:00:00. > :00:00.both houses of parliament at 11 o'clock tonight. First it is
:00:00. > :00:00.questioned to the Environment Secretary, Ms truss and her
:00:00. > :00:23.ministerial team. Order. Order. Motion relating to the
:00:24. > :00:39.Faversham Oyster fishery company Bill Lord's. The question is as on
:00:40. > :00:46.the order paper. Motion relating to the Haberdashers' Aske's Charity
:00:47. > :00:57.Bill (Lords). The question is as on the order paper. The ayes have it.
:00:58. > :01:05.Motion relating to the new Southgate Cemetery Bill Lord's. The question
:01:06. > :01:22.is as on the order paper. The ayes have it. Questions to the Secretary
:01:23. > :01:27.of State for food and rural affairs. We set up the Great British Food
:01:28. > :01:30.unit to drive export growth and help companies identify new
:01:31. > :01:36.opportunities. The British brand is world renowned for our heritage and
:01:37. > :01:39.quality and in April I was in the US championing products from the great
:01:40. > :01:48.British Teret teaching and British beef and lamb. I thank my right
:01:49. > :01:55.honourable friend further response. As we know, Britain is famous for
:01:56. > :01:58.its seafood. In my constituency, or troops are world-renowned. It is
:01:59. > :02:05.nice to know the government is doing all it can to ensure that these
:02:06. > :02:09.dishes are on dinner plates. Could she elaborate on what she is doing
:02:10. > :02:15.to make sure these dishes are internationally renowned Jamaat I
:02:16. > :02:27.think my honourable friend and I agreed that Morecambe Bay shrimps
:02:28. > :02:31.are a fine product. Could I suggest that Yorkshire has three protected
:02:32. > :02:36.food names were as Lancashire only has one. We would be very keen to
:02:37. > :02:45.help Lancashire producers get the protected status so they can become
:02:46. > :02:50.world renowned two. My honourable friend will know that Weetabix,
:02:51. > :02:54.which is based in my constituency, is a great British breakfast cereal
:02:55. > :02:59.because she launched the Great British Food unit at its
:03:00. > :03:04.headquarters. Will she ensure that all Department breakfast meetings
:03:05. > :03:11.and symposiums that are Department organises that Weetabix is always
:03:12. > :03:15.served at these meetings? Well, my honourable friend is right that
:03:16. > :03:19.Weetabix is a fantastic product. Not only is it exported around the
:03:20. > :03:26.world, all of the wheat grown is from 50 miles of the factory. It is
:03:27. > :03:33.a real example of leading farm through to Fort. I proudly display
:03:34. > :03:41.Mike Dunn box of Weetabix on my desk at the Department for all visitors
:03:42. > :03:53.to see. It is always useful to have that information. We have learnt
:03:54. > :03:59.more about domestic arrangements. The government is taking action to
:04:00. > :04:05.deliver a strategy to eliminate bovine TB and protect the future of
:04:06. > :04:08.the dairy and beef industries. That includes strengthening movement
:04:09. > :04:13.controls, improving bio-security on farms and badger control in areas
:04:14. > :04:18.where TB is rife. There is no example in the world of the country
:04:19. > :04:26.successfully eradicating TB without also tackling the reservoir of the
:04:27. > :04:31.disease in the wild population. The badger cull in England cost around
:04:32. > :04:36.?700 per badger killed. In Wales the badger vaccination programme cost
:04:37. > :04:44.around ?700 per badger vaccination. The scientific adviser, the renowned
:04:45. > :04:50.scientific adviser on this subject, has continually said that rolling
:04:51. > :04:55.out: as a national policy to eradicate TB in cattle is not really
:04:56. > :05:05.credible. So why does the government persist with a policy which is
:05:06. > :05:10.stupid, costly and also ineffective? First of all, on the cost, the cost
:05:11. > :05:15.of doing nothing will be ?1 billion in ten years. The reality is, in
:05:16. > :05:19.terms of the cost there were one-off costs initially but those have
:05:20. > :05:24.fallen in half in the most recent calls. When it comes to Wales, she
:05:25. > :05:28.will be aware that they have suspended their vaccination
:05:29. > :05:31.programme because of a lack of availability of vaccine and advice
:05:32. > :05:37.from the World Health Organisation. It is also the case that the
:05:38. > :05:40.vaccination was on a pilot area of 1.5% of wills. Wales has had success
:05:41. > :05:47.with cattle movement controls and that is why they have been able to
:05:48. > :05:53.bear down on the disease. My honourable friend has pointed out
:05:54. > :05:59.the issues regarding bovine TB, but can I also say that The Member For
:06:00. > :06:04.Plymouth, who is not here, and I shared a love of hedgehogs. I
:06:05. > :06:09.remember once bringing a hedgehog into the chamber which was
:06:10. > :06:23.completely out of order. May I say... Bid did something terrible in
:06:24. > :06:29.my hand and I dropped it and it scurried off. Anyway. We are of the
:06:30. > :06:35.point. The point at which to make is that the number of hedgehogs is
:06:36. > :06:42.fallen and it is partly because they are part of the food chain of
:06:43. > :06:46.badgers. I simply want to say, the badgers are cuddly, hedgehogs have
:06:47. > :06:49.spikes but they are currently too. We need to remember that they are
:06:50. > :06:57.being attacked or badgers aren't being called. He is a real advocate
:06:58. > :07:02.for hedgehogs. There are many members of the House supporting the
:07:03. > :07:06.cause of hedgehogs including our honourable friend, The Member For
:07:07. > :07:11.Plymouth. It is the case and some research suggests that the badgers
:07:12. > :07:17.to compete with hedgehogs for some food, but there are many other
:07:18. > :07:22.pressures on the hedgehog, including people not having their gardens
:07:23. > :07:28.hedgehog friendly. Everyone can play a role in terms of helping for
:07:29. > :07:33.hedgehogs recover. It is national hedgehog week and we need to do all
:07:34. > :07:37.we can to protect their habitats, rather than blaming the badgers.
