:00:00. > :00:00.the Yemen conflict. Join me for a round-up of business in the Houses
:00:00. > :00:15.of Parliament. Firstly, questions to the Environment Secretary. --
:00:16. > :00:23.backbencher's. Scott Mann. Thank you. The issue of chemical spills is
:00:24. > :00:28.one that we take very seriously. Such spills caused significant
:00:29. > :00:34.damage to biodiversity and specifically to fish, and we work to
:00:35. > :00:42.analyse the pH levels and dissolved solids in order to prevent future
:00:43. > :00:45.occurrences. I am grateful. Will the Minister ask his department to
:00:46. > :00:49.review the decision of the Environment Agency not to pursue
:00:50. > :00:59.legal action on the major pollution incident relating to the quarry in
:01:00. > :01:02.2014? Legal proceedings were brought, and a decision made by
:01:03. > :01:09.Truro Crown Court under the honourable Judge Carr to instead
:01:10. > :01:13.impose an enforcement order. ?70,000 has been contributed by the company
:01:14. > :01:17.but much more importantly five new lagoons have been put in place in
:01:18. > :01:23.order to deal with the incident, and chemical processes are being used to
:01:24. > :01:37.prevent a recurrence. I would emphasise that we are discussing the
:01:38. > :01:45.time are and not the Dee. -- Taymar. Cornwall is well-known for mineral
:01:46. > :01:50.extraction. On fracking, the government has gone back on it
:01:51. > :01:57.pledges in monitoring and preventing chemical spills from fracking rigs.
:01:58. > :02:03.While he is considering the prevention of the Taymar, are their
:02:04. > :02:05.submissions levels to monitor the presenting chemical leaks in the
:02:06. > :02:18.river Dee? An ingenious connection between the
:02:19. > :02:23.to-macro. The nature of extraction is quite different but the
:02:24. > :02:27.Environment Agency takes responsibilities seriously, whether
:02:28. > :02:30.we are talking about quarrying or tracking, and in no particular
:02:31. > :02:39.concerns, I would be happy to sit down and discussed them in more
:02:40. > :02:44.detail. -- fracking. In the wake of the scandal of the Volkswagen
:02:45. > :02:49.engines, it is extremely important both that we have monitoring in
:02:50. > :02:56.place to check the real levels of omission of Niger in dioxide but
:02:57. > :03:01.also that we have proper fines in place. -- nitrogen dioxide. We will
:03:02. > :03:06.be looking carefully at the proposals put forward by the
:03:07. > :03:09.commission last week. I am grateful for that positive response from the
:03:10. > :03:14.Minister. Does he agree with me that it is now time to break the
:03:15. > :03:18.relationship between industry, testers and regulators, so that it
:03:19. > :03:24.is truly independent and government agencies, whether in his department
:03:25. > :03:32.or the DFC, act wholly in the public interest? -- DFT. It is incredibly
:03:33. > :03:37.important that regulators are entirely independent of the industry
:03:38. > :03:41.be regulating. This is an issue for DFT but the reason why these
:03:42. > :03:44.proposals are interesting for ourselves and DFT is that they
:03:45. > :03:50.include both the commitment to spot checks, a clear indication, and a
:03:51. > :04:00.separation between the regulator and the industry. Car emissions remain a
:04:01. > :04:06.contributed to add quality in the country. Given that many of the
:04:07. > :04:11.former local authorities that cover my constituency were among the first
:04:12. > :04:15.to sign up and clean air act 1954, and we have seen much of that
:04:16. > :04:20.progress go backwards as a result of poor egg quality in urban areas,
:04:21. > :04:29.isn't it now time for a new clean air act fit for the 21st century? --
:04:30. > :04:34.air quality. It is a significant concern but air quality has improved
:04:35. > :04:42.over the last 30 years very significantly. Sulphur dioxide,
:04:43. > :04:48.nitrogen dioxide, have improved. But, and again, also, however, we
:04:49. > :04:52.will be working very closely with individual local authorities through
:04:53. > :05:02.a clean air zone, in order to meet the ambience air-quality directive
:05:03. > :05:09.of 40 micrograms per cubic metre. On ongoing discussions, as per our
:05:10. > :05:14.enquiry into air-quality, will the Minister be holding the car
:05:15. > :05:19.manufacturers to account to ensure that those car owners drag Britain
:05:20. > :05:29.and Ireland who have been affect by these defeats devices will be
:05:30. > :05:33.compensated? -- defeat. This is a DFT lead at exactly the issue that
:05:34. > :05:39.was raised in relation to the commission's proposals address is
:05:40. > :05:41.the relationship between the manufacture, the vehicle owner and
