Farming Road Map and Profitability Review
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The road map is designed to be a long-term look forward. Clearly, the important thing is that we make sure, because of that gap, that farmers can access the schemes that they need to support the farming that they are doing. Access to grant schemes has not always been straightforward. We want to make schemes simpler, fairer and more accessible, so more farmers can take advantage of the support they need.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for bringing this Statement to your Lordships’ House this afternoon and the Government for ensuring that the road map was published, because I asked about this on several occasions during Oral Questions. I recognise that agriculture is a devolved matter, but does my noble friend agree that the UK Government’s farming road map is an opportunity to set out a vision for supporting Northern Ireland farmers and helping to grow the sector’s future contribution to UK food security? And will she discuss this issue with the Minister for DAERA in Northern Ireland when she next meets him?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
As my noble friend is very aware, agriculture is a devolved policy area in the United Kingdom, so the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for their own farming policy and can tailor that to best support their farming sector, which is different from England’s in a number of ways. I work very closely with DAERA and with the office of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as well as with the other devolved Governments. Regarding her question about raising this with my counterpart in Northern Ireland, I am meeting him online next week, so I am more than happy to do that. We work regularly on this. I go to Northern Ireland quarterly and discuss exactly these issues.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
It is part of the negotiations.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree with me, from talking to farming organisations in Northern Ireland and to the Minister, that there is considerable agreement about the need for the SPS agreement? They see it as underpinning profitability in the agri-food industry.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
This is really critical. What is often missed is the impact that Brexit has had on Northern Ireland, and the increased amount of bureaucracy and red tape in trade with Northern Ireland. Even for, say, a supermarket taking its goods over into Northern Ireland, it is much more complex than it used to be. We have red lanes and green lanes, and we have the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme. These things add not just complexity but expense to people trading in agri-foods with Northern Ireland.
One of the things that the SPS agreement is looking to achieve is to get rid of the majority of those checks and to make much smoother and more frictionless trade with Northern Ireland. The department and the Ulster Farmers Union are very keen that we work with it to achieve the best outcomes in this area.
EU-UK SPS Agreement: Food-related Standards
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
As I have said, I am not able to give detailed information around the negotiations because they are ongoing and we do not have outcomes. However, I assure the noble Lord that issues such as gene editing are being discussed.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for visiting Northern Ireland, particularly the Balmoral show and fishermen at Ardglass, County Down, last Friday, at my request. She would have heard quite clearly the importance of fishing, whether in the catching or the processing sector. What steps are the Government taking to improve the supply chain sector in order to underpin our reliance on agriculture and fisheries in Northern Ireland?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
One of the reasons why I go to Northern Ireland regularly and meet with businesses, farmers and people involved in the fishing industry is to understand exactly what the Government can do to support those industries, and that includes the supply chain. It was a good discussion, and I am aware that my colleague, the Farming Minister, is meeting with fishers, fish producers and processers today. I intend to feed back the information that I got to support strengthening that supply chain as well as those who are at the front end of fishing.
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Flood Prevention and Drought Resilience
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(3 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes some really good points. The Government are keen to look at how we can encourage more private funding and support for much of the work that needs to be done, whether that is in the climate sector or in nature restoration. I completely take on board the points she has made.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, action under the ELMS budget, such as establishing buffer strips along watercourses or restoring peatlands, can improve biodiversity while naturally reducing flood risk, and would be important to consider, particularly with our changing weather patterns, which result in persistent rainfall during the winter and periods of drought over the summer. Can further thought therefore be given to storage ponds for such water to help with food security, farm production and overall resilience in our farming sphere?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
Storage ponds are incredibly important. In where I live in Cumbria, for example, the West Cumbria Rivers Trust has been working closely with landowners to do exactly that—to look at storage ponds and balancing ponds, because they have an important role to play in flood management on land.