:07:38. > :07:41.Reconnect the badgers, when experts tell you something isn't working,
:07:42. > :07:47.the sensible thing is to stop. Why come when the own government expert
:07:48. > :07:52.said the effort last year were ineffective and inhumane, when
:07:53. > :07:55.bovine TB increased by 34% and Somerset is the Department is
:07:56. > :07:59.determined to push ahead with yet more culling? Can we have a
:08:00. > :08:03.moratorium on the granting of licences this year until we have had
:08:04. > :08:07.a full public debate with all the information in the public domain so
:08:08. > :08:16.we can decide if it is proceeding with Colin? The leading expert on
:08:17. > :08:20.tackling bovine DP are in their effort, it includes our chief vet
:08:21. > :08:25.and his team. Their advice is clear that we will not eradicate this
:08:26. > :08:28.disease unless we tackle the reservoir of the disease in the
:08:29. > :08:37.wider population and that is what we are committed to a roll-out of the
:08:38. > :08:44.Colin where the disease is rife. Can he give us the figures for the
:08:45. > :08:53.increase in coal bricks of bovine TB? Then he pulled out the col and
:08:54. > :09:01.do as much as he can rather than punishing producers with testing?
:09:02. > :09:07.People be aware that we slaughter around 28,000 cattle a year. Last
:09:08. > :09:11.year there was a slight increase in the prevalence of the disease but
:09:12. > :09:16.these things do tend to move in cycles. In the previous year we saw
:09:17. > :09:20.a slight reduction in the disease. I understand that the cattle movement
:09:21. > :09:24.controls are frustrating for some farmers but they are also a
:09:25. > :09:28.necessary part of eradicating this disease. We have to do all of these
:09:29. > :09:33.things. We have today with the reservoir of the disease in the
:09:34. > :09:36.wild, we had to improve bio-security and health to improve cattle
:09:37. > :09:42.movement controls so we can reduce transmission of the disease. Could
:09:43. > :09:47.the minister tell us when he will be able to give us the figures of the
:09:48. > :09:50.badger cull areas to show the production has been and the amount
:09:51. > :09:55.of disease in cattle which mark when will we be able to seek those
:09:56. > :10:04.scientific features? Is he knows, during the trials a decade or so
:10:05. > :10:08.ago, what they found was that the benefits of the col in badgers were
:10:09. > :10:15.only seen around for years after those corals had concluded. It would
:10:16. > :10:24.be several years before we can see the impacts. What we now is that the
:10:25. > :10:29.issue of perturbation, which has been highlighted to me, was far less
:10:30. > :10:43.of an issue in the first two years of the col. Their quality is
:10:44. > :10:48.improving. Since 2010, emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 17%
:10:49. > :10:51.and we will further improve our quality through a new programme of
:10:52. > :11:00.clean power zones alongside investment in clean technologies. My
:11:01. > :11:04.constituency has the worst air quality in south London. Air
:11:05. > :11:09.pollution has an impact on life expectancy. In now and a thousand
:11:10. > :11:13.people die each year in London Judy Potter our quality is why our
:11:14. > :11:27.candidate for London mayor is consulting on
:11:28. > :11:36.It is the member for Richmond Park who has made cleaner air a priority
:11:37. > :11:41.of his mayoral campaign. He has got a long-standing record of talking
:11:42. > :11:45.about environmental issues, unlike his opponent. This Government has
:11:46. > :11:49.set out a clear plan for clean air zones right across the country to
:11:50. > :11:59.deal with this issue, and we are prepared to mandate those to make
:12:00. > :12:02.sure we are in line with WHO limits. DEFRA's plan says that local
:12:03. > :12:07.authority action is critical to achieving improvements in air
:12:08. > :12:10.quality. On this day, can she tell us what resources she will provide
:12:11. > :12:15.to struggling councils to do this, even that her department has cut
:12:16. > :12:19.payments to councils under the grand scheme by nearly 80% since 2010?