:05:42. > :05:44.the kinds of fines that can be imposed, and that is why member
:05:45. > :05:56.states will look closely at the proposal. Commitments to this UN
:05:57. > :06:04.target of halving food waste is immensely important, the work has
:06:05. > :06:08.been taken forward by a campaign, and by RAP which will delve on the
:06:09. > :06:15.work we have achieved since 2009 which has reduced household food
:06:16. > :06:19.waste by 17%. I thank you for your reply and he is right to highlight
:06:20. > :06:24.the reduction in household food waste but he will know that that is
:06:25. > :06:28.not Mac by the food industry, so could he explain why government
:06:29. > :06:33.whips objected to the honourable member for Bristol East's food
:06:34. > :06:38.reduction Bill last Friday? Would it not be much better to get this Bill
:06:39. > :06:42.into committee where its provisions and positive course of action that
:06:43. > :06:47.it proposals can be considered and we can end the scandal of food
:06:48. > :06:53.waste? I would like to pay tribute to the honourable member for Bristol
:06:54. > :06:56.East on this issue. We do have significant concerns about the
:06:57. > :07:04.targets set within that Bill and the fact that we believe that pervert
:07:05. > :07:09.incentives are involved. Voluntary measures have increased by 70% the
:07:10. > :07:15.amount that retailers have managed to be distributed to charities. The
:07:16. > :07:23.key is to get councils and retailers to work on a unified system. --
:07:24. > :07:28.reverse. Was visiting the anaerobic digestion plants belonging to seven
:07:29. > :07:32.Trent, I was impressed by the energy recovery from food waste, but would
:07:33. > :07:39.the Minister agree that there is still too much edible food going
:07:40. > :07:46.into waste, and what plans is the government going to intercept that
:07:47. > :07:50.while it is still edible for redistribution? The average
:07:51. > :07:55.household in the UK is wasting over ?60 a month on food waste. It is
:07:56. > :08:00.very clear that we need to make sure firstly that the food is not wasted
:08:01. > :08:03.in the first place, make sure it is not wasted on the way from the farm
:08:04. > :08:11.gate to the house, make sure it is prevented, make sure it cannot
:08:12. > :08:16.that's -- that it is not consumed by humans, it can be consumed by
:08:17. > :08:22.animals. The soil Association estimate that between 20 and 40% of
:08:23. > :08:30.UK food and vegetables are rejected before they reach the shops. They
:08:31. > :08:33.are deemed as wonky vegetables. They failed to reach cosmetic
:08:34. > :08:36.requirements. Will the Minister ensure that supermarkets and
:08:37. > :08:41.manufactures transparently published their supply chain waste. This is
:08:42. > :08:48.vital if we are to achieve meaningful reduction. Absolutely
:08:49. > :08:52.agree that it is vital and we have had a round recently with the
:08:53. > :08:58.retailers on this. One of the solutions, not a total solution,
:08:59. > :09:02.pioneered by Tesco, is to look at individual varieties of potato which
:09:03. > :09:05.result in much less food waste on the way from the farm gate to the
:09:06. > :09:11.shelf. You are correct that it is vital. My constituents in Kettering,
:09:12. > :09:15.especially those from the wartime generation, are horrified by the
:09:16. > :09:19.amount of food wasted. How can we get back to the principal that you
:09:20. > :09:26.do not put more food on your plate than you can eat, and what food is
:09:27. > :09:31.on your plate you consume? The honourable member has drawn
:09:32. > :09:35.attention to one of the essential things in any of this, which is
:09:36. > :09:39.human behaviour and culture. Certain things should be done by government
:09:40. > :09:43.and retailers bet in the end a lot of responsibility rests on all of us
:09:44. > :09:56.in how much food we buy, how we use that food, and how much we grow
:09:57. > :10:02.away. 246 schemes will begin construction in 2016-17 as part of
:10:03. > :10:07.our first ever six-year programme of investment in flood defences. This
:10:08. > :10:11.3.2 billion of investment represents a real terms increase on the last
:10:12. > :10:19.Parliament and will protect an additional 300,000 homes. I
:10:20. > :10:23.congratulate you on championing this cause. When it comes to investing in
:10:24. > :10:28.both new flood defences and improving existing ones, getting the
:10:29. > :10:32.support of authorities, drainage boards and the private sector is
:10:33. > :10:36.important? Will she paid tribute to Mike McDonald in my constituency who
:10:37. > :10:43.helped set up the community interest Company in investing in sea defences
:10:44. > :10:50.in West Norfolk? I thank my honourable friend for his question.
