Oral Answers to Questions

Angela Eagle Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

2. What discussions she has had with Scottish fisheries on the UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

I have engaged directly with Salmon Scotland on the UK-EU SPS agreement, and colleagues have discussed the deal with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation. We will continue that close engagement as negotiations progress, and we are committed to supporting businesses and providing clear guidance, so that they are ready to benefit from the agreement from day one.

[Seamus Logan]

The Scottish White Fish Producers Association is concerned that the worst elements of the common fisheries policy could reappear in these negotiations. For exporters, time is everything. Even small delays at the border can mean lost value for highly perishable goods. The SPS agreement must deliver faster, more streamlined export processes, because without that, the benefits will not be felt by fishermen, processors or coastal communities who rely on trade with the EU. Can the Minister guarantee that as the negotiations continue, Scottish fishing communities and their representatives will be listened to during the process, and may I repeat my very warm invitation to her to visit the north-east of Scotland?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

Now that certain democratic processes have taken place, I am looking forward to being able to come north of the border. I can assure the hon. Member that I am well aware that 65% of all UK seafood is exported to the EU, and therefore the more friction we can take away from that border crossing, the more certainty there is and the more value those exports have. Given that as a nation, we tend to export a lot of the fish we catch rather than eat it ourselves, this is clearly a very important issue.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

As more and more fishermen and fisherwomen in Scotland and across the UK are struggling to keep their businesses afloat due to soaring fuel costs, they are marking the one-year anniversary of the Government selling our fishing industry down the river in their negotiations with the EU. Twelve years of access for EU boats to UK waters was signed away as part of that deal, and in return there is still no access to the EU defence fund. Fishermen and fisherwomen are yet to see a penny from the fishing and coastal growth fund, and we remain in the dark about whether we will get a gene-editing carve-out and practical transition period in the SPS agreement. A year ago, we Conservatives warned that Labour was trading away our precious UK fishing waters for little or nothing in return. Twelve months on, the evidence speaks for itself. We were right, weren’t we?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

We are cleaning up the mess left by the Conservatives’ botched Brexit deal that reduced exports by 22%, so I will not take any lessons from the hon. Gentleman.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

3. What steps she is taking to support the farming sector in Wales.

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

The Government are taking decisive action to support our farming sector, with farmers in Wales benefiting from measures such as cutting the duty on red diesel to its lowest rate in over 20 years. I look forward to meeting Wales’s new Rural Resilience and Sustainability Minister and working closely with him to support the farming sector.

[Ann Davies]

Global instability and the war in Iran are taking their toll on farmers in Wales. We have heard about diesel and fertiliser prices, whose consequent impacts for farming business viability and future food supply chains are really serious. The new Plaid Cymru Welsh Government are determined to work in partnership with Welsh farmers, so will the UK Government use their powers to do the same and support the farming sector to withstand these major pressures?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

Farming is devolved, so the first port of call for Welsh farmers is the Welsh Government. As I said, I am looking forward to meeting the new Minister and will do my best to work with all the devolved Administrations, including in Wales.

[Mr Speaker]

I am not sure about this, but I call Perran Moon.

--- Later in debate ---

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

5. What steps she is taking to help support farmers with the cost of fertiliser.

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

We are working across Government to respond to the pressures created by the middle east conflict. I have asked the Competition and Markets Authority to consider industry concerns about fertiliser and we have increased the frequency of official fertiliser price reporting, which is now published weekly by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board giving farmers faster and more transparent information.

[James Wild]

North West Norfolk is home to the leading UK producer of liquid fertilisers, whose production depends on urea ammonium nitrate. With no domestic supply and conflict in the middle east constraining global markets, the United States is our primary reliable source. Will the Minister urge the Department for Business and Trade to suspend the 6% import tariff on US origin UAN in order to protect farmers and food prices?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

May I point out that UK production of fertiliser using those processes was made reliant on America because the last Government decided to close the ammonia factory? In looking at resilience, the Chancellor has announced a business engagement exercise to consider whether targeting tariff cuts on fertiliser would be of assistance, so that is an ongoing issue.

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

Buckinghamshire farmers are hugely exposed to the global volatility in the fertiliser market, and many farmers in my constituency have faced increased costs of over 40%. Will the Minister update the House on what other efforts the Government will make to support the supply chains for farmers in Buckinghamshire so that they can be competitive and sustain domestic food production?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

The Government are committed to ensuring that fertiliser markets work fairly for farmers and to strengthening resilience in the supply chain. We are ensuring that we can have a more reliable source of fertiliser and more efficient use in our own country, and we are doing a lot of work on this issue as I speak.