:12:20. > :12:23.Does she give councils the powers they need to tackle this problem,
:12:24. > :12:26.not just in the five cities but wherever people are suffering and
:12:27. > :12:33.dying because the air is not clean enough? We have given powers to all
:12:34. > :12:40.cities who want to implement a clean air zone. They are fully able to do
:12:41. > :12:46.that. We are also, for those five cities that are projected to be
:12:47. > :12:54.above the WHO limits of 40 mg of nitrogen oxide, assisting them with
:12:55. > :12:59.funding, we are working with them, we need to make sure those zones are
:13:00. > :13:04.in the right place, so that the problem does not get moved from one
:13:05. > :13:06.part of the city to another. Resources will be available for
:13:07. > :13:17.those local authorities to put that in place. Questionable for. Data and
:13:18. > :13:20.pathology have essential role to play in increasing the productivity
:13:21. > :13:24.and competitiveness of British farming. Last October I launched the
:13:25. > :13:29.first of our tech centres of excellence, the metric centre at
:13:30. > :13:34.Wrotham is dead. They will develop new models that improve our ability
:13:35. > :13:40.to utilise the volume of data that exists. We are on track to open up
:13:41. > :13:47.8000 datasets to the public, which can help food and achieve its
:13:48. > :13:51.potential. As a software engineer I welcome his response, but will he
:13:52. > :13:54.agreed that the implementation burden of vast changes like this
:13:55. > :13:57.year's Common agricultural policy make it difficult to realise these
:13:58. > :14:08.benefits? There is a simple solution, to vote to leave the EU.
:14:09. > :14:16.The Government position is we should remain in the EU. He will also be
:14:17. > :14:23.aware that I have exercised the option granted by the PM to disagree
:14:24. > :14:27.with the Government on this issue. I would simply say that the vast
:14:28. > :14:28.majority of problems that farmers complain to me about the consequence
:14:29. > :14:46.of functional EU legislation. Questionable five. -- question
:14:47. > :14:52.number five. I would like to take this question with number eight.
:14:53. > :14:56.These are very difficult times for many dairy farmers, a combination of
:14:57. > :14:59.oversupply coupled with a weakening of the manned in major markets like
:15:00. > :15:05.China has led to a depressed commodity price. We secured a ?26
:15:06. > :15:09.million support fund last November to alleviate short-term cash flow
:15:10. > :15:13.pressures. We also introduced a supply chain code to improve
:15:14. > :15:17.dealings between processors and farmers, and we are working on a
:15:18. > :15:22.project to introduce a futures market to help farmers manage future
:15:23. > :15:25.risks. We are exploring the potential to facilitate investment
:15:26. > :15:34.in new dairy processing capacity so we can add value to our production.
:15:35. > :15:39.We need British farmers to make a living and with milk prices
:15:40. > :15:44.plummeting, in March we saw them at the lowest level I have been since
:15:45. > :15:50.2009, with some prices as low as 16p per litre. This is when British
:15:51. > :15:54.dairy incomes are dropping and forecast to fall by almost half this
:15:55. > :15:59.year. I was disappointed there was nothing for dairy farmers in the
:16:00. > :16:04.Budget. What action will he take now, working with supermarkets and
:16:05. > :16:12.retailers and farmers to ensure a future for the dairy industry? We
:16:13. > :16:17.have introduced tax averaging across five years to help farmers who might
:16:18. > :16:22.have faced a tax bill averaged out against difficult years. HMRC have
:16:23. > :16:25.been clear they will take a generous approach when it comes to the time
:16:26. > :16:30.to pay provisions they had to help farmers who may be under pressure
:16:31. > :16:36.with a tax bill. This is an incredibly difficult time for many
:16:37. > :16:39.farmers, some of them are still on land contracts and receiving a fair
:16:40. > :16:47.price, but we are meeting retailers to improve the contracts they offer,
:16:48. > :16:51.to encourage them to do more aligned contracts and saw small dairy
:16:52. > :16:59.production. Many are offering those contracts or higher prices. Can he
:17:00. > :17:03.tell the house and Britain's farmers why the UK Government failed to
:17:04. > :17:07.support EU efforts to improve the school milk scheme, which provides a
:17:08. > :17:11.valuable market for our struggling dairy farmers? Can he confirmed they
:17:12. > :17:16.will be rolling it out in our schools, and what benefit it will
:17:17. > :17:22.bring for British farmers. It is not the case that we did not support the
:17:23. > :17:27.scheme. The European scheme is small, worth around ?4 million a
:17:28. > :17:32.year, it is taught by our own domestic schemes, the one funded by
:17:33. > :17:41.the DfT, around ?60 million a year for infant age children. The issue
:17:42. > :17:44.that we had was the bureaucracy and administration that the European
:17:45. > :17:49.Commission were trying to add. We were keen to pair that out, but we
:17:50. > :17:53.supported the scheme, it is not true to say we didn't. In North Yorkshire
:17:54. > :17:59.in the last 15 years we have lost 50% of our dairy farmers and 90% of
:18:00. > :18:03.those in business are losing money, despite subsidies. Does he agree now
:18:04. > :18:11.is the time for the supermarkets to start paying a fair price to British
:18:12. > :18:19.farmers of four British milk? I understand his point. These are
:18:20. > :18:23.difficult times for farmers. Some people often lay the blame at
:18:24. > :18:26.supermarkets, but we have to recognise at the root of this
:18:27. > :18:32.problem is a worldwide issue of low commodity prices. Very low prices in
