This is being matched by £50m from private funders. To see this in black and white is so exciting and is the result of hard work over many years by all the partner organisations. I want to pay tribute to their vision and persistence in bringing this to fruition.
The news makes good on a promise made by the now-Chancellor Rachel Reeves on a visit to Morecambe in June, when she stood on the site of the planned Eden Project and pledged to work with me to deliver it in full.
This confirmation of funding means that the project is now in the detailed design phase and we can expect an opening in early 2028. As ever, I will work to make sure local businesses benefit from the construction, the supply chain and the wider economic growth that Eden will bring, whilst also focusing on transport and housing needs for local people.
I also want to speak to a concern which has been raised by some rural constituents since the Budget last week about changes to agricultural property relief (APR), fanned by some misleading reporting by opposition figures. Here, I want to provide the facts which show that this policy is very much aimed at wealthy landowners, not ordinary family farmers.
Firstly, three quarters of agricultural estates would be completely unaffected by these changes, based on current claims. Secondly, the new rules on agricultural relief mean that those with up to £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will still have no inheritance tax to pay at all on those. Thirdly, for those estates whose combined business and farming assets are worth more than £1m, inheritance tax will come with a 50% relief, so will only apply to assets over £1m at an effective rate of 20%. Additionally, affected estates will have ten years to pay it. Finally, this is on top of other inheritance tax-free allowances, which means you can pass any assets to a spouse free of inheritance tax, and a couple can pass down a family home worth up to £1m to a direct descendent entirely free of inheritance tax.
Other measures outlined in our New Deal for Farmers show the Government's continuing support for all farmers.
This budget was about making choices to fix the foundations of our economy and rebuilding our public services, including injections into our NHS, schools and SEND services; key areas which form the backbone of our country and indeed economy. The increases to the national minimum wage will improve the lives of many of my constituents who work extremely hard and tax increases were focused on larger organisations and wealthier individuals to ensure the burden fell as fairly as possible.