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome Aphra Brandreth to the Opposition Front Bench.

[Aphra Brandreth (Chester South and Eddisbury) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I regularly hear from farmers in my constituency. The shadow Farming Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), is today at the Royal Cornwall Show 2026, where he will no doubt hear about the challenges that farmers face as a direct result of this Government’s damaging policies. Add to that soaring energy and fertiliser costs, and it is no wonder that food prices continue to rise under this Government. Will the Minister demonstrate that she understands the urgency of this issue for farmers and consumers and urge the Chancellor to follow the Conservative plan to scrap the fertiliser tax—the carbon border adjustment mechanism—so that we can keep food affordable and back British farmers?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I am in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers. I held a ministerial roundtable with them and industry leaders across food farming and the supply chain to hear about the pressures and confirm our readiness to act when required, so the hon. Lady can be assured that we will do that. Let me take this opportunity to welcome her to her role on the Opposition Front Bench—she is a sort of constituency neighbour, really.

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

6. What steps she is taking to help improve water quality.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

7. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving the transparency of food welfare labelling.

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

As set out in our welfare strategy, we are working with the farming and food industry, vets and scientists to explore how improved animal welfare labelling could improve consumer transparency, support farmers and promote better animal welfare.

[Sam Rushworth]

I like to buy British, because I know that our farmers have some of the best quality and welfare standards in the world, and I know that my constituents feel the same. However, that is difficult when everything is labelled with Union flags and fake farm names. May I invite the Minister to meet with members of the Labour Rural Research Group to discuss honest food labelling, which we are campaigning for?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I am happy to meet the rural research group to talk about these important issues, but under UK food labelling rules, food that is not of UK origin cannot be labelled with a British flag, and if the primary ingredient is not British, it cannot be labelled as such without pointing out that the primary ingredient is not British. If my hon. Friend has any examples of where that is happening, I would like to see them.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

Of course, it is not only Labour Members who are concerned about this issue, so I hope the Minister would be prepared to meet a cross-party group of MPs. The problem we face in this country is not just the use of the Union Jack; there is a high risk that we are sucking in imports that do not meet the animal welfare standards we have in this country, which even now we are rightly seeking to improve.

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I am more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to talk about this important issue, if he so desires, or a cross-party group of MPs. I point out that in the recent trade deals, both with the Gulf Co-operation Council and India, we have protected both the poultry egg and poultry meat sectors from the kind of approach we saw in the trade deal that the Conservative Government did with Australia.

[Tom Rutland (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to improve access to nature.

--- Later in debate ---

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

T2. Farmers in my constituency are concerned about tariff suspensions and the Government’s need to strike a balance between quite rightly reducing costs, and protecting and actively encouraging domestic production capacity. What discussions is the Minister having with Treasury Ministers about the principles and direction of travel of future tariff suspensions to ensure that domestic production is not harmed, but is in fact encouraged?

[The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)]

I think “robust” would probably be my summary. To help with the pressure on food prices, we are planning to cut tariffs on over 100 everyday food products such as olive oil, biscuits and chocolate, saving consumers more than a £150 million a year. We have ensured that the items selected for tariff suspension have little to no production in the UK, so protecting and securing our vital domestic production.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Katie Lam—not here.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

T3. Even ahead of the global instability this spring, the Labour rural research group was calling for a spring push on farm profitability. Since then, our Government have announced a review of the regulation that farmers face and brought the Groceries Code Adjudicator back in-house at DEFRA to help level the playing field for British farmers. Can the Minister tell me what is next for our mission to get British farmers’ operating profitability back to where it should be?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

The farming and food partnership board is looking at profitability, and the sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry have already been announced. We have reduced red diesel duty, we will open the reformed SFI and will shortly publish our 25-year farming road map, our response to the Batters farming profitability review.

--- Later in debate ---

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

Some 80% of the world’s cut daffodils come from Cornwall. The horticultural industry is totally reliant on the seasonal worker scheme, but the numbers for that are only announced annually at the end of the year, whereas the daffodil harvest begins in Cornwall in January. Can Ministers help me to lobby the Home Office for a rolling two-year scheme announced no later than October each year?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I lobby the Home Office constantly on quite a lot of things; I will certainly make sure that daffodils are also taken into account.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Given that an estimated 1,446 species in our chalk streams will become extinct without conservation efforts, will the Minister outline what steps the Department is taking to protect against biodiversity loss?