The Government should delay announcing its final APR and BPR reforms until October 2026, to come into effect in April 2027, to provide more time for farming businesses to conduct succession planning and seek appropriate professional advice. The Government should use this time to consult on its proposed changes, conduct an impact and affordability assessment, and consider policy measures and mitigations to reduce any unintended negative consequences. This consultation and assessment must consider the best means to: 33 a. Prevent APR and BPR being used to avoid inheritance tax while allowing farms to be passed between generations intact. b. Protect the most vulnerable, including those with less access to financial and legal advice those who will pass away within the next seven years. c. Prevent negative impacts on tenant farmers. d. Ensure food security is not threatened but enhanced. e. Ensure its policies reflect specific challenges or circumstances in the devolved administrations, given variations in farming structures, land prices, economic conditions and legal systems. The Government should also publish its evaluation of and rationale for following or not following alternative policy measures presented by stakeholders such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the National Farmers Union. (Recommendation, Paragraph 50) Communication and consultation