:10:51. > :10:53.He is absolutely right. When we see internal drainage boards working
:10:54. > :10:57.with local businesses, local councils, we can get really good
:10:58. > :11:01.local solutions. The community interest company is a particularly
:11:02. > :11:07.interesting structure, which has been pioneered by him and his
:11:08. > :11:08.constituent in North West Norfolk, and it is a very interesting model
:11:09. > :11:20.which can be used elsewhere. Sheffield remains ?20 million short
:11:21. > :11:25.of it investments needed to protect its city. I know that Apartment is
:11:26. > :11:32.going to hold a teleconference, but will the Minister commit to visiting
:11:33. > :11:39.the city to see what we have planned to prevent up to ?1 billion worth of
:11:40. > :11:43.damage. I thank the honourable member for her question but as part
:11:44. > :11:50.of the National resilience review, Sheffield is one of the core cities
:11:51. > :11:55.which will be looked at to make sure that it is sufficiently resilient to
:11:56. > :11:59.funding. I am sure as part of that review, there will be a visit to
:12:00. > :12:04.Sheffield to make sure that that very important city has the
:12:05. > :12:10.protection it needs. Flood reinsurance will help many
:12:11. > :12:14.householders recently affected by floods, but it will not cover
:12:15. > :12:20.leasehold properties with more than three units or businesses. One such
:12:21. > :12:29.unit in my constituency, the residents now face a premium of
:12:30. > :12:35.?4000 extra a year, in excess of ?40,000. Will the Minister meet with
:12:36. > :12:43.me to look at how we can provide a solution to this problem. Thank you
:12:44. > :12:46.for the question. In terms of small businesses, we are providing ?6
:12:47. > :12:52.million to help small businesses as a result of this winter's floods and
:12:53. > :12:55.the issue he has brought to our attention is an important issue and
:12:56. > :13:03.ministers will be Berry happy to meet him to discuss it. In relation
:13:04. > :13:13.to the defence programme and the defence programme, can the Minister
:13:14. > :13:21.confirm whether they will be making a donation to be drawn down to
:13:22. > :13:24.victims? I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. We have
:13:25. > :13:28.not ruled out an application to the EU Solidarity fund, we have got
:13:29. > :13:34.until the end of February two apply and we have got to find that the
:13:35. > :13:43.total cost of the floods until a potential application will be made.
:13:44. > :13:48.We need to make sure that we have got everything in place with regards
:13:49. > :13:51.to funding, with funding already in place by the 29th of December for
:13:52. > :13:57.the floods that happened in December. We have got ?200 million
:13:58. > :14:02.available to help fix the damage and get communities back on their feet.
:14:03. > :14:09.The devastating floods across the country are everywhere out
:14:10. > :14:15.documented, as are the Government 's decisions to cancel schemes.
:14:16. > :14:18.Communities have suffered ruinous consequences and it is imperative
:14:19. > :14:22.the Government does everything possible to maximise resources from
:14:23. > :14:28.other areas. The Minister has just mentioned the EU Solidarity fund.
:14:29. > :14:31.Time is running out for an application for Cumbria. Will to
:14:32. > :14:39.just get on with the job and do it now, please? -- will she just get
:14:40. > :14:46.on. This Government has invested more on floods than ever before, a
:14:47. > :14:54.real times increase than under Labour. Labour spent ?1.5 billion,
:14:55. > :14:58.we are spending ?2 billion in this Parliament. We have got money to
:14:59. > :15:08.affected communities as soon as possible. That is our priority. With
:15:09. > :15:13.permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to take questions five, nine and ten
:15:14. > :15:17.together. We launched the great British trade unit together in
:15:18. > :15:25.January, bringing together expertise from our Department, Defra and teams
:15:26. > :15:29.around the world to promote great British food. I am pleased to say
:15:30. > :15:39.that food and drink manufacturers have already agreed to expand their
:15:40. > :15:43.exports by one third by 2020. I am concerned that the Secretary of
:15:44. > :15:48.State is anti-European. She is denying our European colleagues the
:15:49. > :15:53.opportunity to drink great British beer. Whilst we imported 1400 and
:15:54. > :16:00.?80 million worth of beer last year, we only exported 494 million. Given
:16:01. > :16:08.that we breathe the best beer in the world, that figure should be much
:16:09. > :16:15.higher. -- event that we grew. Can she tell us what she is doing to
:16:16. > :16:25.encourage our European friends to stop up? I know that they is my
:16:26. > :16:38.colic's passion and I congratulate him for championing this. One of our
:16:39. > :16:49.food pioneers comes from a beer manufacturer. In China recently, we
:16:50. > :17:01.did promotions of great British beer in a pub there. A large part of the
:17:02. > :17:09.success of our food industry is not least in countries -- in counties
:17:10. > :17:15.like Essex down to the scale of the workforce. Can you tell me how this
:17:16. > :17:19.will encourage more people into the industry, particularly through
:17:20. > :17:22.apprenticeships? My honourable friend is absolutely right. There
:17:23. > :17:29.are fantastic job is to be had in the feed industry, write three from
:17:30. > :17:37.farming, engineering, technology. We need more apprentices in this vital
:17:38. > :17:43.sector. We have an ambition to triple the number of apprentices by
:17:44. > :17:50.2020 and I will hold a roundtable shortly to make sure they commit to
:17:51. > :17:57.that goal. The great British food unit and the Minister will know that
:17:58. > :18:05.some of the greatest food on the palate comes from the Gloucester old
:18:06. > :18:11.spot pig and the Gloucestershire cheese. There is no better place to
:18:12. > :18:16.see this than the Gloucestershire service station on the M5, described
:18:17. > :18:25.by the Daily Telegraph as probably the best service station in the
:18:26. > :18:30.country. Where the Minister to find herself near the service station any
:18:31. > :18:36.time soon, I would be happy to give her a warm welcome and Gloucester
:18:37. > :18:40.spot sausage there. I thank my honourable friend for his extremely
:18:41. > :18:50.kind invitation. I think it's bad to say I've had one -- it's best and
:18:51. > :18:54.there to say it's one of the best invitations I've had all year. Next
:18:55. > :19:03.time I am driving along the M5, I will be happy to meet him at this
:19:04. > :19:05.amazing service station. The Secretary of State has made the
:19:06. > :19:20.honourable gentleman's day, month and possibly year. Two pick-up a
:19:21. > :19:26.more serious point after that, to produce great British food, you need
:19:27. > :19:39.great British technology. We had news yesterday that our leading food
:19:40. > :19:45.technology innovator is to be taken over by a Chinese company.
