Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions House of Commons

Order, order. Motion for an unopposed return. Thank you.

Questions to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs. Number one, Mr Speaker. With permission I would like to take

questions one and four together. Our strategy to eradicate bovine TB is

working. I'm pleased to report to the house today that the three

badger control areas, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Dorset all hit

their targets this year. The chief vet is clear that this is delivering

disease control benefits and it will help us to eradicate this terrible

disease. I thank the Secretary of State for her reply and her

acknowledgement that bovine TB is a serious issue and particularly for

farmers in my constituency in Lewes. What the Secretary of State meet to

discuss rolling out a badge of action Asian -- badger vaccination?

I welcome her efforts to promote the vaccination of badgers but

unfortunately there is a worldwide shortage of the BCG vaccine so I

have suspended that for badgers to prioritise human health and Wales

recently announced the same decision. I will continue to listen

to my honourable friend and her farmers on this issue. May I wish

you and also the Secretary of State at the very Merry Christmas. Can I

thank my honourable friend for her answer. Whilst badgers are

responsible for the spread of bovine TB as I understand it, they are no

friend of the hedgehog. On Monday, our right honourable friend the

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government rejected my and

the Times's call for a superhighway. Would my right honourable friend be

willing to meet with myself and the hedgehog society for a summit?! Can

I congratulate my honourable friend on his fantastic campaign? And also

the Times for raising this Michael issue. I want hedgehogs too do have

a very happy Christmas. -- this vital issue. I am very happy to meet

with the hedgehog preservation trust to see what we can do to ensure that

we have a good population of hedgehogs in the future. Hedgehogs

of the world unite and fight! I can't follow that, Mr Speaker.

