Family farm tax will 'damage the fabric of rural Wales,' James Evans warns First Minister

James Evans MS has told the First Minister that the “family farm tax” will damage the fabric of rural Wales.  Video from Senedd.tv

Transcript

00:00that. James Evans. Diolch Llywydd, and I'd like to declare an interest in this matter.

00:04First Minister, last week I was proud to stand with thousands of farmers and my constituents

00:10in Westminster and yesterday at the winter fair against the family farm tax. This tax is going to

00:17damage the fabric of rural Wales, putting our family farms at risk, putting our food security

00:24at risk and as the real consequence of putting food prices up. You told farmers that they needed

00:31to calm down. That statement went down like a cup of cold sick with the farmers that I represent.

00:38First Minister, you said you would stand up for Wales. Will you now join the thousands of Welsh

00:44farmers and stand up for rural Wales and condemn your colleagues in Westminster and stand with me

00:51and those farmers and condemn the family farm tax, and will you please raise it with the Prime

00:56Minister to say that the Welsh Labour Government here does not stand with them on this matter?

01:03Thank you very much, James. First of all, thank you for declaring an interest in this important

01:08matter. Certainly, we are very aware of the concern in the agricultural community around

01:15this issue. We know that agriculture contributes a huge amount to our economy, to our culture,

01:22to the communities in rural Wales in particular, and that's why the Deputy First Minister has

01:30been speaking to the Farmers' Union Wales and has got that assurance that the UK Government will

01:37listen to them in relation to this matter. So, NFU Cymru, FUWóthat their voices

01:45will be heard. So, I think it is important for us to recognise this is a UK Government

01:51tax and it is important that those figures are bottomed out, because, clearly, there is a

02:01lack of an agreement on who exactly will be impacted. So, I would recommend again

02:07that the letter that was sent to the committee in Parliament is read in detail.

02:15Y Llywydd, a gaf i gynulliad arall?

02:17Y Llywydd, a gaf i gynulliad arall?