:18:33. > :18:37.New Zealand, lower than we have got here, and many have been driven out
:18:38. > :18:39.of business there. It is a global challenge. Some supermarkets have
:18:40. > :18:44.stepped up to the plate and offered a lined contracts, and many of them
:18:45. > :18:50.are selling their milk at a loss. We should give credit where credit is
:18:51. > :18:56.due. But we are always trying to improve the position of farmers in
:18:57. > :19:01.the supply chain. Perhaps the honourable member's suggestion on
:19:02. > :19:10.Weetabix, if we advocate British milk income donation, it might offer
:19:11. > :19:13.solace. Will he confirm, he has spoken about a commitment to
:19:14. > :19:17.strengthen the voluntary code of practice for the dairy sector, but
:19:18. > :19:25.will he tell me when it will be in place? When it comes to the
:19:26. > :19:28.voluntary code of practice for the dairy industry, I have had this
:19:29. > :19:32.discussion already with NFU Scotland and I have offered to meet them to
:19:33. > :19:40.discuss some of their concerns. The reality of the code we have is it
:19:41. > :19:43.does tend to help farmers more in a rising market when prices are
:19:44. > :19:48.firming than in a difficult time when you have oversupply. The
:19:49. > :19:52.crucial element is it gives farmers the ability to walk away at
:19:53. > :19:57.three-month notice and the ability to extract a better price. It only
:19:58. > :20:02.works with a market that is going up in price, but I have offered to meet
:20:03. > :20:05.with NFU Scotland to discuss their concerns, and we will review the
:20:06. > :20:06.code again with a view to strengthening it and improving it
:20:07. > :20:19.where we can. Question number six. The Government is determined to use
:20:20. > :20:22.all available measures necessary to eradicate this devastating disease
:20:23. > :20:27.as quickly as possible. We have good to be to make improvements to cattle
:20:28. > :20:30.movement controls are most recently introducing a requirement for
:20:31. > :20:35.post-movement testing with cattle travelling from high risk area to
:20:36. > :20:38.the low risk area. We also launched a new project to promote better
:20:39. > :20:45.on-farm security to reduce cattle to badger contact. We also started a
:20:46. > :20:50.cautious roll-out of the badger cull to an additional area in Dorset last
:20:51. > :20:56.year, which was successful. I urge the Government to do all it can to
:20:57. > :20:58.ensure bovine TB is checked in Cheshire to ensure it does not take
:20:59. > :21:06.further hold. It is because of extreme concern. She makes a very
:21:07. > :21:13.important point, I recognise the specific challenge imparts of the
:21:14. > :21:18.area in Cheshire. We have reduced much more frequent testing in
:21:19. > :21:22.Cheshire to get on top of the disease, which has been a success.
:21:23. > :21:27.We have increased the use of the more sensitive blood test as a
:21:28. > :21:33.supplement to the skin test to ensure we can remove infected cattle
:21:34. > :21:39.from herds more quickly. Question number seven. All farmers in England
:21:40. > :21:44.have received their full payment or a bridging payment of half of their
:21:45. > :21:45.expected claim. 90% of eligible farmers have received a full
:21:46. > :21:56.payment. I am sure that colleagues in the
:21:57. > :22:00.house with rural constituencies would have numerous examples of
:22:01. > :22:06.problems with the late. I wanted to raise the case of my constituent Mrs
:22:07. > :22:11.muscle. She has been left in severe financial difficulties due to her
:22:12. > :22:17.payment being delayed and has difficulty in contacting the RPA
:22:18. > :22:22.herself, the response I had what the payment would come in due course,
:22:23. > :22:26.and she should call them for hardship assistance, but that is
:22:27. > :22:30.what she has been unable to do. What assurances can she give me and my
:22:31. > :22:33.constituent that farmers will not be left in such dire straits in the
:22:34. > :22:42.future and that the relevant help will be more easily available and
:22:43. > :22:46.the RPA more easily contactable? In the case of his constituent, all
:22:47. > :22:50.eligible farmers should now have received a bridging payment by the
:22:51. > :22:54.end of April. If that is an ongoing issue with his constituent, I would
:22:55. > :23:00.be happy to assist him directly on that. This has been the first year
:23:01. > :23:06.of implementation of the new system. All payments need to be made within
:23:07. > :23:11.the payment window between December and June. All payments will be made
:23:12. > :23:13.within that window. I appreciate farmers are struggling with cash
:23:14. > :23:18.flow because of low commodity prices, that is why we have put in
:23:19. > :23:23.place the bridging payment for those final few farmers who had not yet
:23:24. > :23:26.received payment. That data is now on the system, so 2016 will be more
:23:27. > :23:34.straightforward, and we should be able to pay farmers much earlier in
:23:35. > :23:37.the payment window. I would like to thank the Secretary of State for
:23:38. > :23:43.listening to the concerns of my constituent farmers around basic
:23:44. > :23:48.payments, but to move forward, can she reassure us of three things,
:23:49. > :23:54.these problems across the piste have been heard, solutions are being
:23:55. > :23:59.considered and sought, and as we move into the 2016 registration
:24:00. > :24:07.period that the system really is going to be fit for purpose? I am
:24:08. > :24:10.happy to assist with any constituents who still have
:24:11. > :24:16.outstanding issues are. We have paid over 90% of farmers. The payment
:24:17. > :24:21.window ends at the end of June, so all payments will be made by them.
