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Select Committee · Welsh Affairs Committee

Farming in Wales in 2025: Challenges and Opportunities

Status: Open Opened: 10 Mar 2025 8 recommendations 17 conclusions 2 reports

Wales has a long tradition of farming, and the sector is integral to the Welsh economy. In 2022, agriculture, fishing and forestry accounted for 1.8% of total employment in Wales and over 90% of the land area of Wales is utilised for farming. Our predecessor Committee reported that in 2020, the gross output of agriculture …

Clear

Reports

2 reports
Title HC No. Published Items Response
2nd Report - Farming in Wales in 2025: Challenges and Oppor… HC 785 12 Nov 2025 25 Responded
Ffermio yng Nghymru yn 2025: Heriau a Chyfleoedd HC 785 12 Nov 2025 0 —

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
5 Conclusion 2nd Report - Farming in Wales in 2025: … Not Addressed

UK Government has not provided Wales-specific data on IHT reform impact.

We are concerned that the UK Government has been unable to provide any clarity on the specific impact of its proposed IHT reforms in Wales or supply any Wales-specific data. Only UK-wide figures for farming estates potentially liable to pay IHT have been published, and no disaggregated data for Wales …

Government response. The government acknowledges concerns about IHT reforms by increasing the 100% relief allowance to £2.5 million, but does not provide clarity or Wales-specific data on the impact, instead referring to a UK-wide technical note.
Wales Office
7 Conclusion 2nd Report - Farming in Wales in 2025: … Not Addressed

Government's complacent approach to farm tax changes generated uncertainty for Welsh farmers.

The Government was complacent in the way it introduced such a major change to the tax treatment of farms in Wales. The absence of an assessment of the impact on Welsh farming estates created a vacuum which was filled by different organisations publishing competing statistics which predicted a varying scale …

Government response. The government acknowledges concerns about IHT reforms by increasing the 100% relief allowance to £2.5 million but does not address the committee's criticism regarding its complacent approach or the absence of a Wales-specific impact assessment.
Wales Office
20 Conclusion 2nd Report - Farming in Wales in 2025: …

Groceries Code Adjudicator lacks sufficient powers for Welsh agricultural sector

We recognise that there is some dissatisfaction among stakeholders concerning the effectiveness and scope of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. There remain concerns about whether the Groceries Code Adjudicator has sufficient powers to address the full spectrum of challenges facing the Welsh agricultural sector. (Conclusion, Paragraph 101) 43 The Future

Wales Office
23 Conclusion 2nd Report - Farming in Wales in 2025: …

Declining trends in Welsh farming threaten UK food security and require urgent focus

The UK’s food security is dependent upon sustainable domestic production, and by that measure the trends in Wales should be cause for concern. The number of people employed in the industry in Wales has declined, trade with key European markets has declined and livestock numbers in Wales have declined. We …

Wales Office

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
16 Jul 2025 Ceri Morgan CBE · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner MP · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tessa Jones · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs View ↗
4 Jun 2025 Aled Jones · National Farmers Union Cymru, Dominic Hampson-Smith · Wales Young Farmers Clubs, Gareth Parry · Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) View ↗

Correspondence

11 letters
DateDirectionTitle
25 Mar 2026 — Correspondence to and from Department of Business and Trade, relating to the Go…
25 Mar 2026 — Correspondence to and from the Home Office, relating to withdrawal of the visa …
11 Mar 2026 — Correspondence to and from HM Treasury, relating to Farming in Wales in 2025, d…
7 Jan 2026 — Correspondence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rela…
4 Sep 2025 — Correspondence from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate…
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Wales Young Farmers Clubs to the Chair relating to the …
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Farmers’ Union of Wales to the Chair dated 26 June 202…
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Chair to NFU Cymru dated 9 June 2025 relating to the 4 …
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Chair to the Wales Young Farmers Clubs dated 9 June 202…
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from NFU Cymru to the Chair dated 26 June 2025 relating to the 4…
17 Jul 2025 — Correspondence from the Chair to the Farmers’ Union of Wales dated 9 June 2025 …