A CALL on Pembrokeshire County Council to oppose the Labour Government’s changes to inheritance tax affecting family farms is to be heard later this week.

At the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced farmers would have to pay inheritance tax on agricultural property and land worth more than £1 million at a rate of 20 per cent, with a £3m threshold for couples passing on their farms.

This compares to a 40 per cent rate on other estates.

A Notice of Motion by Councillor Aled Thomas, ‘relating to Protecting British Family Farms and Preserving Rural Communities’ is to be heard at the December 12 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council meeting.

Cllr Thomas, who stood as a Conservative candidate for Ceredigion-Preseli in the 2024 general election, asks that: “Pembrokeshire County Council notes its concern to the proposed changes to inheritance tax announced by the Labour Government in the recent Autumn budget, which would scrap Agricultural Property Relief (APR).

“APR has been instrumental in allowing British family farms to remain intact across generations, supporting food security, sustaining rural communities, and aiding environmental stewardship. This tax is estimated to impact over 70,000 family farms, leaving the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000, which will force many to sell portions of their land or close entirely, paving the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.”

It calls on the council to resolve to “oppose the Labour Government’s changes to inheritance tax affecting family farms,” to “advocate for the exemption of family farms to preserve the UK’s food security, rural communities, environmental initiatives,” and to “commit to maintaining its county council farms portfolio, particularly to encourage younger and new generations of farmers into the industry”.

It finishes: “This council urges all councillors to stand with Britain’s family farms, to support our rural communities, and to protect the environment by formally rejecting this proposed ‘family farm tax’.”

Cllr Thomas’s notice of motion will be considered at the December 12 meeting.

Claims were recently made, and denied, that Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell may have had insider knowledge of changes to Agricultural Property Relief recently announced by the Chancellor, with inferences it led to his wealthy landowner parents shielding their estate.

A spokesman for the Mid and South Pembrokeshire Labour MP said: “As has been widely reported, it would seem that even Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for DEFRA, was not aware of the specific changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) before the Budget was announced.

“It would therefore be implausible to suggest that Henry – a backbench MP – would have this kind of knowledge prior to the Chancellor’s Budget announcements before they were made public.

“The actions taken by Henry’s parents were based on professional advice from qualified financial advisers, reflecting prudent and responsible management of their family affairs.

“This is something that every farmer in Pembrokeshire should consider in light of the Chancellor’s recent announcements, to ensure they are prepared for the evolving landscape of farming taxation.”

A CALL to end Pembrokeshire council support for the annual Long Course Weekend triathlon event which it is said has left south county communities ”at breaking point” is to be heard later this week.

Billed as ‘Europe’s largest multi-sport festival’, the event features swim, bike and run over a variety of distances, with the elite athletes completing all three disciplines at maximum distance to earn the coveted Long Course Weekend medal.

The Tenby-based multi-day triathlon events have been held in the summer since 2010 in the county, but concerns have been raised about loss of trade and inconvenience due to road closures associated with it.

Local members Cllr Chris Williams and Cllr Alec Cormack are to ask, at the December 12 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council, that the council withdraw support for the annual Long Course Weekend.

Their Notice of Motion says: “This multi-day triathlon event, typically taking place in June, has been a significant success in terms of showcasing our county and promoting physical activity. However, as the event has grown in scale, it has increasingly led to disruption for residents and businesses along the course, many of whom report inconvenience or loss of trade due to road closures spanning up to three days.

“While Pembrokeshire County Council does not provide direct financial contributions to the event, it offers substantial ‘in-kind’ support. Given the feedback from residents and businesses, it is evident that public support for the event has diminished. Additionally, in light of the council’s ongoing financial pressures, it is no longer appropriate to allocate resources to support a profit-driven event at the expense of taxpayers.”

It ends, proposing that “PCC withdraw all support for the Long Course Weekend moving forward, ensuring that council resources are directed towards services and initiatives that directly benefit the wider community”.

In a supporting statement, the two councillors say the event has now “reached a scale where its negative impacts are impossible to ignore in village communities,” and “the continued support of the LCW by Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) is no longer justifiable”.

“Our community is at breaking point; residents and businesses in Saundersfoot, Amroth, Wisemans Bridge and Coppet Hall are effectively cut-off for the majority of a Saturday each June/July by the Long Course Weekend two-lap bike race. Many other areas of South Pembs are similarly affected, some on both Saturday and Sunday if they are also on the run course too.”