:24:22. > :24:26.The data is on the system now, so next year will be much more
:24:27. > :24:33.straightforward. Both Wales and Scotland have paid fewer full
:24:34. > :24:40.payment than England. We are on track to do what we need to do by
:24:41. > :24:45.the end of June. As my honourable friend will know, the farming
:24:46. > :24:50.community of Lincolnshire will gather on the 22nd and 23rd of June
:24:51. > :24:57.for the Lincolnshire show. If he is not doing anything on those days, if
:24:58. > :25:01.she could find the time to come, I could introduce her to a group of
:25:02. > :25:10.farmers who oppose membership of the EU. The chief find time to do that?
:25:11. > :25:16.I could not possibly imagine what anybody might be doing on the 23rd
:25:17. > :25:23.of June, but what I would say, and this is for all farmers, the EU and
:25:24. > :25:26.the single market has brought massive benefits for food and
:25:27. > :25:34.farming. If you look at exports of beef and lamb, 97% of lamb exports
:25:35. > :25:39.go into the EU, 92% of beef exports go to the EU. There would be a real
:25:40. > :25:44.risk to the future livelihood of those industries if we were to leave
:25:45. > :25:48.and we were not able to export our fine products to those European
:25:49. > :25:55.countries anymore. Question number nine.
:25:56. > :26:03.Broadband is absolutely essential to farmers so they can access the
:26:04. > :26:07.latest precision farming techniques, two children so that they can access
:26:08. > :26:13.educational tools, and for small rural businesses to overcome
:26:14. > :26:17.distance and reach markets they would not otherwise be able to
:26:18. > :26:21.reach. That is why we have provided a guarantee of a minimum of two meg
:26:22. > :26:23.with Government backing for it, and an aspiration to reach ten through
:26:24. > :26:34.an obligation by 2020. The Public Accounts Committee
:26:35. > :26:39.concluded that digital focus for the capital programme was inappropriate
:26:40. > :26:44.because of fraud can service into many rural areas. The chair said the
:26:45. > :26:49.programme was a fiasco which should have focused on the needs of farmers
:26:50. > :26:54.and not ended up as a digital testing ground which caused payments
:26:55. > :26:57.to farmers to be severely delayed. What commitments when the minister
:26:58. > :26:59.and give it to make sure farmers get the service they deserve from
:27:00. > :27:07.broadband providers and the government? Some of these relate
:27:08. > :27:11.directly to issues of farming. If I can take the issues within my
:27:12. > :27:16.Department, which is for -- broadband. To commitments, if any
:27:17. > :27:20.farmer in your constituency or any constituency who wishes to access
:27:21. > :27:26.aim two meg commitment which will give them that access, the
:27:27. > :27:30.government has a grand scheme in place to provide the infrastructure
:27:31. > :27:36.and, of course, this commitment to the ten meg service to the universal
:27:37. > :27:39.service obligation. The Church of England representatives had a
:27:40. > :27:42.constructive meeting with the Secretary of State with the offered
:27:43. > :27:47.the use of church towers and spiders in order to extend broadband
:27:48. > :27:53.coverage in rural areas and a mobile phone coverage. If the Minister
:27:54. > :27:58.could update the House and progress? As a house would be aware, Church
:27:59. > :28:02.spires are ideally located in rural areas allowing you to get .2 point
:28:03. > :28:07.coverage from broadband, allowing you to get a good cellular coverage.