Having spent ?20 million on the badger cull and having killed

hundreds and possibly thousands of badgers, how many of those that have

been killed have actually been tested for bovine TB? The reality is

that if we don't get a grip of this terrible disease, we will end up

spending ?1 billion over the next ten years dealing with it, and the

reality was that it was the party opposite in 2010 that left us with

the worst levels of this disease in Europe, and that is the reason we

have to deal with it. I am following the advice of the chief veterinary

officer who says that culling is an important part of dealing with the

disease. Why do the party opposite congratulate hard-working farmers of

Somerset and Gloucestershire who have delivered this year and are

helping to deal with the disease. I thank the Minister for her response

and it's important for us in Northern Ireland to learn what you

have done on the mainland in your department and the lessons of that

because in Northern Ireland with 60% of cattle affected by it, it's on

the rise and it is costing the taxpayer ?30 million a year and 70%

of badgers that have been tested have TB. What can you do to help

Northern Ireland to defeat TB? We will work and we are working closely

with Northern Ireland to tackle this disease right across the UK. Can I

echo the words of my honourable friend from Plymouth and wish

everyone a Merry Christmas. In Gloucestershire and Somerset there

has been a very beneficial reduction in the number of cattle suffering

from TB in the areas of badger culling. When will she be able to

release the figures? Well, my honourable friend is absolutely

right and I'm pleased to say that more than half of the country is on

track to be officially free of the disease by the end of this

Parliament, thanks to the strategy we have put in place. And the chief

veterinary officer is clear that licensing of future officers is

needed and I'm determined to follow through on that. Data and technology

has got the central role to play in maximising the potential of British

food and farming and there are huge numbers of datasets relating to

issues like crop yields and disease. In October we launched the first

technology centre, using ?12 million of Government funding to harness

this data. I thank the Minister very much for that answer and along those

lines does he welcomed the development of pioneering

technologies to reduce crop and food waste and boost production? And does

he agree that we need to invest in agricultural technology to grow

industries like those in Cambridgeshire? My honourable friend

makes an important point and I welcome the eastern agricultural

research hub which opened recently. It works at a commercial scale and

that new hub will develop that. Technology has a role to play in

improving our use of resources. You will be pleased to know that even

though I am the MP for Huddersfield and not a Luddite. The fact of the

matter is that the whole of the British countryside should have a

Merry Christmas. Can I say this? I'm in favour of good management in the

rural environment, using data and technology, but the other side of

that is much of the countryside has been destroyed for wildlife by

industrial farming and that is the truth of the matter, even in

Cambridgeshire, whole swathes of countryside with nothing living to

be seen, we have to get the balance right between protecting the

environment and using technology in agriculture. I agree with the

honourable gentleman that we have to get the balance right but I disagree

that we are not. We have for many years had successful stewardship

schemes with billions of pounds invested in creating new habitats

for wildlife so we can see a recovery in wildlife populations and

for example pollination. My best wishes to you and the deputy

Speakers on a Merry Christmas and also to those in the Department. I

hope it is a peaceful New Year. Even sometimes in this place. I do want

to emphasise the issue around online services in the department, and

where they are useful and helpful, not only for the community, and

rural broadband which does not always replace face-to-face contact

required by farmers. We recognise that and that is why we in future

will ensure that farmers who want to submit a bps, this is in England,

submit their applications on paper will be able to. The Government is

investing hundreds of millions of pounds to bring broadband to areas

that don't currently have it. Mr Speaker, today we have laid out how

we plan to tackle air pollution hotspots in towns and cities whilst

minimising the impact on businesses and families. I thanked you for the

answer but the Secretary of State may be aware of the scheme to link

the Channel Tunnel to major economic regions in Britain built to be

capable of transporting full-size lorry loads on trains. It could take

5 million journeys off the roads each year. The Department for

Transport has taken an interest but I am asking the Secretary of State

if she could use her offices to support the scheme. I'm certainly

happy to look at that, and today I've launched plans for clean air

zones in cities outside London, to make sure we are in compliance with

a quality limits. -- air quality. One of the reasons that emissions

are so high in this country is because of the systematic fitting of

defeat devices, the cheating software Bible swaggered. There is

enforcement action underway in the United States. -- by Volkswagen. Can

she update us about what her department is doing in this area?

The right honourable lady is absolutely right, that the American

authorities are taking that action and my right honourable friend the

Transport Secretary is looking very carefully at that and also making

sure that their calls are appropriately tested. We have done

is reach agreement at European level to make sure that what is actually

being emitted from cars are the real emissions, and that will help us to

deal with egg quality issues. The Secretary of State will no that many

people regard the limits for maritime cruise ships berthing in

cities as inadequate. -- air quality issues. Cities like Gothenburg

require ship to shore energy supplies so why can't we have that

for London? We are certainly looking at the issue that the honourable

gentleman identifies. We are determined to fulfil our

environmental obligations and we will be bringing the whole of the UK

into compliance. English sparkling wine is a growing

industry worth almost ?100 million. I note that to Max Barkan wines,

including one in my honourable friend's constituency, recently beat

champagne in a blind tasting. We are promoting British produce through

our campaign. May I thank her for that answer? In my constituency,

there has been a remarkable increase in a wine production. I believe more

than in any other constituency. Is it not time for a coordinated

strategy to promote these excellent wines which beat others from around

the world in a wine tastings? Will she ensure that English sparkling

wine is served at government events? Other inferior sparkling wine brands

are confined to the sellers? I thank him for his sparkling point. I will

be holding a round table in the New Year with the sparkling wine

industry to talk about how we can in courage the industry to grow. I

recently held an event in Shanghai in China with English sparkling wine

and I in courage in all my colleagues across government to use

English sparkling wine is there drink of choice. Can I thank the

Secretary of State for support of English wine? She made a recent

visit to the Premier area for English sparkling wine in Sussex.

Can I remind her that 60% of the average bottle of wine in the UK

goes on tax against 21% in France. How are heard discussions with the

Chancellor going to get a better deal for it English wine producers?

Excise duty is a matter for my right honourable friend, the Chancellor. I

had a very enjoyable morning in Sussex. We started the tour at 9am.

It was one of the best days in the job. Will my right honourable friend

join me in welcoming a new venture to produce sparkling wine in my

constituency? Can I ask her to take steps to make sure that policy

across government supports the growth of the English sparkling wine

industry? Well, it's not a surprise that even the French want to get in

on the action of English sparkling wine. Using DEFRA's data, we have

identified and extra 75 acres across the country suitable for growing

these grapes. I'm sure it will go from strength to strength. We will

be investing in 1500 flood schemes over the next six years. Spending

?2.3 billion providing protection to an extra 300,000 homes. I hope the

Minister will join me in thanking the work of our emergency agencies

who have dealt with flooding incidents over the past fortnight.

