Oral Answers to Questions
Callum Anderson Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Mary Creagh
I was pleased to meet the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) to talk about the activities at these waste sites. Unpicking the work happening there is a long and complex legal process involving multi-agency and cross-agency working. We now have a properly funded waste crime enforcement unit. The funding for that unit was a mere £10 million in 2023-24, but it has had an extra £5 million this year to take it up to £15 million, and then we are doubling it to £30 million. That is the way we take these people down.
Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
Since our last oral questions, we have recently published England’s first long-term farming road map, as I mentioned earlier, and we have opened the first application window for our reformed sustainable farming incentive. I visited the Groundswell agricultural festival to see regenerative farming in action, and I will be at the Great Yorkshire show next week.
Our water delivery taskforce has recently unlocked the infrastructure needed to support nearly 20,000 new homes in East Anglia, and we are taking action to ensure that products on British supermarket shelves such as coffee and cocoa are not linked to illegal deforestation overseas. Like the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), I spoke at London Climate Action Week about our bold action to restore nature, and I welcomed the UN Secretary-General to Kew Gardens. Yesterday I announced the biggest ever investment in species recovery.
Finally, we are a nation of animal lovers, as you know very well, Mr Speaker. I have today published the Government’s plans to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 in order to deliver better outcomes for this great profession—the Act has not been updated since 1966—and our much-loved pets.
Callum Anderson
Farmers in north Buckinghamshire have raised queries with me regarding the transition from environmental land management agreements that expired this year to the funding available through the much-welcomed sustainable farming incentive 2026. Will the Secretary of State set out how the Government are supporting farmers through the transition, so that there are no unintended funding gaps for those who want to deliver positive environmental outcomes?
Emma Reynolds
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We have worked in close partnership with farmers and stakeholders to shape the new SFI. I can reassure my hon. Friend, and Members across the House, that those farmers who have soon-to-expire ELM revenue agreements will be able to apply in the second window of SFI later this year, in September.
Oral Answers to Questions
Callum Anderson Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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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.
Oral Answers to Questions
Callum Anderson Excerpts(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Dame Angela Eagle
Local markets are extremely important, particularly for maintaining food supply locally, and I am very interested in seeing what we can do to assist. Most markets are owned and operated by local authorities. I think the Covent Garden Market Authority is the only wholesale market that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs still looks after. I recognise the hon. Member’s comments on food security, but this country is 67% self-sufficient in food at the moment, or 77% if one takes out the produce we cannot grow, such as mangoes and bananas. Nobody is complacent about that, and we are looking at this very closely. The new farming and food partnership board will be looking at it, and the first sector we will look at is horticulture.
Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
I set out further details of the 2026 sustainable farming incentive offer at the National Farmers Union conference last month. We are streamlining action and reducing complexity, so that more farmers can access funding. The offer will be simpler and fairer, with priority access in June for small farms, and farms not already in receipt of environmental land management scheme agreements.
Callum Anderson
I was pleased to welcome my right hon. Friend to Adstockfields, a great small family farm in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, for a rural summit. As she knows, the SFI came up frequently. Can she set out for the House the steps that she has taken to ensure that farmers with SFI 2023 and countryside stewardship mid-tier agreements that are expiring this year can move on to SFI 2026 agreements, without losing any support?
Emma Reynolds
It was a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend and farmers from Buckinghamshire at the farm in his constituency for our rural summit, at which we discussed SFI and other issues. At the end of last year, the Government decided to extend expiring mid-tier agreements. I understand that farmers are concerned about any gap in their support, and we are looking to see what we can do to fix that problem.
Oral Answers to Questions
Callum Anderson Excerpts(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
As part of our record £10.5 billion flood defences programme, the largest in history, the Environment Agency is progressing multiple schemes to improve resilience to flooding locally. These include natural flood management projects for Blue Lagoon, Buckingham and Leckhampstead, a property flood resilience study for Buckingham and the Tingewick flood alleviation scheme.
Callum Anderson
I thank the Minister for her response. Last winter’s floods exposed how years of under-investment by the previous Conservative Government had left Buckingham’s flood defences inadequate, which impacted many businesses and residents in our town. I have had the pleasure of working with the Flood Action 4 Buckingham group and others to ensure that local voices are heard and to identify ways we can act together to ensure we are resilient in the future. Can the Minister advise me and my constituents on how we can access our fair share of future flood resilience funding so that we are not in this position again?
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. I recognise that, at this time of the year, there is anxiety about flooding, and I thank him and the Flood Action 4 Buckingham group for their work. He will be pleased to know that our flood funding policy reforms, announced in October, will make it quicker and easier to deliver the flood defences that he desperately needs, and I would be happy to meet him to discuss this issue in more detail.