Farming Road Map
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
To ask His Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the 25-year Farming Roadmap.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, the farming road map will set the course for farming in England up to 2050. It is focused on making farming and food production more profitable and sustainable, and it will set out how farming will evolve in response to changing markets, technologies and environmental pressures. It will highlight how the Government will support that transition, so it is crucial that we get it right. We expect to publish the road map later this year.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her Answer. The land use framework sets out a strategic vision for how land can deliver for food, climate and nature. In that respect, will the farming road map set out a clear, multi-year funding trajectory and timetable for the implementation of ELM schemes beyond the current announcements? How will the road map support farmers to adapt to climate impacts while maintaining resilient domestic food production, notwithstanding the impact of the war in Iran on fertilisers and other matters?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
My noble friend has covered all the different areas that the farming road map is intended to address. Its whole purpose is as a long-term strategy: it is not quick fixes and it is not reactive. It will address many of the issues that she talked about. I cannot pre-empt what it will say ahead of publication, but we are certainly looking to address those matters. The fertiliser market is clearly global. While we do not have an immediate risk to UK supply, we know that the market price in the UK is strongly influenced and impacted by international prices. The situation in the Middle East is concerning and we are monitoring it closely.
Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
Perhaps my noble friend would like to answer the question. I know the noble Baroness feels passionately about this. I am very glad that she decided not to be rude about No. 10. We all know the importance of the marine environment and the damage that bottom trawling does, which is why we need to take our time and get this right.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on her response about the protection of the fishing industry. In that regard, will she talk to the Isle of Man fisheries and the Northern Ireland Minister for fisheries about the spatial squeeze that is going on in the Irish Sea and the fact that Northern Ireland vessels with foreign crew on skilled worker visas and transit visas are excluded from Isle of Man waters? It is important that a meeting takes place to ensure that the fishing industry, with all the issues that have already been demonstrated, particularly along the east coast of Northern Ireland, is protected and can play a pivotal role in the local economy.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I assure my noble friend that Ministers meet regularly across government and with devolved Governments on how to ensure that we have a thriving, sustainable fishing industry right across the UK. I am aware that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently met representatives from the Northern Ireland fishing industry and has discussed issues, including those raised by my noble friend. I assure her that skilled worker visas have never been accepted by the Isle of Man and non-UK nationals have always been required to hold the appropriate permission to work on land or in Isle of Man waters. I have recently met the Minister from the Isle of Man, and we have agreed to have regular meetings going forward. This is something I can raise with her at our next meeting.
PFAS
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
To ask His Majesty’s Government whether the consultation announced in their PFAS Plan: building a safer future together, published on 3 February, will include an option for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances to be banned in all consumer products manufactured or sold in the UK.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, the PFAS plan was published on 3 February this year. It sets out for the first time the Government’s approach to minimising the harmful effects of PFAS while moving to safer alternatives. The plan includes consideration of measures to manage risks from PFAS in consumer articles. While there are no current plans to consult on banning PFAS in consumer products, any such future regulatory ban would involve consulting on a proposal.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. PFAS are considered to be harmful to the environment, and by the time we collect enough evidence that a substance is harmful, it is too late—it is prevalent in the environment and costly to clean up, if that is even possible. Considering this, a precautionary approach would be to not allow these substances to be sold or used in the UK unless they can definitively be proven not to be harmful. Therefore, I urge my noble friend to follow the precautionary principle and signal the Government’s intention to take rapid steps to end the use of PFAS in the UK. If we do not, there is a real risk that we will become a dumping ground for products not suitable for the EU market.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
My noble friend raises a really important issue. When deciding what action they will take to address any PFAS risks, the Government will have due regard to the environmental principles policy statement from the Environment Act 2021, which includes the precautionary principle. We know that many PFAS have useful properties and are widely used and that some critical uses of PFAS which benefit society do not currently have suitable and sustainable alternatives available. While we see their use continuing in the near future, we absolutely have to manage any risks effectively. The PFAS plan contains action to support this transition to alternatives.