Coastal defences have been brought into my constituency. But others are

not being renewed. Can he look again at whether or not these defences are

adequate. If I can join in paying tribute to the members of the

emergency services. I saw some of the wonderful work done by them and

volunteers. I am pleased the honourable member is paying tribute

to the work along the Fylde Coast. ?80 million worth of work. We would

be delighted to look at the missing section on the Rossall Beach. Has

the Minister explained to his backbenchers that the 300,000

properties he's talking about have been those that are in the low risk

moving to the lowest risk and do not substantially affect those residents

living in the highest and most substantial risk? In other words,

the money is being used to detect those least at risk. We disagree

strongly on that. I am happy to sit down and discuss this in detail.

These defences will have a serious impact on houses that are at serious

risk of flooding. Can I compliment my noble friend for the way they

have dealt with the tragedy for people in the north-west? Can I them

to continue to make the point to those who have a simplistic view of

flooding that it is some binary issue and dredging works in all

cases when we know it does not. There are circumstances where

capital schemes are the solution. That are other cases where we need a

nuanced approach. Every single flood defence event requires a different

solution. We need to look also at upstream mitigation, planting trees,

the restoration of soils that are poached, looking at Pete bogs,

looking at River movement. This is not only about flood defences. The

work we will do over the next few months will focus on natural

measures. The devastation of Northwest communities were clear for

all to see but don't tell the full story. I meant people in smaller

communities in Cumbria. Many who were just getting on with their job

of cleaning up felt abandoned yet again with no hope of any schemes.

Most of them small and inexpensive. What plans does the Minister have 2p

attention to smaller communities also devastated by floods? I would

like to pay tribute to his visit which was appreciated. Many people

feel the media attention has been on Carlisle and the number of small

villages affected have been ignored. You can see many communities like

that across Cumbria who will be having a horrifying time. The

arrogant have a very difficult winter. We are working to bundle

schemes together, such as Stockdale wharf we have an alleviation scheme

for a small hamlet. That must be extended. I would like to applaud

the government's commitment for the project in place, but could you give

us a note when for future funding? The honourable member is very

interested in the rules that ancient woodland can play in flood

alleviation. We are looking at that. There are three main initiatives

being undertaken. Won by Cumbria County Council, one led why the

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the third put I am cheering for