:19:46. > :19:49.Overnight, that innovation will be wiped out. Isn't that something we
:19:50. > :19:54.should debate very seriously in this House before it goes through? I
:19:55. > :20:00.thank the honourable gentleman for his point. We are investing in
:20:01. > :20:03.science and technology. Last year, the Prime Minister announced a food
:20:04. > :20:08.tech innovation network and if you look at Defra's capital budget, we
:20:09. > :20:13.are doubling our spend on investment in science and animal health
:20:14. > :20:19.research, precisely so we can take advantages of these huge
:20:20. > :20:26.opportunities. Mr Speaker, the great British food unit depends on great
:20:27. > :20:32.British farmers to produce the goods for the unit. Many farmers are still
:20:33. > :20:39.experiencing problems with the RPI. One of my constituents was only told
:20:40. > :20:46.late on Friday afternoon of failure to issue his and at by to mouth --
:20:47. > :20:52.and only by e-mail. What is the Secretary of State going to do about
:20:53. > :20:56.that? The honourable lady is right. Farmers are facing difficult cash
:20:57. > :21:08.flow at the moment. We are doing all we can to get payments out. It is
:21:09. > :21:14.the most complicated payment policy ever implemented, but ?1 billion has
:21:15. > :21:18.gone out to farmers and we are working to make sure the final
:21:19. > :21:28.farmers get their money as soon as possible. Scotch whiskey is a great
:21:29. > :21:32.Scottish and UK success story, with exports totalling ?4 billion
:21:33. > :21:38.annually. With the Minister agree that reducing the 76% tax burden on
:21:39. > :21:43.an average bottle of scotch in the coming budget would send an
:21:44. > :21:47.important message that the Government supports the industry and
:21:48. > :21:52.would she speak to her friend the Chancellor and ensure that such a
:21:53. > :21:55.reduction is included in this deal? I am sure the Chancellor and the
:21:56. > :21:59.Treasury team had heard what he has got to say. I agree with him that
:22:00. > :22:04.Scotch whiskey is our top international export and I think
:22:05. > :22:10.other exports like scotch gin, which I promoted recently with the
:22:11. > :22:13.Scottish drink Trail, taking people -- Scottish June trial, taking
:22:14. > :22:19.people around Scotland, and also play a massive part. We have got
:22:20. > :22:24.fantastic products in Scotland and across the UK and this is all about
:22:25. > :22:38.promoting them around the world. I am happy to work with him on that.
:22:39. > :22:42.Could I ask my right honourable friend in supporting Dorset food and
:22:43. > :22:54.exports, both internally and around the world, to pay particular tribute
:22:55. > :23:07.to some notable producers in my constituency. Gucci also take into
:23:08. > :23:14.account, -- could she is all that she does take into account the
:23:15. > :23:21.living wage? A lot of these producers are very small and these
:23:22. > :23:25.will be a heavy burden on them. I would be delighted to visit some of
:23:26. > :23:30.the fantastic producers in Dorset that he has mentioned, like more
:23:31. > :23:42.they'll vary and see what they had to offer. We are working to reduce
:23:43. > :23:46.regulation on our food and farmers and over the course of this
:23:47. > :23:54.Parliament, we are looking to reduce costs by ?500 million so we can see
:23:55. > :24:02.more new businesses open, more people selling their food in
:24:03. > :24:10.Britain. Farmers in many part of the country have been affected by the
:24:11. > :24:12.winter flooding, identifying 600 farmers in Cumbria alone who
:24:13. > :24:20.suffered budding after storm Desmond. -- who suffered flooding.
