A SENEDD Member representing Pembrokeshire, Paul Davies, has warned that the UK Government’s budget will have a catastrophic impact on the future of Pembrokeshire farming. Earlier this week, the Chancellor announced changes to agricultural property relief and from April 2026, inheritance tax will apply at an effective rate of 20% on all farm assets beyond a £1m threshold.

Mr Davies told The Pembrokeshire Herald on Friday (Oct 31): “It’s clear to me that this UK Government simply doesn’t understand or care about our farmers as this Budget threatens the future of family farms and will make producing food more expensive. Many farmers in Pembrokeshire and further afield will now face having to sell their land to pay inheritance taxes, putting the futures of many family farms and the people who farm them at risk.”

“This cruel move from the Chancellor undermines the next generation of farmers as they will face inheritance tax bills when family farms are passed from one generation to the next.”

“Farmers are already facing challenges dealing with excessive red tape, like the Welsh Government’s water pollution regulations and its flawed Sustainable Farming Scheme – and this latest announcement from the UK Government will be another crushing blow to the industry and to our rural communities.”

WELSH Conservative Samuel Kurtz has taken Pembrokeshire’s Labour MP to task following the Chancellor’s announcement that the Labour Government will slash Agricultural Property Relief (APR)—a move the local MP had promised would not happen.

During the recent General Election, the Labour candidate publicly assured farmers at a husting event hosted by NFU Cymru, the Farmers’ Union of Wales, and Pembrokeshire Young Farmers’ Club, that APR would remain unchanged under a Labour Government. Similarly, Labour’s DEFRA Secretary told the Financial Times in November 2023, “we have no intention of changing APR,” reinforcing the pledge to farmers across the UK.

However, Wednesday’s Budget revealed a reversal on this promise, with the Chancellor announcing cuts to APR, potentially jeopardising thousands of family farms by increasing the Inheritance Tax burden. APR provides critical relief on the transfer of agricultural property, allowing farming families to pass their established food producing business down to future generations.

Speaking after the Budget, Samuel Kurtz commented told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “Labour’s Budget was a string of broken promises, but none will be as harmful to hardworking farmers as their cut to Agricultural Property Relief.

“For the Labour candidate to assure farmers at the husting that no changes would be made to APR—and then have Labour go back on that—shows that the party will say whatever it takes to win votes.

“Trust in politicians is at an all-time low, and this U-turns only helps feed that mistrust. Decisions like this threaten the future of family farms and undermine the promises made to the communities Labour claims to represent.”

Wales’ tourism numbers have been dropping recently. Several members of an organisation revealed in a summer survey that they had experienced a decrease in visitor numbers.

The latest findings by the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) have revealed that almost 60% of its members shared the same conclusion. This has led to questions about how they can promote sustainable tourism in the country.

Wales suffering from the weather

According to the survey’s findings, three key reasons were highlighted in the respondents’ suggestions for why visitor numbers decreased this summer. They pointed to economic issues and the fact that fewer people simply viewed the country as a tourism destination.

However, the main point was thought to have been the poor weather. It was a wet season, and the latest suggestions from Meteorologists don’t make for positive reading. It’s thought that the season will only get wetter in the future. This has led to discussions about how they can promote tourism and keep visitor numbers up. The idea of ‘weatherproofing Wales’ has been brought up.

Leaders have discussed what they could do to keep physical attractions open, such as providing shelter or drying facilities. However, could technology help them in a different way?

Moving attractions online

One suggestion is to move attractions online, if possible. While many attractions are physical, technology has helped make them accessible digitally. This option could be explored, especially as so many different industries have already done this.

Museums have started to offer exhibits that can be viewed online. Cultural sites have also gone online, allowing visitors to stay dry and obtain an immersive experience from the comfort of their homes. Even the entertainment sector has experienced moves online, with several games now available online. Bingo is a game that used to require participants to go to a physical hall. Now, they can stay in the dry and play at home by using a site that offers a variety of bingo rooms online to choose from.

Although it might reduce the footfall experienced within Wales, taking attractions online and making them virtual can keep them open. This can attract people from everywhere as they become more accessible.

Can taking attractions online and weatherproofing them boost The economy?

While footfall can potentially increase the spending generated by tourists in the area, the economy can still grow when using online services. Businesses with attractions that can be turned into digital offerings can still sell tickets as they would physically. However, there is the likelihood of other costs being lost (add-ons, etc.).

Nonetheless, Wales can’t let the economy suffer because of the weather, despite the poor conditions being the main reason cited for recent troubles. Tourism is said to generate almost £4 billion every year. If the weather continues to be a problem and put visitors off, this figure could start to dwindle, and it can be hard to recover from.

By ‘Weatherproofing Wales’ and its attractions, it can support tourism and keep it a potentially attractive visitor destination, even if some experiences have to be enjoyed online rather than in physical form.