Plant Health and Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Wednesday 25th January 2023 General Committees

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Cummins. You will be glad to hear that my comments today will be brief, and we will not be opposing this statutory instrument. That is not only because it is a clean-up measure, essentially—I love the Minister’s language and will remember “It’s a deficiency!” the next time I make a mistake—but because on Monday evening we had a bit of a marathon with some SIs. This one is much simpler.

Today, we debate the amendments made by the Plant Health and Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment) Regulations 2022. I read at the top of the page with interest that this statutory instrument has been made in consequence of defects—the “deficiencies” —in a series of SIs. I looked a bit more closely at that first one—2020 1482—which was discussed with the Minister’s predecessor, I think, back in 2020. I looked back to my opening comments then, and my notes said, “Very lengthy. Hundreds of pages—much room for error.” It seems that I was a touch prescient.

However, I make no criticism of those tasked with this complicated work. I would just gently point out to the Government the scale of the challenge if they seek to rush to amend many hundreds of these complicated regulations; there will inevitably be mistakes.

[Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Does the hon. Gentleman want to pay tribute to the work of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, because it actually spotted this?

[Daniel Zeichner]

Absolutely, and I must say that as I delve through the various papers, I admire the in-depth work of the various Committees, which is so useful, particularly for an Opposition spokesperson, as we come to these discussions. I generally quote them at length, and I commend them for the work that they do.

I turn to the substance. It is welcome that the problems facing devolved authorities when seeking to collaborate in the face of a Great Britain-wide pest outbreak are being addressed. I am grateful to the Horticultural Trades Association, whose advice I sought on this, for confirming that it is necessary and important because the change will allow the demarcated areas to cross boundaries between Administrations, with the competent authorities working as one. That, apparently, was not possible before, preventing authorities from introducing a demarcated area within their own territory if a pest is identified in another, which limited the authority of that unaffected territory implementing necessary prevention measures.

The explanatory notes say that the amendment has been introduced following a

“recent outbreak of a certain pest near the Wales/England border”.

Can the Minister give us any details of that outbreak? Was it the only incident? How significant was it? What happened prior to this amendment if an authority from England, Scotland or Wales needed to extend a demarcated area beyond its territory?

Moving on to a further defect in another regulation, article 4 of the retained commission implementing decision relates to the import of potatoes from two regions of Lebanon. The eagle-eyed Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments referred to the two issues in its “Eighteenth Report of Session 2022–23”. The first relates to changes in labelling requirements so that they are in English, rather than one of the languages of the European Union, which is understandable. The second relates to an omission in the previous SI, which revoked the requirements for inspections to be carried out at one of the intermediate stages. It is clearly sensible to rectify that, but has an assessment been made of the consequences of that defect in the initial SI?

Finally, on the issues relating to the Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment and Legislative Functions) Regulations 2022, there is an amendment to correct an omission that will ensure that the appropriate authority has the power

“to change the rules on imports of equine animals from a particular country and the power to establish specific rules if there is a change in the disease situation of the approved country.”

I note that the language in regulation 8(2)(d) changes from “shall be established” to “may be established” in relation to the functions undertaken by the appropriate British authority. Was that a deliberate alteration to limit the obligation of GB authorities to change and implement animal and public health requirements for imports from the EU? [Interruption.] The Minister is shaking his head, but I am sure he will explain.

As we are all aware, health certificate requirements are currently being implemented for exports, but not for imports. That certainly could be interpreted as meaning that any additional checks and requirements on imports might not be carried out, possibly due to a lack of vets and capacity at the borders. If that is the case, we should all be concerned, because animal and plant health matters, and we should insist on the very best biosecurity procedures.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (BIODIVERSITY) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (WOODLAND AND TREES OUTSIDE WOODLAND) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (WATER) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (MARINE PROTECTED AREAS) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (FINE PARTICULATE MATTER) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (RESIDUAL WASTE) (ENGLAND) REGULATIONS 2022

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2023 General Committees

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a great pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. Good luck tonight—I think it is going to be a more complicated discussion than we usually have on these occasions. I suspect it will be quite lengthy, so I will give the short version of our response first: weak, late and unambitious. Just like the Prime Minister did a few week ago, the Government set a modest goal, make it a bit easier, set that as a target, hope the public do not notice and then claim they have achieved it. Target setting can be done in a number of ways. Well, what is going on here has been noticed. As we go through the detail—there is plenty of it, as we see on the table in front of us—it will become apparent just how weak these measures are. Let us remember that these are not even actual measures; they are just targets for measures that may or may never happen—weakness on steroids.

Let us start with late. The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee’s excellent report says:

“The instruments were laid before Parliament more than a month after the deadline required under the Environment Act 2021, putting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs…in breach of its statutory obligation.”

So law breakers as well—keep your seatbelts on.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee also stated:

“Public consultation generated significant interest, with a clear majority of respondents (in most cases over 90%) calling for more ambitious targets. We note, however, that despite this feedback, the Department has decided against greater ambition and, with regard to the target for trees and woodland cover, has opted for a target that is less ambitious than that originally proposed during consultation, on the ground that the more ambitious target would be unrealistic.”

That is a pretty damning assessment, particularly on issues of such importance.

I am afraid the Government are continuing to fail our environment in England. The targets set by this SI do much less than is needed to reverse the damage done. As the Government’s own environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, said in its review of progress last week:

“Of 23 environmental targets assessed, none were found where Government’s progress was demonstrably on track.”

