The NFU has given a positive response to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement after Rachel Reeves reiterated the need to safeguard the nation’s food security after increased defence spending amid “global insecurity”.
Describing the current political unrest as a “world changing before our eyes” her own fiscal rules, rising borrowing costs, and weaker than expected economic growth checked her manoeuvrability, wiping out the £9.9 billion headroom she left in the Autumn Budget.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said he agreed with the Chancellor that “our world is changing, and we are facing an increasingly insecure global stage”.
“Safeguarding our food security is an essential part of the nation’s ability to remain resilient to international shocks,” he said. “The government’s own manifesto said food security is national security.”
The Chancellor announced reforms to cut the costs of running government by 15% and deliver £2bn of savings by 2029-30 plus £3.25bn of public service reforms under a ‘transformation fund’ will boost efficiency, add investment in AI and technology tools and deliver a further £3.5bn of savings by 2029-30.
Following persistent NFU lobbying, the government also announced its plans to invest more than £800,000 in the National Rural Crime and Wildlife Crime units this week. “More is needed but it is a good start,” says Tom.