Lancashire. The work done on flood forecasting is done by the flood

forecasting Centre, a collaboration between the Environment Agency the

Met Office. It provides daily forecasts communicated to the public

through the web and telephones providing flood warnings on flood

alert on a real-time basis. Long-term assessments of flooding

demonstrate that risk is becoming greater. The government has

introduced an insurance scheme to support people in their homes were

affected by insurance. Am I right in thinking that doesn't include small

businesses? Will the Minister rethink that policy? This scheme

will make a considerable difference to lower income households. Small

businesses are not currently included because the Association of

British Insurers believe there is no systematic trouble in providing

insurance for small businesses, however should we discover that is

the case I'm happy to sit down with him to ensure this matter is

resolved. He mentioned low-lying Lincolnshire, but yet more and more

huge housing schemes are being forced on us to meet rising

population. Will the Minister responsible for defending the people

from flooding remind those in the EU, the Home Office and the Treasury

that in one of the most rain sodden countries in Europe there is a cost

to free net migration into this country every year. Even if we could

afford it, we should not build houses in the wrong places. I don't

wish to be drawn into a debate on migration, but I believe we should

not be building houses on flood plains. Guidance on this is strict

and we push hard to ensure councils act knowledge and respect that

guidance. In considering flood risks, has he assessed the risks of

property ring in relation to services required in the clean-up

after flooding? Can understand the cost of Skip hire and estate agent

services have rocketed in areas affected by flooding. This is a

serious risk of profiteering. Even criminal activity. The police in

Cumbria, Lancashire and Northumberland are focused on this

issue. You're right. We should absolutely condemn anybody who

attempts to exploit misery for gain. My noble friend will know that over

a year ago there was a tidal surge in the North Sea which brought

flooding to a lot of the east coast, particularly Norfolk. I understand

that -- there is a tidal surge forecast for Christmas Day and

Boxing Day. Can he update us on what measures the Environment Agency are

taking in the event of such a surge taking place? The Right honourable

member is right. We are facing high spring tides at the moment, some of

the highest for 18 years. We need to take into account the level of the

tide themselves is not the determining factor. The low-pressure

systems and the wind will also have an impact. The focus hard

specifically on that tide on Christmas Day and the flood

forecasting centre as sure as we have as accurate forecasts as

possible and we have the measures in place to respond. Flood risk and the

Humber remains high. The Environment Agency were involved in putting

together proposals along with local authorities which the Environment

Agency have now advised should be reassessed. Can he confirm his

commitment to strengthening flood defences along the Humber? I thank

the honourable member very much for the work he does for his

constituents in arguing for more funding on the Humber. Considerable

investment is going into defences in the Humber region. ?40 million in

the north and 40 in the South. Were looking forward to a round table

group will discuss every one of those schemes from Grimsby to half.

-- to Hull each application will be considered on its merits taking into

account the local plan. And He will be aware of the animal

welfare order from 2006 that requires journey time to be

minimised for animals rightly so. Does he agree with me that that

should be a material consideration in planning terms to ensure that in

modern animal husbandry we minimise the distance animals half to travel

to abattoirs. Understand the point he is making. There are robust

regulations in place at a European and UK level. They require for

instance minimum journey times, rest times, set down requirements for the

lorries carrying that transport. It is not always possible to co-locate

factories close to clear poultry are because the investment means that

you have to have quite often a large number of poultry farms supplying

one abattoir. The national government can work

through the landfill tax and harmonisation of the rat programme.

Cycling is now at the highest level ever. 44%.

I believe we are on track. The thing that will keep us on track is more

harmonisation. We have over 300 types of recycling system so we are

working hard on a voluntary basis to harmonise that. If we can reduce it

to four or five we can reduce costs. On the first anniversary of the

creation of the charity would the minister join me in encouraging

people to recycle gift wrapping. We recycle enough card to wrap the

Elizabeth Tower 260,000 times. Certainly both to confirm

absolutely, real tribute to Wrap, which was an initiative led by the

last Labour Government, it has done an awful amount of work on this

agreement. May I declare my interest as a Member of Kettering Borough

Council. Would the Minister like to congratulate Kettering Borough

Council on being the best performer in having the best recycling and

refuse service in the country following the introduction of the

blue bin service. I would like to pay real tribute to Kettering and

would like to invite Kettering to join us in the task force in order

to communicate the best practice to the council is because there is a

great deal we can learn from Kettering. Question number ten

please. The National Audit Office recently completed an early review

into the delivery programme and despite difficulties the programme

is on course to realise a positive net present value of a over eight

years. It has been the most complex ever but despite that, the core of

the system is working. Already paying over 40% of farmers the BPS

payment and the bass majority by the end of January. DNF you reports that

many flood hit farmers in the North West have received a 11 me, being

informed that they will not receive payments until February at the

earliest. The Secretary of State on shoes they could say that the

Government is seeing what it will do but now could he outlined what he is

doing to ensure that the farmers receive payments before Christmas?

The gentleman makes an important point and we are conscious of the

plight of farmers in Cumbria. We have said that we would have

difficulty paying before February because of the complexity of the

system but we have identified 600 affected farmers in Cumbria to

prioritise them. A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and your

staff. DNF US confirmed that most farms in Scotland are reliant on CHP

payments to survive. Will the Minister confirm that in the event

of Britain leaving the EU that the UK Government will guarantee the

same level of payments to farmers so that they can survive? I would

simply say that in terms of the current year's BPS, it is up to the

Scottish Government to ensure that farmers are paid on time and we all

have a debate to look forward to about Britain's membership of the

European Union. I thought the honourable gentleman wanted a second

question? Am I mistaken? Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will ask the Minister