:24:21. > :24:27.The floods have been short lived but in their wake they leave a lot of
:24:28. > :24:34.problems. In England we have established a farmer comfrey fund to
:24:35. > :24:43.help farmers get back on their feet. In Northern Ireland, there is a long
:24:44. > :24:53.established relationship in regards to Loch earn. That is established
:24:54. > :24:59.with the national Government that. I wonder if there has been any
:25:00. > :25:11.relationship established to try to stop the Loch flooding? As the
:25:12. > :25:19.honourable gentleman knows, that is devolved but I am happy to be part
:25:20. > :25:25.of that conversation. Mr Speaker, areas in the south of my
:25:26. > :25:31.constituency have had large areas of their land flooded to hold water to
:25:32. > :25:35.prevent houses being flooded. The farmers agree with that but they do
:25:36. > :25:39.not agree with the Environment Agency saying it could take up to
:25:40. > :25:45.six years for the water to drain off of that land. What can my honourable
:25:46. > :25:50.friend do to speed up how quickly that is drained off that land?
:25:51. > :25:55.There is an important role for natural flood plains to alleviate
:25:56. > :26:00.the risk of flooding in urban areas, and we are looking to use the
:26:01. > :26:05.countryside stewardship scheme to promote this and help deal with the
:26:06. > :26:09.flooding issues. Specifically, about the length of time the land will be
:26:10. > :26:16.flooded, I will take that up the Environment Agency and see what can
:26:17. > :26:21.be done. I am still waiting to hear the date for the meeting with the
:26:22. > :26:27.MPs along the river War two talk about this farmland in my
:26:28. > :26:34.constituency. We need to look what can be done upstream to stop the
:26:35. > :26:40.water threatening houses, so when can we have this meeting? I am sure
:26:41. > :26:45.my ministerial colleague who takes responsibility for that will be
:26:46. > :26:47.wanting to meet the honourable gentleman to discuss concerns. He
:26:48. > :26:55.has had many meetings with many honourable members who have been
:26:56. > :27:00.affected by the flooding. Thank you. His secretary of state says DEFRA
:27:01. > :27:04.wants to spend more on flood defences by reducing the millions
:27:05. > :27:10.paid in penalties to the EU every year, yet the National Audit Office
:27:11. > :27:15.says the rural payments fiasco could cost the country a whopping ?180
:27:16. > :27:21.million a year in penalties. Can the Minister confirm this latest
:27:22. > :27:24.estimates of fines going to Brussels rather than British agriculture or
:27:25. > :27:30.flooding? The horizontal regulation that governs the system was changed,
:27:31. > :27:34.this has been identified, they have increased penalties that can be
:27:35. > :27:39.charged by the commission, and the frequency of those. That is the
:27:40. > :27:43.issue that raises concern here, not any particular issue with the rural
:27:44. > :27:49.payments system. We are spending 2.3 billion a year on defence, we have
:27:50. > :27:55.made available 200 billion to help people get back on their feet after
:27:56. > :28:02.recent episode. ... This recent episode. The improvement area report
:28:03. > :28:08.has been overwhelmingly positive, this is quite rare in these kind of
:28:09. > :28:14.monitoring reports. I would like to pay tribute to Welp are back where
:28:15. > :28:18.the combination of saving the ladybirds spider and getting schools
:28:19. > :28:26.involved through the initiative, these are great, great projects. Can
:28:27. > :28:33.I thank my honourable friend for the hedgehog Summit on Monday? Would my
:28:34. > :28:35.honourable friend like to share what measures he is proposing with my
:28:36. > :28:40.right honourable friend as well to increase the number of hedgehogs
:28:41. > :28:48.which is he knows have declined by 30 and 50% over the last 15 years?
:28:49. > :28:52.Firstly, I pay tribute to the honourable member who has become a
:28:53. > :28:59.champion on the issue of hedgehogs. Clearly, the most important thing
:29:00. > :29:06.with hedgehogs are their habitats, so there are schemes on hedgerows,
:29:07. > :29:10.and on woodland planting, 11 more -- 11 billion more trees over the next
:29:11. > :29:16.five years. We need to think about hedgehogs within a suburban context
:29:17. > :29:23.and the possibility of providing access and corridors from garden
:29:24. > :29:30.fences. The 12 major improvement areas with the right response to the
:29:31. > :29:33.report, but they were supposed to create 1000 hectares of woodland,
:29:34. > :29:40.1000 hectares of new chalk grassland, and over 1500 hectares of
:29:41. > :29:48.wetland. How many hectors of each of those have actually been created?
