dw@hawsons.co.uk You’ve wrapped up harvest and drilling, you’re sorting the paperwork, and then you hear HMRC wants quarterly digital reports. Sound familiar? Thankfully, there’s good news. Following pressure from farming groups and professional bodies, HMRC has...
dw@hawsons.co.uk The 2024 Autumn Budget caused real financial unease across British farming. The decision to cap Agricultural Property Relief (APR) at £1 million landed hard with farming families trying to pass the farm on without triggering an Inheritance Tax bill....
We have contributed to a report on The Real Impact of the 2024 Autumn Budget IHT Announcements. This report was put together by the Rural Accountancy Group (RAG) in which includes 10 accountancy firms across England and Scotland who specialise in farming, estates and...
Have you thought about succession and the long-term plans for your family farm? As agriculture makes up the highest concentration of family businesses passed through the generations, it is no surprise that succession is a key issue and is something farmers need to...
Government initiatives often shape the landscape of various sectors, and agriculture is no exception. Recent developments in the UK's environmental policies are set to bring significant changes to agricultural property relief (APR). Background In 2023, the UK...
After concerns were raised by food and farming organisations, DEFRA has decided to provide more transparency on how the agriculture budget for England is spent. On 18th September DEFRA published its Food Farming and Countryside Programme annual report for the 2022-23...
In September, the Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs announced a new £25 million flood management scheme as part of their Natural flood management programme. This (ring-fenced) funding is being provided by the government and...
The government has launched an infrastructure grant scheme worth £10 million to fund cattle housing for farmers. This fund aims to improve calf health and welfare as well as enhancing environmental sustainability and innovation. The funding will be granted to farmers...
Defra has published updated guidance regarding farms that have recently been sold. New Defra guidance From 2024 Basic Payment Scheme payments will be delinked which means that new farm owners will not need to apply for BPS, instead this will be calculated based...
Second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced a second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme which was initially launched in 2022. Farmers and land managers can apply for a share of the £15m...
New rules regarding biodiversity net gains have been announced by the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra). The main announcement is regarding a mandatory uplift of a 10% minimum biodiversity net gain (BNG). It is believed that this will be...
Introduction Going into 2023, the outlook is much less optimistic for farmers. However, the annual Sentiment Survey, conducted in October/November demonstrated that most farmers were in reasonable financial shape. Arable farmers Arable farmers were in...