to confirm what will happen if Britain votes to leave the European

Union, will the UK Government guarantee the same level of

payments? If he could and said this time please. -- if he could answer

this time. We want to renegotiate our relationship with the European

Union and see powers come back, but we will put this to a referendum and

the British public will make a decision. Should the UK decide to

leave the European Union at that point the Government would set a

national agricultural policy. Defra's mismanagement of the CAP

programmes or childish squabbling. ?60 million over budget and farmers

were forced to switch back to pen and paper. With millions in

penalties predicted as a result wide in the Minister intervened to save

farms and taxpayers from this IT disaster? -- why didn't the Minister

intervened? We intervene when we realised it would be a difficulty to

ensure that all farmers could get their applications in on time on a

paper basis. We have worked hard since that point to enter it on the

core of the system which has worked well. Question 11 Mr Speaker. We

understand the pressure facing dairy farmers and have taken action to

ease cash flow problems. ?26.2 million aid package secured from the

European Commission will provide relief. We are introducing a fairer

tax system for farmers, pushing for clearer labelling of products and

developing a futures market. I thank the Minister for the answer, but can

I press harder rather like the Sussex wine, what help can he offer

milk processors to Admiral value so we can enhance opportunities to

explored milk around the world? The honourable gentleman makes an

important point. We are working on a project to investigate the potential

to use funding through the European investment bank to make available

loan capital to invest in new capacity. Topical questions.

Following the recent flooding in the North of England I'm sure the House

would want to join me in expressing sympathy is for all of those

affected. I would also like to express gratitude to the emergency

services, military, Environment Agency and volunteers who have

worked around the clock to protect people and property. Earlier this

week I visited Appleby and Carlisle to meet local residents and farmers

and see the recovery efforts and the Government is doing all it can to

ensure that every resource is available to help those areas get

back on their feet. I share the Secretary of State's sentiment

regarding flooding. Wikis shoppers want to support dairy farmers but

current labelling is often too complicated to make this a. --

British shoppers. So that this Christmas we can all buy British

with confidence. What I would say is that my honourable friend is a

fantastic champion of Yorkshire farmers and the Yorkshire Post is

running a great campaign, I want to see British labelling on British

dairy products across the country. I recently had the pleasure of

visiting the Wensleydale creamery in his constituency in the newly

expanded Yorkshire Dales National Park and I have been eating their

yoghurt ever since. Thank you and happy Christmas. This week the Paris

talks and the devastating floods in the North both reminded us of the

importance of the climate change adaptation work but also the select

committee raised concerns about the impact of further budget cuts. Will

the Secretary of State tell us her top three policies for making our

country more resilient and safer from climate change. The honourable

lady is absolutely right and can I pay tribute to the climate change

secretary for the fantastic work that she did in achieving the deal

in Paris and I worked closely with her to make sure we are adapting to

climate change. Of course the number one issue in terms of Defra's agenda

is to make sure we have flood defences in place and that is why we

have seen a real terms increase in flood defence spending in this

Parliament, 2.3 billion over six years compared to 1.7 billion in the

last parliament. And in the Autumn Statement the Chancellor also

announced we would protect flood maintenance spending as well. I

thank the Minister for her response but I did ask for three policies and

is a shame she could only talk about one. It's little wonder when the

unit has been slashed from 38 to six and expert advice is routinely

ignored. Successful delivery of vital environmental, agricultural

and rural services will not be possible without strong leadership

and a sharp focus on priority areas so when are we going to get the

leadership and sharp focus from the Secretary of State. The key point is

that we bake climate change into everything we do across Defra,

whether it is the programme to plant 11 million trees, whether it is the

flood defence programme which we are increasing in real terms or whether

it is the activity to make sure that we have biodiversity taken into

account for climate change, every single team in Defra, that is part

of their plans. The ice cream produced in my constituency is

popular across the Solent region. Will the Secretary of State continue

to promote British food brands and encourage supermarkets to do the

same? I am delighted to visit in January to taste ice cream with him.

