Farm tenants demand recognition in Queen's Speech

Tenant Farmers' Association head George Dunn said the Queen's Speech 'must deliver a better agriculture bill' for farm tenants
Tenant Farmers' Association head George Dunn said the Queen's Speech 'must deliver a better agriculture bill' for farm tenants

The government has been urged to provide better provisions for tenant farmers in the upcoming Queen's Speech as many are in 'danger of being left out in the cold'.

It comes as Parliament is expected to be prorogued for the second time this week to allow a Queen's Speech on 14 October.

The speech will give Boris Johnson's government an opportunity to highlight forthcoming priorities.

Looking at the week ahead, the Tenant Farmers' Association (TFA) is calling for a greater recognition of the country's tenant farmers, who are responsible for around one-third of UK farmland.

The agriculture bill introduced to the House of Commons in the current session was 'deliberately devoid' of any reforms to agricultural tenancy legislation, it says.

Tenant farmers criticised the bill for focusing too heavily on general government policy for agriculture rather than wider issues impacting landlords and tenants.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “With parliamentary time at a premium and with Defra expected to have several important bills listed in the speech, it may be some time before Defra gets another slot for primary legislation.

“Therefore, it must ensure that it takes the opportunity to broaden the scope of the agriculture bill to include agricultural tenancy reform over which it has consulted.”

He added that tenancy issues affecting the industry 'must not be kicked into the long grass' as 'difficult contractual and legislative obstacles' still stand in the way.

The TFA lobbied throughout the stages of the current ag bill, arguing that changes to policy cannot be made without ensuring tenants are 'not disenfranchised from the new arrangements'.

“Had the existing agriculture bill been allowed to complete its course without significant amendment, farm tenants were in danger of being left out in the cold,” Mr Dunn said.

A Defra consultation on proposals for reform of agricultural tenancies in England and Wales was launched in April and closed for submissions in July.

It looked at the removal of existing barriers to productivity improvements which would help bring about structural change, improving the overall competitiveness and sustainability of the tenant farming sector.

It was the first major look at agricultural tenancies for over a quarter of a century.