Stuart Anderson MP has urged the Health Secretary Wes Streeting to adopt a farmer health scheme that is being piloted in Northern Ireland.
Under the scheme in Northern Ireland, veterinary surgeons (vets) are being encouraged to have health-related conversations with farmers and offer appropriate support or advice.
As part of their annual training, vets will be equipped with skills to carry out health-related conversations with farmers in their local communities.
The initiative is being piloted as part of a bid to tackle health inequalities, including higher cancer prevalence rates that characterise rural communities.
It follows research from Newcastle University which has found that residents in rural areas often have more advanced cancer when they are diagnosed.
South Shropshire has the second highest cancer prevalence rate in England, according to estimates for 2025 based on GP practice registers in England published by NHS Digital.
As Stuart recently reported, the prevalence of cancer diagnosis in South Shropshire stands at 6.4% of the population. This is almost double both the national and regional average.
Stuart added that the scheme should also focus on mental health issues to mitigate the closure of the £10 million Farming Resilience Fund (FRF).
The scheme, which closed in March 2025, had delivered free support to more than 25,000 farmers, since 2022. One of its objectives was to support the mental health and wellbeing of farmers.
The scheme had seen a range of workshops, business advice, and visits delivered to farmers across the country, including Shropshire.
It follows the closure of a raft of farming support schemes that had been set up by the previous Conservative government.
Stuart has made the request as part of his campaign to enhance rural public services and champion local farmers in South Shropshire.
Both campaigns are part of Stuart's six-point plan for South Shropshire, which is based on his engagement with fellow residents and hopes to make the area the best place in which to live, work, and visit.
In March 2024, Stuart launched a centralised support portal to help local farmers quickly and easily find the range of support schemes that are available to them.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
"Rural communities face severe health disparities, with South Shropshire having the country's second highest cancer diagnosis rate. Partnerships are vital to ensure residents including our farmers can promptly access information and support. Farmers are under immense pressure to keep producing food that feeds the nation, despite severe cutbacks on government support. Combined with recent tax hikes, the closure of a raft of support schemes has fuelled a crisis in the farming community that has driven confidence to its lowest-ever level. That is why I have urged the Health Secretary Wes Streeting to adopt a farmer health scheme being piloted in Northern Ireland that encourages vets to have health-related conversations with farmers and offer appropriate support or advice."