:28:08. > :28:10.The offer from the Church Commissioners is appreciated and we
:28:11. > :28:17.are working closely with colleagues to take advantage of the
:28:18. > :28:24.technological opportunities. Number ten, Mr Speaker. We have some of the
:28:25. > :28:29.best native breeds of cattle and sheep in the world and we wanted to
:28:30. > :28:32.promote quality British meat. We secured improved labelling
:28:33. > :28:38.legislation so there is no mandatory country of origin labelling on a
:28:39. > :28:41.range of products. The Secretary of State visited the years working to
:28:42. > :28:50.open the market there for British beef and I went to Japan to make the
:28:51. > :28:52.same case. We are exploring ways to use regional settings to encourage
:28:53. > :28:59.more people to choose British products. Make I welcome this. I
:29:00. > :29:04.recall last November, we were festooned with banners reminding us
:29:05. > :29:08.about vegetarian wig and urging us to try a vegan meal. In the
:29:09. > :29:12.interests of fairness, can I suggest we have something similar to
:29:13. > :29:17.encourage people to try British meat, perhaps British meat May. If
:29:18. > :29:23.we launch such an event, could we ensure members of the opposition
:29:24. > :29:30.front bench are also invited? I am sure the honourable gentleman will
:29:31. > :29:36.enjoy cross-party support. If he makes a good point, we do need to
:29:37. > :29:44.promote our top-quality meat. The gay age TB perform an important role
:29:45. > :29:50.in this area. Recently I signed off on a campaign on TV they are running
:29:51. > :29:56.to promote good work. There is a campaign on beef and lamb marketing
:29:57. > :30:00.to increase the consumption of underutilised lamb and beef cuts
:30:01. > :30:05.through the promotion of their TV campaign. There is good work going
:30:06. > :30:15.on but the honourable gentleman has made a good suggestion that I am
:30:16. > :30:18.happy to explore. The answer is we have consulted for a closely with a
:30:19. > :30:23.range of people on hedge cutting that extends to different
:30:24. > :30:27.environmental organisations and that is why we have come up with the date
:30:28. > :30:34.on hedge which provides protection for birds and derogations for
:30:35. > :30:39.specific agricultural activities. I thank the Minister for that answer
:30:40. > :30:43.but my constituent is a contract who specialises in hedge cutting and the
:30:44. > :30:46.extension of the hedge trimming ban has cost them thousands of pounds in
:30:47. > :30:53.revenue. He has no intention of harming wildlife but his practice is
:30:54. > :30:57.seriously affected. Will the Minister engage with contractors and
:30:58. > :30:59.farmers to ensure conditions on the ground are considered and work for
:31:00. > :31:06.both the contracting industry and conservationists at the same time? I
:31:07. > :31:10.am very happy to engage with the honourable member and farmers on
:31:11. > :31:15.this issue. It is important to understand that certain birds,
:31:16. > :31:19.blackbirds, turtledoves, Goldfinch, Bulfinch, White throat, all of these
:31:20. > :31:22.birds have longer breeding and veering seasons that take them
:31:23. > :31:27.through into the beginning of September. There are two derogations
:31:28. > :31:32.which can affect his constituent. One of them relate to the planting
:31:33. > :31:38.of only seed and the other disease and grass to get his equipment in. I
:31:39. > :31:44.am happy to discuss the details with the honourable member. The Minister
:31:45. > :31:56.is it mine of information, is he not? We are obliged to him. Number
:31:57. > :32:02.12, sir. 60% of our food and drink exports go to the EU, which is what
:32:03. > :32:07.the ?11 billion to the economy. This is vital income from our farmers and
:32:08. > :32:09.fishermen. If we were to leave, exporters would face crippling
:32:10. > :32:15.tariffs to sell their goods to Europe such as up to 70% for beef
:32:16. > :32:23.products which would cost ?240 million per year. I agree with the
:32:24. > :32:26.Secretary of State and the food and drink Federation about how vital the
:32:27. > :32:33.EU is to order food and farming industry. She has given quite a fool
:32:34. > :32:35.and but when she put a figure on how much lost trade would prosper for
:32:36. > :32:39.each year if we didn't leave the single market? I thank the
:32:40. > :32:43.honourable gentleman for his question. What we know is there is
:32:44. > :32:48.no country that is not a food member of the EU that has food access to
:32:49. > :32:54.the agricultural market. Whether it is Norway, Canada at any other of
:32:55. > :33:00.the models the campaign have talked about, none of them have food access
:33:01. > :33:04.without quotas and tariffs. I have given the example of beef, ?240
:33:05. > :33:09.million a year, the sheep industry would be harder because 40% of all
:33:10. > :33:21.of the sheep we produce here in the UK is exploited to the EU. Topical
:33:22. > :33:26.questions. Question number one. This government is taking action to help
:33:27. > :33:29.farmers manage low prices and market volatility. That is why we have
:33:30. > :33:33.ensured that all eligible farmers have now been paid their full basic
:33:34. > :33:39.payment or abridging payment for 2015. This will help farmers and we
:33:40. > :33:43.will extend the period of tax averaging from two to five years and
:33:44. > :33:49.this month and am convening farmers, food producers and the European
:33:50. > :33:56.investment bank to seek further investment in improved productivity
:33:57. > :33:59.and processing capacity. I thank the Secretary of State for response.