It might be an seasonal but I'm sure it will be nice. I'm pleased to say

that supermarkets are responding to the massive demand for British

dairy, Marks and Spencers are moving from 80% British Jeddah to 100% and

Tesco from early next year have committed 100% of their own brand

yoghurt will be sourced from Britain. -- British Cheddar. In 2012

the Secretary of State for climate change stated that in addition to

environmental benefits the UK expects carbon capture and storage

to be worth ?6.5 billion to the UK economy by the end of the next

decade. Can the Minister tell me what economic analysis has been made

of the effect of abandoning the carbon capture and storage

competition? This is a matter for the Secretary of State for Energy

and Climate Change and she has a very clear plan to deliver carbon

reductions, economic growth and lower bills for bill payers and she

is on track to do that. The honourable gentleman had no right to

chunter, so he ought to thank the Secretary of State for offering some

sort of response. I welcome the Secretary of State's emphasis on the

promotion of British food both here and around the world. When I tried

to buy lactose free milk I noticed that it comes from Denmark, can she

ensure that the British dairy industry gets a grip on this and

starts to produce lactose free milk for what is probably the biggest

market in Europe? I thank my honourable friend for pointing that

out and also there are huge opportunities in producing UHT milk

here and overseas which I know the dairy industry is looking at. One

thing we are doing is that in January we will establish the great

British food unit to bring together UK expertise and Defra expertise so

we have a one-stop shop for businesses wanting to export their

fantastic products. The forced the family in my constituency have

farmed in Saint Helens for 125 years and in recent years they have opened

a shop selling their own produce. What is the Government doing to help

farmers like that to showcase the best local produce and encourage

people to buy and eat locally. The honourable gentleman makes an

important point and through our programme we are supporting farm

businesses who want to diversify and do want to start retailing their own

produce. Trees are a vital and precious feature of our national

environment, nowhere more so than in Cheltenham where they act as the

town 's lungs. Can she bigger house on how many trees the Government

will plant over the course of the Parliament? -- can she update the

House? The Government is committed to planting 11 more trees -- 11

million more trees and we are particularly proud of a scheme we

are currently developing with the Woodland Trust to work with primary

school children to educate them and plant trees. Given the impact of

adapting and the challenge to adapting to climate change that we

have heard about, how will she work towards mitigating global warming to

1.5 degrees? I'm working closely with my honourable friend the

climate change secretary to make sure that we hit our carbon budgets

and it will include areas like agriculture and biodiversity and

tree planting. I'm appalled at what the Secretary of State has announced

today, that she is stopping vaccination in edge areas because it

is exceptionally important when we see a 25% increase in the number of

cattle slaughtered in Wales and 6% in England. I understand the reasons

she has announced this today so will she looked at Defra's test which is

95.5% specific and 98% sensitive so we can identify TB in infected

badger sets. I thank him for that question. There

is a global shortage of the BCG vaccine. Human health has the

priority to make sure humans are protected against TB. As soon as

that vaccine becomes available, we want to start vaccination in the

edge areas. In 2013, the European food safety agency found high acute

risk to honeybees. There is a petition against this pesticide

which has reached 90,000 signatures. What measures will the government

bringing to control use of this pesticide? We had a comprehensive

debate on this last week. There is a comprehensive piece of research work

on the impact of Niall McGinn tonight. -- those pesticides. There

will be a review next summer. Carrying on the theme of Christmas

spirit, since the Prime Minister was pictured enjoying a pint of Regan

King, the export of this beer from my constituency has gone up from

3000 cases to 50,000 cases. They are keen to learn port work her

department is doing to help fund and organise trade shows in order to

secure this important trade. I was in China a few weeks ago. One of the

things we were promoting was Regan King. -- green King. We had the

biggest ever delegation of food companies. We launched the Great

British food unit bringing together expertise. I expect us to have even

more in the future. Value for money and efficiency in delivering is

important. Of the government has to be flexible regarding responding to

events. Can I ask them to help farmers hit by recent flooding, by

making partial payments from the basic payment scheme? I thank the

honourable lady for that question. I met farmers in Cumbria earlier this

week. Firstly, we are identifying 600 farmers and making sure we get

the basic payments out as soon as possible to them. We have put in

place a farming recovery fund which farmers can apply to from tomorrow,

to give them extra funding needed to get the forms back to normal.

Questions to the Right honourable member for Meriden regarding Church

Commissioners. Question number one. The commission has made clear in its

briefings on recent legislation that a change to the franchise as a

matter for Parliament. It does not take a view on the merit of widening

the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds. During the passage of

the EU Referendum Bill, Parliament was advised regarding the

implications of any such