It adds: “Community support for the event, which began on a much smaller scale and without road closures, has always been based on the argument of the event representing a ‘greater good’ for Pembrokeshire as a whole – especially to businesses in the Tenby and surrounding area, even if it had a negative effect on Saundersfoot and Amroth.

“However, [at a meeting on September 11 this year] where county councillors from the whole route provided community feedback it seemed to us that there were no councillors enthusiastically supporting the event in its current form and its current location.”

They finished: “There is a mounting sense of frustration in our wards that the Long Course Weekend is a fait accompli and will always take place each year in the same place, in more or less the same way. We therefore ask councillors to support our motion to end the council’s support of Long Course Weekend in its current form.”

MARK DRAKEFORD warned Plaid Cymru will face a “day of reckoning” on whether to block the Welsh Government’s £26bn spending plans for next year.

Wales’ finance secretary laid down a challenge to Plaid Cymru after unveiling the Welsh Government’s 2025/26 draft budget which included an extra £1.5bn for public services.

Prof Drakeford said he remains open to talks with Plaid Cymru about how the budget can be improved, with Labour one seat short of the majority needed to pass its spending plans.

But, addressing opposition benches, he warned: “If that’s not the business you are in then, believe me, the people of Wales will see through you and the political games you think you can play with their future.”

He added: “There’s £253m for local government and when you vote against the budget, you will be saying to those local authorities that you don’t want them to have a single penny of it.

“That’s what serious politics is about … and that day of reckoning is coming your way.”

The cooperation agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru collapsed in 2023, and the party has said it intends to vote against this year’s budget on March 4.

Leading a debate on December 10, the former First Minister told the Senedd the spending plans for the 12 months from April seek to protect the most vulnerable people in society.

He said: “It is a budget for priorities, it is a budget for growth, it is a budget that reminds people in Wales why, time after time, they have put their trust in a Labour government.

“A government which shares their values of trust, ambition, care for one another, and especially those who need that care the most. And that … is why this is a budget for hope, a budget which sets out on that path to deliver a brighter future.”

Peter Fox, the Conservatives’ shadow finance secretary, criticised Labour’s “tax-and-spend frenzy” and raised concerns economic growth could slow.

Mr Fox said: “Both Labour governments just don’t understand business,” as he described national insurance increases as a tax on growth and a broken manifesto pledge.

He rejected “fictitious” claims of a £22bn “blackhole” in the UK’s finances left by the Tories, adding that the Welsh budget has increased due to tax rises and vast amounts of borrowing.

Mr Fox welcomed an additional £253m for local government but cautioned it will still leave councils facing a “cliffedge” with financial pressures totalling £300m.

The former council leader said the Welsh Government has “finally seen sense”, agreeing to offer retail, hospitality and leisure businesses the same business rates relief as in England.

Heledd Fychan, for Plaid Cymru, warned the draft budget falls short of the funding Wales is owed following the lowest real-terms increase of all the devolved nations at 1.3%.

The party’s shadow finance secretary reiterated calls for billions from HS2 and replacement of the “outdated” Barnett formula with a fairer model based on population need.

Ms Fychan said: “Without this, it is clear despite the uplift many sectors will be left broken and uncertain about the future: cuts will still have to be made, council tax will have to rise and the backlog across the NHS will remain incredibly high.

“Yes, the investment is welcome but it is a drop in the ocean of what’s needed.”

Ms Fychan, who represents South Wales West, warned the budget will largely plug gaps created by Westminster and Labour mismanagement.

Labour’s Lee Waters said the opposition reaction “breeds cynicism in politics”, accusing the Conservatives of complaining about revenue raising plans while demanding more money.

Pointing to a need for cooperation, the former minister added: “Plaid Cymru have already said before they heard the budget that they would be voting against this budget. So, how is that seriously engaging with the constitutional reality that we’ve all embraced?”

Responding to the debate, Prof Drakeford said: “I understand the Conservative party – the problem for them is so do the people of Wales.”

Turning his ire to Ms Fychan’s depiction of £1.5bn extra as a “drop in the ocean”, he told the debating chamber or Siambr: “Well … some drop and some ocean.

“She too asked for more money for local government, more money for the arts, she referred, of course, to the sainted Scots. There is a day of reckoning coming for Plaid Cymru, though, isn’t there, on the budget?”