "deterrent for young people coming into the industry".A UK government spokesperson said the "reforms to agricultural and business property relief are vital to fix the public services we all rely on". Ministers insist "three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free".One farming union warned last month that Welsh family farms have been thrown into "turmoil" by the changes. Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, Mr McLean, firmly backed the farmers in the argument. M&S, he said, was "very, very clear" that agriculture should be treated differently by the government."The whole taxation system was devised to recognise that the margins of profitability in agriculture weren't like other industries," he said."That's why you had a difference in how the inheritance tax approach was set up." Mr McLean warned the changes, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last November, would "impact confidence"."They definitely will be a deterrent for young people coming into the industry, and we want to see a vibrant, viable farming structure where young people can come in and make a good living and be proud of what they do," he said. "So being able to give greater surety, greater security is going to be key to viable farming structure going forward."The UK government spokesperson added: "Our commitment to farming and food security is steadfast, which is why we've allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament and appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend new reforms to boost farmers profits."
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
In pictures: The Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells
Thousands of people have been flocking to the Royal Welsh Show this many, the four-day agricultural event, organised by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, is a highlight of the year, celebrating rural life, farming and Welsh is a selection of images from the show in Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells, Powys, so far.
Bloomberg
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Farage's Reform Gains First Welsh Senedd Member as Tory Defects
Reform UK gained a foothold in Wales's devolved administration after Tory Senedd member Laura Anne Jones defected to Nigel Farage's populist upstart party. 'Today's a big step forward for Reform UK in Wales,' Farage told reporters at a live-streamed press conference in Llanelwedd, central Wales, on Tuesday. 'We're in a very good place here.'
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Royal Welsh Show: Dust 'still needs to settle' on farming subsidy plans
Welsh farmers are set to be given a first indication of how much subsidy they will receive next year, as debate over a major shake up of agricultural funding the annual Royal Welsh Show gets underway in Llanelwedd, Powys, the Welsh government has published an online tool to help farmers estimate future final version of its protest-hit Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) was announced on Tuesday, to a mixed said they had "listened carefully to farmers across Wales", revising the proposals to make sure they worked for the industry as well as the environment. However, wildlife groups have warned that the scheme had been watered down, with RSPB Cymru now calling for "a clear plan" to explain how the SFS helps Wales meet its 2030 biodiversity years in the making, the SFS will replace EU-era payments for farmers, which were given largely based on how much land was farmed. Ian Rickman, president of the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW), said there was "a lot of dust still to settle" as farmers got to grips with what the new, greener scheme meant for their businesses."We're proud of the changes we have helped secure," he added, which include "workable payment rates" and the scrapping of a controversial 10% tree cover rule for he described a faster transition process, that will see farms lose 40% of their subsidy if they choose not to join the SFS immediately, as "a particularly bitter pill".RSPB Cymru will use an event on the showground at the Royal Welsh to highlight demands for Wales' environment sector, including the need for "a clear plan detailing how the SFS will contribute to meeting Wales's 2030 biodiversity targets".The charity said the National Audit Office "has identified the lack of such a plan for the equivalent English scheme as a significant flaw resulting in the poor use of public money".Further long-term funding was also needed to invest in nature-friendly farming, it added, with analysis carried out on behalf of wildlife groups putting the figure at £594m a year - approximately twice the existing rural budget. Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said the show marked "the culmination of a landmark week for Welsh agriculture".Alongside a new "ready reckoner" tool, allowing farms to calculate how much they might be offered, Irranca-Davies announced £33m for nine preparatory schemes to " back farm businesses during the transition to the new SFS"."This funding will help farmers invest in nutrient management, environmental improvements and efficiency equipment while delivering on environmental benefits like water quality and biodiversity," he of all colours are set to descend on the showground, each with competing visions for the future of rural communities ahead of May's Senedd issues set to dominate include the ongoing row over changes to inheritance tax rules for farmers, and restrictions to trade along the Welsh border as a result of bluetongue have promised to deliver a "tremendous" display of livestock, despite limits on animals from England and Scotland travelling to Llanelwedd. Sheep, cattle and goats from across the border have been banned this year as part of efforts to keep bluetongue out of livestock virus poses no risk to humans or food safety - but can have serious implications for cattle sheds are noticeably quieter, with entries down by around a third, while there will be no competitions in the goats sheep numbers have held up after places were offered to Welsh competitors on a waiting list after Scottish and English farmers were forced to pull Edwards, from Nelson, Caerphilly county, is entering a Charolais cow and calf and said the atmosphere was "a bit different"."There aren't as many cattle here - there's still a lot of sheep though and I suppose it gives all the Welsh ones a go against each other."Farmers Thomas Corbett and Emily Simpson, from Felindre in Powys, said it was a shame not have the English and Scottish cattle because "the ones that come all that way are often the good cattle and you lose the best opposition". Ms Simpson farmed in Scotland before meeting her partner at the show three years ago, and said friends there "would love to come down" but she understood why they stayed away this year."You've got to put safety first," she Rhys Jones, chief executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, said he was "really pleased with the response we've had from Welsh exhibitors".Numbers of native sheep breeds, pigs and horses were up, he emphasised."We've sympathised with exhibitors, particularly those from England and Scotland that have been coming to the show for years, and we really want to make sure that we maintain that goodwill.""Many of them are still coming this year to enjoy the show - and there'll still be a spectacle."