:29:49. > :29:52.The answer is that I cannot give the figure on every single one of those
:29:53. > :29:58.fondly issue of chalk grassland, where the target was 1000 hectors,
:29:59. > :30:09.one single project achieved 1700 and is of chalk grassland. A wonderfully
:30:10. > :30:16.precise answer! Worthy of a boffin, but he is as and esteemed Minister.
:30:17. > :30:21.Northern Ireland, I am proud to say we have eight areas of outstanding
:30:22. > :30:27.beauty. We have ten special protection areas. The charity 's
:30:28. > :30:30.work very hard, including the RS EB, when they campaign about having
:30:31. > :30:37.wildlife in urban areas. What are you doing and what discussions have
:30:38. > :30:40.you had in preserving the countryside and ensuring that more
:30:41. > :30:49.houses are not expanding from urban areas into rural areas? Well, we
:30:50. > :30:51.work very closely with our Northern Ireland counterpart and some of
:30:52. > :30:56.these issues are devolved but we would love to work more closely on
:30:57. > :31:01.these issues and if there are opportunities to do that, I would be
:31:02. > :31:11.delighted to engage more closely. I recently visited... Oh, sorry,
:31:12. > :31:15.number eight. As a result of the Gutmann's ?2.3 billion programme,
:31:16. > :31:20.more than 420,000 acres of farmland will be better protected by 2021.
:31:21. > :31:29.That means that over the course of this decade, from 2000 to 2021, we
:31:30. > :31:36.will see 1 million acres of farmland at a protected from flooding. I
:31:37. > :31:39.recently visited the river steeping in my constituency with the
:31:40. > :31:43.Environment Agency and saw the huge amount of damage that badgers are
:31:44. > :31:55.doing to flood defences around that area. Can my right honourable friend
:31:56. > :32:01.usher me -- assure me that the Environment Agency's approved method
:32:02. > :32:05.of artificial sets to be locate badgers will have a meaningful
:32:06. > :32:11.effect on the river bank and secure the area for the future? I was
:32:12. > :32:15.pleased to meet my honourable friend and local internal drainage boards
:32:16. > :32:19.to discuss flooding in his constituency. I am pleased to hear a
:32:20. > :32:23.solution has been found by the Environment Agency, and I note that
:32:24. > :32:27.100,000 acres of agricultural land in his constituency will be
:32:28. > :32:33.protected as part of our six-year programme. Whilst the government is
:32:34. > :32:37.prevaricating, farms and businesses in northern England and Scotland are
:32:38. > :32:44.struggling to cope with the aftermaths aftermath of floods. Why
:32:45. > :32:48.do need to find the total cost before applying to the EU Solidarity
:32:49. > :32:54.fund and will she be able to do this in time to meet the deadline? You
:32:55. > :32:57.should be aware that we have made a farming recovery fund available, we
:32:58. > :33:03.have paid out money to farmers, that is worth up to ?20,000 for each
:33:04. > :33:09.farmer. As soon as the floods to lace, we looked on satellite
:33:10. > :33:15.mapping, we identified affected farmers, we got on with paying them
:33:16. > :33:22.and sorting out the issue. Number 11. Mr Speaker, access to fast
:33:23. > :33:29.reliable broadband is important for rural areas. There are two
:33:30. > :33:35.indicative measures we have taken. By the end of last year, anyone who
:33:36. > :33:39.wishes to access the service can access it, but more importantly, the
:33:40. > :33:46.universal service obligation which will be in place by 2020. In 2012,
:33:47. > :33:51.and I criticised the government's abandoning of the universal Lord ban
:33:52. > :33:59.commitment, the then secretary of state said, and I quote, we have a
:34:00. > :34:04.plan, and we will deliver on it. In 2016, farmers can still not get the
:34:05. > :34:07.broadband access they need to fill out the forms his department makes
:34:08. > :34:16.mandatory online. What is the plan now? Farmers are able to make
:34:17. > :34:20.applications on paper but it is also true, as you are more aware than
:34:21. > :34:24.myself, this is an extremely difficult thing to do in rural
:34:25. > :34:29.areas. We have done seven interesting pilots with operations
:34:30. > :34:32.to look at different technological solutions, but the key indicator is
:34:33. > :34:43.the universal service obligation of 10 megabytes by 2020. In Devon and
:34:44. > :34:49.Somerset, it is hampered by poor performance by BT open Reach, and
:34:50. > :34:53.they still have a virtual monopoly. Isn't it time the government did
:34:54. > :34:59.something to tackle this monopoly? -- Openreach. The reason why the
:35:00. > :35:05.seven pilots have been interesting is that they are community led
:35:06. > :35:11.pilots which have lot at ten cultural issues. -- technological
:35:12. > :35:15.solutions. We will need all of these solutions and different parties in
:35:16. > :35:24.order to deliver the difficult challenge of rural broadband.
