The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has said that the autumn statement has done “nothing to relieve the pressures on farming families”.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, made his ‘autumn statement for growth’ yesterday (Wednesday, November 22).
Hunt announced that the weekly Class 2 NICs – the flat rate compulsory charge which is currently £3.45 paid by self-employed people earning more than £12,570 – will effectively be abolished, with no-one required to pay from April 2024.
The rate of Class 4 NICs on all earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 will be cut by 1p, from 9% to 8% from April 2024.
The UK government said the cuts to Class 4 and Class 2 together amount to a tax cut of £350 a year for the average self-employed person on £28,200, with around two million individuals to benefit.
Hunt also announced raises to the National Living Wage, which GSC Grays said could impact farm labour.
The FUW said, despite the recent drop in inflation rates, that farmers are yet to see this feed through to lower interest rates.
FUW group chief executive Guto Bebb said: “Whilst we fully understand the need to get inflation under control this should not be at the expense of farmers being able to recoup the cost of production.
“There is a lot of recent evidence that the fall in the price of dairy products is having a very real and detrimental impact upon farm gate prices.
“This is a rather disappointing fiscal statement from the UK government which does little to resolve the cost of living crisis and not much to instil confidence in the business community.”
Bebb said the autumn statement was an opportunity for the UK government to give a confidence boost to farmers who have lost confidence due to trade deals and funding cuts.
Overall, the FUW said that it has given a “lukewarm response” to Hunt’s autumn statement.
“Farmers in Wales have had their confidence impacted by trade deals that damage their interests, funding cuts for Welsh agriculture justified on the back of accounting tricks, and a Welsh government that seems incapable of delivering a coherent habitat scheme for farmers as we move beyond the previous farm support system,” Bebb said.
“There was an opportunity for the UK government to provide a much needed confidence boost for the sector but it appears that we will need to wait once again to see the issues facing the farming community being seriously addressed by the government in Westminster.”
