Saturday 19 May 2012

Why Does S.M.P. Want Our Land?

The charities of RSPB, National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts are run in an aggressive business mode and are not transparent. Their records are not available to us as are those of our local authorities. Some information can be got from the Charity Commission and some from other sources but it's a job for a determined campaigner.
As Mark says (comment under Smoke and Mirrors)what's driving the SMP is huge sums from Higher Level Stewardship.
The National Trust received £2.6 million pounds last year from farm subsidies and there is probably a lot more that goes to its farmers but we are not allowed to know details of amounts nor the terms of their arrangements with them.

Land is a precious asset which grows in value. And the great thing about it is that you can call it agricultural land and get loads of money from  Common Agricultural Policy funds. No wonder they are so keen on taking over public land and being so obliging as to manage it for us using barbed wire and cowpats. Below is part of a recent article in the Daily Telegraph.

Whereas most people’s investments have been withering in barren bank soil, owners of UK farmland have seen their portfolios blossom and bear fruit. And, rather than being squeezed dry, profits look like they are going to get even juicier.
“The future actually looks good for farming,” says Christopher Miles, Savills’ director of farms and estates sales in the east of England. “Farming income was up by 25 per cent last year, and food prices globally rose by eight per cent. As a result, land is very much in demand; the other day, we put a 1,000-acre block of land on the market in Norfolk, and it sold within a week.”It’s not just the value of the land that brings in the buyers, either; it’s the fact that you can pass it on to your family without HM Revenue wanting a slice.
“The agricultural element of your estate is inheritance tax-free,” explains Miles. “You have to have owned the land for two years, and although you have to be farming it yourself, you can, in fact, contract that work out. There are always farmers wanting more land, and if they don’t have to buy it, they can make more profit.” So let’s get this right. Not only are you buying a commodity that increases in value by £44 per acre per month, but you can hand it down tax-free to your children and grandchildren. Sounds like a bargain. Wait, though, it gets better; on top of all that, the European Union will give you money.It’s called the Common Agricultural Policy direct payment, and although we don’t know what each UK farmer gets (the European Court of Justice has declared it illegal to publish how much is given to individuals), we do know that the National Trust got £2.6 million last year for its farmland, and that there are 13 people in the UK who each got more than a million euros, plus one who got 1.97 million euros.“This idea of wealthy people accumulating large entitlements to receive income support from the state is rather uncomfortable,” says Jack Thurston, a campaigner for greater EU openness, and co-founder of farmsubsidy.org. “If I were in the business of providing income support to farmers, I’d make it means tested, like the rest of the welfare system.”





There are some rather questionable conclusions suggested towards the end of the full article which you can read here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/editors-choice/9263685/The-new-viking-invasion.html

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