:35:25. > :35:27.Following the severe flooding of the north of England over Christmas, the
:35:28. > :35:31.government is working to help communities get back on their feet
:35:32. > :35:35.and restore critical infrastructure. We are taking forward to important
:35:36. > :35:40.areas of work, and National flood resilience review, to assess how the
:35:41. > :35:43.country can be better protect it from future flooding and
:35:44. > :35:47.increasingly extreme weather events, and in those areas affected by
:35:48. > :35:51.flooding, we are taking a catchment -based approach, looking at what
:35:52. > :35:56.improvements are needed for flood defences and upstream options for
:35:57. > :35:59.slowing the river flow. Can the secretary of state say what
:36:00. > :36:07.discussions she has had with supermarket and farms regarding food
:36:08. > :36:12.waste by the supermarkets? I have held a round table, not just with
:36:13. > :36:16.supermarket but also with food manufacturers because we need to
:36:17. > :36:24.address food waste right through the food chain. We are working on the
:36:25. > :36:28.next step which will have voluntary target to get road supermarket and
:36:29. > :36:37.the food manufacturers to a better level. Can the Minister confirm that
:36:38. > :36:42.the government will reallocate fishing quotas from those who only
:36:43. > :36:45.hold it as an investment to active small-scale fishermen such as those
:36:46. > :36:51.who fish out of low stock and bring real benefits to the local
:36:52. > :36:54.community? My honourable friend will be aware that we had a manifest to
:36:55. > :37:02.commitments to rebalance grudges and we have commenced that this year. We
:37:03. > :37:06.have been clear that we will give the first 100 times and 10%
:37:07. > :37:15.thereafter to the under tens, and this year we will give them an extra
:37:16. > :37:20.thousand tonnes of fish. The recent Tesco case has shown the importance
:37:21. > :37:25.of the grocery adjudicator but can I ask the secretary of state whether
:37:26. > :37:30.she shares the view of the NFU, and the farmers union of Wales that now
:37:31. > :37:33.is the time that we consider extending the remit of the
:37:34. > :37:40.adjudicator right across the supply chain from Gates to play, even if
:37:41. > :37:45.that requires change? -- gate. I am aware of the representations by the
:37:46. > :37:48.NFU and the conclusions made by the committee. I know that colleagues
:37:49. > :37:54.are about to commence a review of the role of the grocery code
:37:55. > :37:58.adjudicator so far, and it may well be that as part of that they look at
:37:59. > :38:03.how the code is in fermented. There would be challenges to trying to
:38:04. > :38:06.regulate things that far up with having thousands and thousands of
:38:07. > :38:14.different relationships to police, we hear what is being said and we
:38:15. > :38:20.will look at this certainly. Cross compliance rules prevent hedge
:38:21. > :38:26.cutting in August yet the only birds who are nesting in August seem to be
:38:27. > :38:29.the prolific wood pigeon but this is preventing vital work for farmers
:38:30. > :38:33.getting on to that land in August. Would ministers agreed to look at
:38:34. > :38:38.this and see what can be done to change these rules? My honourable
:38:39. > :38:40.friend will be pleased to hear I am always looking at the Cross
:38:41. > :38:44.compliance rules to look at proportionality. I don't agree that
:38:45. > :38:48.it is just wood pigeon being protected and stop yellow hammers
:38:49. > :38:55.and other rest is that we are trying to recover the recovery of also
:38:56. > :39:01.breed. Thank you. One of the less well-publicised deals the UK has
:39:02. > :39:03.been negotiating with European partners is the circular economy
:39:04. > :39:07.package which could not only bring about significant environmental
:39:08. > :39:10.benefits but also create jobs and benefits too. The government does
:39:11. > :39:16.not seem to have a strategy of achieving the ambitious waste
:39:17. > :39:26.targets or and letting the economic abilities. When will we have a
:39:27. > :39:29.proper waste resources strategy? The circle economy package is absolutely
:39:30. > :39:32.essential, we are looking closely at this, we sat down with a number of
:39:33. > :39:36.people last week, specifically to question this. The key is getting
:39:37. > :39:41.the right balance between preventing the resources being wasted in the
:39:42. > :39:45.first place and the targets which the EU have said. I absolutely agree
:39:46. > :39:54.this is vital and I'm happy to include Shadow Secretary of State in
:39:55. > :39:58.discussions going forward. The Ella MacArthur foundation says the huge
:39:59. > :40:04.growth in plastics production means that why 2050 there could be more
:40:05. > :40:08.waste aspic in the sea than fish. 5% of plastics are recycled, 40% ends
:40:09. > :40:12.up in landfill, a third ends up polluting ecosystems. What is the
:40:13. > :40:16.Secretary of State is doing to combat plastic pollution and for
:40:17. > :40:24.starters, how about doing what President Obama has done and ban
:40:25. > :40:27.micro beads in cosmetic products? We are looking at the issue of micro
:40:28. > :40:31.beads but I point out that the plastic bag charge we have
:40:32. > :40:38.introduced a seen an 80% reduction in the use of plastic bags. -- has
:40:39. > :40:41.seen. Will the secretary of state join me in welcoming the
:40:42. > :40:45.multi-million pound investment between the Environment Agency and
:40:46. > :40:50.my local authority on the river Avon in my constituency? This will help
:40:51. > :40:56.to reduce flooding for hundreds of homes and businesses across the
:40:57. > :41:03.constituency, and prevent further flooding should the risk happen in
:41:04. > :41:06.the future. I congratulate the Environment Agency and his local
:41:07. > :41:11.authority on that work, and what we are doing is part of the National
:41:12. > :41:14.resilience review is making sure we are properly protected across the
:41:15. > :41:18.country. We are investing a record amount in flood defences, and we are
:41:19. > :41:21.doing it in a way that is fair so that our flooding formula reflects
:41:22. > :41:22.the number of houses protected and businesses protected wherever you
:41:23. > :41:32.live. I welcome the announcement of
:41:33. > :41:38.further marine attraction zones, however back in 2012, many of my
:41:39. > :41:47.constituents were concerned that that to protect our local island.