:34:00. > :34:03.Will the Secretary of State confirm that any money from the EU
:34:04. > :34:07.Solidarity fund will be additional money to be spent in the communities
:34:08. > :34:11.that have been affected by floods and can she confirm that it will not
:34:12. > :34:16.be swallowed up by the Treasury as payback for money already spent? I
:34:17. > :34:20.thank the honourable lady for her question. I can confirm that is
:34:21. > :34:27.additional money being applied for through my colleague the Communities
:34:28. > :34:31.Secretary. In a written answer to me today, the public Health Minister
:34:32. > :34:38.has told me that in infant hygiene scores are encouraged to be shown on
:34:39. > :34:43.restaurant goers. The truth of the matter is that those who score very
:34:44. > :34:49.low with one or two out of five do not displayed whereas in Wales it is
:34:50. > :34:51.mandatory to show hygiene scores on the doors. What can I read
:34:52. > :34:58.honourable friend do to encourage the Department of Health to make it
:34:59. > :35:02.mandatory, as it is in Wales, but scores on the doors have two be
:35:03. > :35:08.shown question mark in Wales it has been shown it raises hygiene
:35:09. > :35:12.standards in restaurants. I congratulate my honourable friend on
:35:13. > :35:16.his campaign and I think food safety standards are one of the reasons
:35:17. > :35:20.that British food is so respected around the world and our exports are
:35:21. > :35:25.growing because people respect the work of the Food Standards Agency. I
:35:26. > :35:30.think it is very important that consumers have confidence and
:35:31. > :35:32.transparency in the safety of food and I look forward to hearing more
:35:33. > :35:41.from his discussions with the Department of Health. The Secretary
:35:42. > :35:47.of State will be aware that... Water companies made a ?2 billion profit
:35:48. > :35:52.in 2015 and paid out 1.8 billion in dividends but fell short of paying
:35:53. > :35:55.food corporation tax. She will be aware of the copper kidded structure
:35:56. > :36:00.is operated by the companies which can bamboozle us all. Does she agree
:36:01. > :36:03.that the expected water Bill to introduce competition in the
:36:04. > :36:08.domestic market could be used to ensure that companies are more open
:36:09. > :36:20.and transparent and need more tax in the UK? -- pay more tax. We are
:36:21. > :36:22.introducing further measures to improve competition and drive
:36:23. > :36:27.efficiencies. Under the Labour government, we saw a rise of water
:36:28. > :36:33.bills of 20%, whereas under the most recent decision of the regulator, we
:36:34. > :36:40.will see a fall of 5%, reducing water bills for customers. Thank
:36:41. > :36:49.you. I had hoped the Minister would prove a greater water and consumer
:36:50. > :36:53.champions as well. A second chance. We heard at the weekend that water
:36:54. > :36:57.companies are providing more help than ever before for customers in
:36:58. > :37:01.vulnerable circumstances, including social tariffs and other schemes to
:37:02. > :37:06.reduce bills. The Minister will know that such schemes are arbitrary and
:37:07. > :37:09.variable. Bush she agreed the next water Bill could provide an
:37:10. > :37:16.opportunity for legislation to introduce a fair scheme for all
:37:17. > :37:18.vulnerable customers? We are seeing more social tariffs introduced
:37:19. > :37:24.across the country but I think the key point is that we are seeing a
:37:25. > :37:28.reduction in water bills for everybody across the country and the
:37:29. > :37:31.overall rate, because we have got a good regulator, have an efficient
:37:32. > :37:40.industry and we are introducing further competition. The dairy
:37:41. > :37:44.farmers are suffering very low prices. There is a lot of milk in
:37:45. > :37:50.the market. What more could we cannot get into is Russia. What is
:37:51. > :37:53.happening, is there any chance we could get back into the Russian
:37:54. > :37:58.market because European and British dairy farmers are paying a high
:37:59. > :38:06.price for this ban on imports into Russia. My honourable friend X and
:38:07. > :38:09.important point which is that the Russian trade embargo has
:38:10. > :38:15.exacerbated the challenges we face in the dairy sector and others. The
:38:16. > :38:18.point I would eat is the reason we put in place sanctions against
:38:19. > :38:23.Russia was because of their unacceptable conduct against Ukraine
:38:24. > :38:30.and their incursions into Ukrainian territory. It is important that we
:38:31. > :38:33.shall Solidarity with other European countries and nature we do not
:38:34. > :38:42.accept the way that Russia has behaved towards Ukraine. We have
:38:43. > :38:47.heard of the ?1.6 billion profit by water companies. These are rich
:38:48. > :38:52.organisations, some of whom are already living wage accredited. Does
:38:53. > :38:55.the Secretary of State back the campaign by Unison for the current
:38:56. > :39:03.living wage to be paid out of the industry? Thank you very much. These
:39:04. > :39:09.are issues to tackle directly. It is important for this industry to make
:39:10. > :39:12.sure that there is a predictable future where politicians are not
:39:13. > :39:17.micromanaging this. There is a process we are going through, it
:39:18. > :39:21.price review process. We did closely with the regulator would be happy to
:39:22. > :39:23.be sure that neither I or the Secretary of State is attractive
:39:24. > :39:30.micromanage an independent regulator. The recent groceries code