British Farming: Competitiveness
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I am going to have to disappoint the noble Lord in that I am not able to discuss any specific carve-outs that we are looking at during the negotiations with the European Union. What I can say is that the innovative areas that he referred to are under discussion, because they are very important both for our scientific communities and for our farming communities, and those discussions are ongoing.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I refer to my registered interest as a member of the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Working Group. In so doing, I commend the work of my noble friend the Minister in achieving agreements with the European Union in that regard. Further to that, can I urge her, working with the EU as part of the reset, to ensure that we achieve an SPS veterinary and phytosanitary agreement that will help promote and protect our farming industry and food security, not least in Northern Ireland?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right that working with the European Union around sanitary and phytosanitary issues regarding veterinary medicines is very important and something that we are clearly focused on. I also thank her for her role in the Veterinary Medicines Working Group. The whole group came together to do the best we could to ensure that veterinary medicines were still available in Northern Ireland after the end of the grace period at the end of last year. We will continue to work together on how we move forward within the EU reset.
Changing Weather Patterns and Floods
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(5 months, 2 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of changing weather patterns in the occurrence of recent floods and flood warnings; and what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact of, and adapt to, heavy rainfall, including improved water storage and management.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, the latest national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk was published in December 2024. This shows that climate-driven sea level rise and extreme rainfall will place a growing number of people at risk of flooding and coastal erosion. That is why the Government are investing at least £10.5 billion in England until 2036 to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, to protect communities from the devastating impacts of climate change.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her Answer, which clearly illustrates that the Government see the urgent nature of climate change mitigations. On changing weather patterns, which are characterised by persistent rain during the winter period and drought during the summer period, what will the Government do to encourage farms to store water on their land, perhaps incentivising it through the ELM scheme, which, if done right, could improve soil health and retention and promote food security?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
We are committing the largest amount to ELM schemes in our country’s history. That is going to rise to £2 billion by 2028-29. Some of this funding will be used to invest in flood protection and to support farmers in tackling agricultural pollution. We want to focus our efforts on actions that have multiple benefits—for example, improving soil health, as my noble friend mentioned, so that soil can hold more water, which reduces flood risk, prevents pollutants entering watercourses from field run-off and improves crop health during drought. Natural flood management techniques provide multiple co-benefits. For example, near where I live, there has been activity around the River Cocker and Loweswater. There, the West Cumbria Rivers Trust and its partners have been involving local farmers to re-naturalise the river, create wetlands, and implement other measures that provide flood protection alongside improving water quality and enhancing the environment. I have seen with my own eyes, in my own community, how this can help.
Flooding Interventions
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
To ask His Majesty’s Government what outcome-based measures they use to measure the effectiveness of flooding interventions.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, properties better protected is currently our main measure for tracking the current flood investment programme. In addition, we measure asset condition. A new 10-year programme starts in April this year and will benefit 840,000 properties by 2036. Our new strategic objectives will drive funding towards the most beneficial interventions. This will be measured by a set of outcome metrics covering economic benefits and reduction in flood risk to properties.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. In October 2025, the Government committed a record £10.5 billion to flood defences to protect nearly 900,000 properties. Will the Minister tell your Lordships’ House what assessment they have made of this investment in flood defences, reducing insurance costs for those residents, bearing in mind the ever-present problem of climate change?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
My noble friend is correct that we have committed a record £10.5 billion to flood defences, the reason being that flood risk is one of the factors that determine home insurance prices. Our investment programme is designed to manage flood risk by reducing it and by preventing further increases. Clearly, this can also take properties out of the need to use Flood Re for their insurance. To remind noble Lords, Flood Re is a joint government and industry flood reinsurance scheme designed to help UK households at high risk of flooding to access affordable insurance.
Plastic Pollution
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(1 year ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister indicate whether the Government have any plans to restrict the export of plastics through powers under the Environment Act to encourage recycling at home, rather than offshoring the problem?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
As I have said, we really need to move away from this. Many members of the public, me included, put their plastic into recycling bins in very good faith and expect it to be recycled—I buy things made out of recycled plastic—but we have to look at how we can stop plastic that should be recycled just being offshored and dumped. We have seen too many photographs of the appalling outcomes of that. That is why we want to get this treaty finalised, why we are really determined to move forward and why we are also concentrating on having a genuinely effective circular economy strategy within Defra.