Ulster Unionist Party Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson Robbie Butler MLA has welcomed the EFRA Committee’s cross-party recommendation to delay changes to agricultural inheritance tax, warning that the current rushed approach risks devastating consequences — particularly for family farms in Northern Ireland.

Mr Butler said:

“The EFRA Committee has shown common sense and cross-party responsibility in urging a delay to the Government’s proposed changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These reforms were announced with no proper consultation, and they risk hitting the most vulnerable — including older farmers, family-run farms, and those working less profitable land.

“In Northern Ireland, this risk is magnified. We have a much higher proportion of family-run farms, inflated land prices, and additional pressures from persistent bovine TB outbreaks. The recent Nutrients Action Programme consultation brought forward by the Alliance Party Minister and his Department has added yet another layer of uncertainty — and frankly, many farmers feel like they’re being boxed in from every side.

“We support closing tax loopholes and ensuring fairness, but changes of this scale must be properly assessed, not rushed through based on unclear assumptions and poor communication. The EFRA report makes it clear: there are real risks to food security, land values, and long-term investment decisions — especially in devolved regions like ours.

“The Ulster Unionist Party will battle to ensure that our collective drive to be green doesn’t leave our farmers in the red — or push them over the edge. We need policies based on evidence, not knee-jerk decisions, and above all, we need the UK Government and the Minister for DAERA to rebuild trust with the people who feed us.”

In Westminster, Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann added:

“This is a welcome recommendation that I hope the government takes seriously. This, I hope, is the first step towards ending the policy completely before it comes into force. There is clear and far-reaching opposition to this change to inheritance tax, and it’s something my party has strongly opposed both in Stormont and at Westminster, including with a parliamentary petition.

“Our farmers in Northern Ireland are vital to food security, our rural economy, and protecting our countryside. The pressure this has added to them is unacceptable, and the Government must now act to stop this policy completely before irreversible damage is done to local farming.”