Draft Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025

Charlie Dewhirst Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 General Committees

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

I will keep my remarks brief, but it would be remiss of me not to say something, having spent about two years working on the issue in my previous role at the National Pig Association, before being elected to this House. I first pay tribute to the two previous farming Ministers, Victoria Prentis and Sir Mark Spencer, for getting the process underway, and I thank the current Minister for his support, both in Opposition and now in Government. I am delighted to be here as we reach the conclusion of what has been a lengthy process.

I also pay tribute to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials who have worked on the process from the start. Their engagement with the sector has been fantastic. I know that all the farmers involved felt engaged throughout the formulation of the draft regulations. Last but not least, I thank those farmers who engaged. They are very busy, and they have had an awful lot on their plate in the past few years, but a lot of them gave up a lot of time to look closely at the regulations to ensure that they are as good as they can be. Although some will say that the regulations are not perfect and that there is more work to do—particularly to ensure that the new Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator is effective and works alongside the Groceries Code Adjudicator to stamp out unfair practice throughout the supply chain—I think that they are a huge step forward and I am delighted to support them.