:39:31. > :39:34.adjudicator report showed that Tesco was reaching the code of practice by
:39:35. > :39:39.delaying payments to suppliers and demanding extra fees, an issue
:39:40. > :39:42.raised with me by farmers in my constituency. What is the government
:39:43. > :39:49.doing to nature that further such creatures do not occur? As my
:39:50. > :39:52.honourable friend will be aware, we introduced the regulations at the
:39:53. > :39:57.end of the last Parliament that made it possible for the grocery code
:39:58. > :40:02.adjudicator to levy fines against retailers who breached the code. The
:40:03. > :40:06.action she took against Tesco was evidence that this is starting to
:40:07. > :40:12.work and she is starting to pick up and deal with bad practices. We will
:40:13. > :40:18.shortly be reviewing the road and our approach to the GCA. As part of
:40:19. > :40:25.that, we will look at ways we might be able to improve it. Two of my
:40:26. > :40:30.constituents were sentenced to just six months electronic tag for the
:40:31. > :40:34.brutal and horrific abuse of their pet dog. The community has been
:40:35. > :40:39.outraged by the leniency of this sentence because the videoed it and
:40:40. > :40:43.were laughing as they didn't. I have written to the Secretary of State
:40:44. > :40:47.for Justice but perhaps I could ask the Secretary of State to chase my
:40:48. > :40:49.letter with them and have a review of animal sentencing given the
:40:50. > :40:56.maximum sentence for cruelty is just one year. We have looked at the
:40:57. > :41:02.issue of animal sentencing and they can have an unlimited fine and my
:41:03. > :41:06.understanding it is up to five years for animal cruelty, but I can check
:41:07. > :41:07.that point and write to the honourable lady if that is
:41:08. > :41:16.incorrect. In most cases, the courts are not
:41:17. > :41:22.using the maximum required. We have looked at fighting dogs and
:41:23. > :41:26.organised dogfights, where there is evidence that the courts are being
:41:27. > :41:31.restricted by the guidelines, but this is an issue for the OJ. The
:41:32. > :41:38.Minister will want to discuss this with her. As a keen rambler, he will
:41:39. > :41:44.be familiar with the coast-to-coast walk, which runs across both our
:41:45. > :41:47.constituencies. This is one of England's most popular walks but it
:41:48. > :41:52.is not an official National Trail. With him it with me to discuss my
:41:53. > :41:59.campaign to give it the formal recognition it deserves? I would be
:42:00. > :42:09.delighted to meet with him. I propose that we meet by walking the
:42:10. > :42:12.National Trail together. Marvellous! Growing concern about the
:42:13. > :42:16.environmental impact of the tiny pieces of plastic that are found in
:42:17. > :42:21.many consumer products and swelling around in our oceans. The Americans
:42:22. > :42:27.and Canadians are moving to ban them, what is the UK Government
:42:28. > :42:30.doing? They do pose potentially a threat, because it does not
:42:31. > :42:35.biodegrade, it can collect toxic material. We have been working hard
:42:36. > :42:43.to make sure the full 500 billion members of the EU sign up to a
:42:44. > :42:52.common position. If we cannot get it, we are open to the possibility
:42:53. > :42:53.of the UK acting unilaterally. Part of the fantastically successful
:42:54. > :42:59.National Forest falls within my constituency. It's benefits to the
:43:00. > :43:04.community are clear, just the benefits of woodlands and trees are
:43:05. > :43:08.more broadly. What steps is the Government take it to encourage the
:43:09. > :43:16.planting of water is across the UK, building on its success? I was in
:43:17. > :43:24.the national forest, it is an extraordinary project. It has
:43:25. > :43:27.regenerated 200 square miles of brutalised countryside and created
:43:28. > :43:33.one of the great New Forest in the country. We will take forward ideas
:43:34. > :43:37.like this in the 25 year plan, and we are committed to planting another
:43:38. > :43:44.11 million trees between now and 2020 as a minimum. Would he tell the
:43:45. > :43:52.house when the Government will deliver on its promise to ban wild
:43:53. > :43:55.animals in circuses? That is a manifesto commitment, and I can
:43:56. > :44:02.reassure her that we are committed to doing that. Log burning stoves
:44:03. > :44:06.are one of the pleasures of living in the countryside and form or
:44:07. > :44:12.fashion conscious town dwellers as well. They are produced by family
:44:13. > :44:16.owned businesses, all must all in the UK and in ruble areas, but the
:44:17. > :44:21.industry are concerned that this way of life might be under threat
:44:22. > :44:26.because they are needlessly brought into a quality regulations. For the
:44:27. > :44:30.sake of everybody who enjoys them and who manufactures them, would the
:44:31. > :44:38.minister meet with the industry and try to protect them? We would be
:44:39. > :44:44.very happy to meet with the industry to discuss this issue. I am clear
:44:45. > :44:51.that making sure that we have cleaner air is a vital priority for
:44:52. > :44:54.this Government. Questions to the Right Honourable member for Meriden,
:44:55. > :45:03.representing the Church Commissioners. Question number one.
:45:04. > :45:06.I should first of all declare my position, which is that I've voted
:45:07. > :45:12.in favour of same-sex marriage when the decision was before Parliament,
:45:13. > :45:17.but I recognise it is difficult for the Anglican church. The community
:45:18. > :45:18.extends over many different cultures