:41:48. > :41:56.Tap the 11th hour. Why was Hill Brie island not included in this local --
:41:57. > :42:05.this latest round? We ruled out Cobra Island because the things were
:42:06. > :42:15.not there for us to designate that island. The single farm payment is
:42:16. > :42:21.at salute the essential -- is absolutely essential, so can the
:42:22. > :42:25.Secretary of State assure me that work is being done to make sure that
:42:26. > :42:32.next year we catch up so that we are not late in paying farmers then? I
:42:33. > :42:36.completely agree with my friend. Farmers are facing cash flow issues
:42:37. > :42:46.and that is why we are putting as much resource as possible into the
:42:47. > :42:52.RPA. We have paid out ?1 billion. The cases we are now dealing with
:42:53. > :43:04.are more obligated cases, for example a cross-border ones, which
:43:05. > :43:12.take more time. We have enabled farmers to apply on line this year
:43:13. > :43:16.so that it will be faster next year. Will the Secretary of State
:43:17. > :43:21.committed to maintaining the ban fox hunting with hounds? We have been
:43:22. > :43:29.very clear that we will have a free vote on this issue in Government
:43:30. > :43:39.time. Well the Secretary of State undertake that the great British
:43:40. > :43:51.food unit will promote these super food that is very black pudding. I
:43:52. > :44:03.have been able to try very black pudding and I hope it will become
:44:04. > :44:09.known around the world. We reached a pollution limits just days into
:44:10. > :44:18.2016, mirroring what happened in 2015. Does the Minister think her
:44:19. > :44:24.department is doing enough to tackle air pollution? We published plans
:44:25. > :44:31.just before Christmas to ensure that we comply with a pollution levels.
:44:32. > :44:36.The level of roadside nitrogen dioxide level has fallen over the
:44:37. > :44:44.last four years. We do need to do more and that is why we issued the
:44:45. > :44:48.plans just before Christmas. Seafood is nutritional and healthy and many
:44:49. > :44:52.thousands of people in the Cleethorpes and Grimsby area work in
:44:53. > :44:59.the industry. What initiatives are her department planning to promote
:45:00. > :45:07.the CeBIT industry? -- to promote the seafood industry? We have
:45:08. > :45:11.outlets around the world and regionally to help local businesses,
:45:12. > :45:18.wherever they are, promote their food based in the UK and around the
:45:19. > :45:30.world. Seafood is an important part of that. It was her signature on a
:45:31. > :45:37.paper from last year promising to promote Frak King. Can I suggest
:45:38. > :45:42.within her role, she should be standing up for the environment and
:45:43. > :45:53.rural areas, not people that want to do Frak King? As was made very clear
:45:54. > :45:59.in a recent report, shale gas cracking has minimal impact on the
:46:00. > :46:10.environment provided it is done correctly. This will have to be the
:46:11. > :46:17.last one because progress has been so slow. As my honourable friend
:46:18. > :46:27.thought about the impact of marine conservation
:46:28. > :46:36.zones of potentially meaning small boats cannot fish in their own
:46:37. > :46:42.grounds? I can absolutely assure him that that has been taken into
:46:43. > :46:50.account. Designation does not mean you ban fishing. It can just mean
:46:51. > :46:53.limitations. I am sorry to disappoint colleagues but we really
:46:54. > :46:58.must move on. Questions on the electoral commission now and
:46:59. > :47:15.questions on the Church Commissioners. The electoral
:47:16. > :47:22.commission recently wrote to the public affairs committee about the
:47:23. > :47:27.potential impact worthy referendum to be held in June a copy of this is
:47:28. > :47:28.available on the website. He will