Peers Hold Lengthy Debate on Agricultural Tenancies .... On Thursday 17 September, members of the House of Lords debated a number of amendments to the Agriculture Bill, focusing on agricultural tenancies. Nearly all of the amendments tabled had been promoted by the TFA and we were grateful to Baroness McIntosh, Baroness Rock and Lord Wigley for tabling and moving the amendments for debate. Although none were pressed to a vote, many important issues were raised, particularly in a passionate speech given by Baroness Rock. Some assurances were extracted from the Minister concerning the importance of the sector and commitments given to take many of the issues debated forward through other means. The hour-long debate, which formed part of the second day of Report Stage on the Agriculture Bill, can be watched by clicking here and the transcript of the full session can be accessed by clicking here. ….But Peers Vote Down an Amendment that Would Protect Access to Financial Assistance Schemes for FBT Tenants Disappointingly, members of the House of Lords voted by 234 to 122 to defeat an amendment tabled by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering. This would have provided a legal right for FBT tenants to object to their landlord's refusal to allow them entry into a financial assistance schemes. Whilst we did not expect to have major support from the Conservative benches, support was promised from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and many crossbenchers. Happily, the Liberal Democrats and crossbenchers followed through with their promises, but Labour decided its members would abstain on the vote which caused it not to be accepted. To view full details of the breakdown of the vote, click here. | Farming Organisations Join Forces to Deliver Positive Agenda for Environmental Land Management in England The TFA has joined with a number of organisations including the NFU, CLA, LEAF, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and The Sustainable Food Trust, to put together a White Paper setting out a better basis for DEFRA’s proposed Environmental Land Management Scheme, that has been seen so far from Government. The White paper can be viewed by TFA members by clicking here. It proposes an integrated approach which builds together an ambitious plan for environmental improvement and farm business resilience. Over the next few weeks, we will be holding discussions with DEFRA about how these proposals can and should be implemented. | County Council Retirement (Case A) Notice to Quit Refused at Arbitration Many tenants occupying farms let by County Council Smallholding estates will have clauses providing their landlords with the opportunity of serving notices to quit when the tenant reaches 65 – known as “Case A” Notices to Quit. Under the provisions of the Agriculture Bill, when it has received Royal Assent, this will change to the pensionable age of the tenant which rises to 66 next month and will rise again to 67 before 2028. However, for a Case A Notice to Quit to be valid, where the tenant loses access to a dwelling, the local authority must provide suitable alternative accommodation. This was recently tested at an arbitration hearing by a TFA member represented by TFA Recommended Professional, Barry Meade. In the case, the County Council was refused consent for the operation of its Notice to Quit on the grounds that it had failed to provide the retiring tenant with suitable alternative accommodation. As arbitration is a private matter between the disputing parties, we are unable to publish the arbitration award. However, tenant farmers in similar circumstances can take heart that we are able to advise them further on the basis of what was awarded in this arbitration. | High Court Hears Appeal against Arbitration Award Upholding a Case B Notice to Quit On Tuesday, 22 September the High Court held a Skype hearing in the case of Kirby & others v Baker & Metson, dealing with an Appeal of an award by an arbitrator relating to the operation of the provisions on Case B notices to quit under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986. The case focuses on a landlord who served a Case B notice to quit to carry out non-agricultural uses for which planning consent was not required because it formed part of activities allowable within a General Development Order. The tenant, advised by TFA Recommended Solicitor, Michael Johnstone from Loxley, argues that an activity permitted by the General Development Order is not sufficient to trigger a valid Case B notice to quit on the grounds that it does not conform to the requirement within case B, that the Order was approved by both Houses of Parliament on a positive vote. The landlord argues that a positive vote on the General Development Order is not required to satisfy the provisions of Case B. The decision of the judge is expected within the next two months. This is an extremely important case. If the landlord succeeds in his defence, it could lead to a major breach of the security of tenure provisions of the Act, which the TFA does not believe was intended when the current case B provisions were enacted. | Outdoor Use of Metaldehyde to be Banned DEFRA has announced a complete ban on the outdoor use of metaldehyde across Great Britain. Its use will be phased out by 31 March 2022. It will be legal to sell metaldehyde products until 31 March 2021, with use of the products then allowed for a further 12 months until 31 March 2022. For more information, click here. The TFA has always taken the view that a complete ban is unreasonable. Farmers and growers have been working to ensure compliance with codes of practice which don't always apply in private gardens and other outdoor spaces. It would have been more appropriate to ban its use by the general public and allow farmers and growers to continue to use it according to the strict guidelines which apply. | Welsh Rural Development Programme – Expressions of Interest The Welsh Government has asked us to remind members in Wales of the opening and closing dates for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for various Rural Development Programme schemes. Please see these in the chart below: Further details are available via the RPW website which can be viewed by clicking here. | Livestock Information Programme Update The Livestock Information Programme (LIP) developments continue to progress, as it aims to deliver a single, multispecies livestock traceability service, by replacing outdated existing services. The programme developers have confirmed that the information collected initially is likely to be the same as now. However, the Livestock Information Service (LIS) will drive improvements including paperless processes and more timely reporting. The LIP will completely replace the three legacy services that trace cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and deer and will aim to do so by the end of 2022. The first specie to move to the new system will be sheep, starting in September 2020, switching users from ARAMS to the LIS. The objective is to transition as many users as possible by the end of March 2021, but a complete transition by then is not critical. Initially, the introduction of the programme will be tested on a small number of users to help overcome any teething problems before a larger roll out of the programme over the coming 6 months. The TFA will ensure to update members as we hear more on the development of the programme. | Not Yet a Member of the Tenant Farmers Association? If you are reading this newsletter and you are not a member of the TFA, click here to watch a short video where our Chief Executive, George Dunn, explains the benefits of TFA membership. |  Duncan Short | Duncan Short 1948 - 2020 Many TFA members will be extremely sad to hear of the death of Duncan Short on Tuesday 15 September. Duncan was the "silver thread" that ran through all of the TFA's farm insurance affiliations up to March 2017. In all his years of work in the insurance business, he never stopped and he gained as many friends as he did clients. He had a passion to ensure that all his customers received the highest level of value and the highest level of service. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Judith, and his family at this incredibly sad time. | Member Offers Bira Bank Loans - TFA Member Rates New rates have just been announced for TFA Members. Please click here to view current rates which include a promotional rate for vehicles. | Are You Renewing Your General Farm Insurance Soon? If so, why not contact the new approved TFA Insurance partner, GRP Group, to see how they can help. For more details, click here. To arrange for a quotation, please contact the TFA’s Membership Co-ordinator on 0118 930 6130 or email membership@tfa.org.uk. | TFA Member Subscription Offer Save 15% When Buying Latest John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook The John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook is the most widely used and trusted agricultural costing book in the UK. The 51st Edition is now available to buy for budgeting for the 2021 year. For more details, click here or call the TFA head office on 0118 930 6130 for details on how to claim the offer. For more information on the John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook, and to download the full Contents Page and a few sample pages completely free before purchase, click here. | And Finally.... Get Involved! TFA Rent Benchmarking The TFA Rent Databank provides a valuable benchmarking tool, allowing members to make rent comparisons. Our Rent Databank is only as good as the information provided by our TFA members. If you have recently agreed on a rent on any land that you farm, whether it be an increase, decrease or a standstill, please remember to submit the details to the TFA Rent Databank. This can be found in the members area of tfa.org.uk by clicking here, or by phoning the office on 0118 930 6130. Remember, it's completely confidential. Only summary information will be presented online, so your farm cannot be individually identified. Further information is only shared with your permission. | |