The Office for Environmental Protection chair, Dame Glenys Stacey, said:

“Progress on delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan has fallen far short of what is needed…There have been recent improvements in air quality and people’s engagement with nature, as Covid lockdowns changed the way we live our lives. But many extremely worrying environmental trends remain unchecked, including a chronic decline in species abundance.

Our assessment shows that the current pace and scale of action will not deliver the changes necessary to significantly improve the environment in England.”

That is pretty damning from her too.

Recent figures show that more than 60% of people in England now breathe illegally poor air. Our wildlife numbers are in freefall, and more communities are exposed to catastrophic flooding. That is not to mention the toxic waste infecting our rivers, canals and waterways.

Let me turn to the detail of this biodiversity SI. There is much to be done, because the UK has the lowest remaining levels of biodiversity among the world’s richer nations. Last year, the Environmental Audit Committee lambasted the Government’s approach to nature—specifically, the failure to stem huge losses of plant and animal species. Globally, we have seen a massive decline in the number of plant and animal species—up to 1 million species are currently under threat of extinction. Closer to home, we are at risk of losing many beloved species. Puffins are projected to decline across Britain and Ireland by nine in 10 within 30 years, 14 seabird species are regarded as being at risk of negative climate change impact, and there has been a two thirds decline in flying insect numbers in England in just 16 years.

[Mr Sheerman]

Many of my constituents are very fond of water voles, which figure in much children’s literature—misdescribed as “Ratty”—and hedgehogs. If we are slow in doing this—it seems that these regulations will initiate a very slow procedure—it will be too late to save those species, so we need urgent action.

[Daniel Zeichner]

As ever, I find myself in complete agreement with my hon. Friend. We do not believe that the ambitions to halt the decline of species abundance in the UK are good enough. The measures in this SI are too weak. We must be nature positive. We should be aiming for a dramatic incline in species abundance.

The agreement signed by the UK Government at the biodiversity COP15 to protect 30% for nature and restore 30% of the planet’s degraded ecosystems was welcome news, but we judge the Government’s commitment to their new international obligations against their actions. It is the environmental targets in these SIs that will drive nature’s recovery on the ground. We agree that the aim to halt the decline of wildlife by the end of 2030 is in keeping with the promises made at the biodiversity COP15 in Montreal last month, but I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm if the refreshed environmental improvement plan due next week will set out the practical steps needed, including in particular—as has been mentioned—how the new environmental land management schemes will contribute to meeting the targets in the statutory instrument.

I am afraid that the statutory instrument contains a serious omission. I am grateful to Green Alliance for pointing that out and providing detailed briefings on this SI and the others. The SI fails to include a target for the condition of sites of special scientific interests, or SSSIs, which are supposed to protect ancient woodland, hay meadows, peat bogs, grasslands, moorland, marshes, flood plains, chalk streams, estuaries and stretches of coast. In England, fewer than 40% of SSSIs are in a healthy condition. Others are plagued by pollution, mismanagement and neglect, apart from being under increased threat from extreme weather, wildfires and rising sea levels. These sites are the key to driving nature’s recovery, and improving their condition is essential in meeting the environmental targets that we are discussing.

At Geltsdale in Cumbria, for example, improvement in SSSI condition has increased the abundance of a diverse range of bird species, including the black grouse, whinchat and grasshopper warbler, while sphagnum mosses and plants have also responded well. There is little point in designating more land for protection on paper when, after 13 years, so many existing sites that should receive the highest levels of protection instead languish in a poor state.

The statutory instrument is so important for the future of our cherished wildlife and biodiversity. It is clear, though, that the lack of ambition in the targets means that they will ultimately fail to measure up to the commitments made by the Secretary of State in Montreal in December. We will accordingly vote against the instrument.

[Mr Sheerman]

I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate: I want to speak about the timescale. I am appealing because I sometimes think, as a parliamentarian, it would be so nice if the only people who could vote when we are in the Chamber or in Committee were the people who actually listened to the Minister and the shadow Minister, rather than just playing with their screens. That is how Parliament has been changed by people’s use of individual communications.

This is an important debate, and I am sure that we all recognise how fundamental it is. Tonight, I will have the pleasure and honour of having dinner—if we ever get to it—with the professor from University College London who wrote “Here Comes the Sun”. The lesson from Professor Steve Jones is that there is not a lot of time. Slight things will happen in biodiversity or to nature, but he believes that we are rapidly making this planet unable to support human life. That is the really serious nature of where we are today.

Because of that, I totally support the Opposition spokesman. He is an old and respected campaigner—

[Daniel Zeichner]

Not so much of the “old”.

[Mr Sheerman]

He is not as old as me, of course, but he is very respected in this area. He shares my view that all this is too little, too late, and it is too weak. Tomorrow, I have a debate in Westminster Hall on how we can cut the poisonous fumes that are emitted from vehicles, which are causing that dreadful plague whereby people in our constituencies are not able to breathe clean air. We all know the level of the challenge, but we do not have a Government or Department that see how important and rapid progress must be if we are to stop this dreadful move towards a climate change disaster.

Thank you for accepting my request to speak, Mr Stringer. You are always a kind and generous person when those of us from Yorkshire seek to get your attention.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

Biodiversity is inextricably linked to trees, so we move on very nicely. Tree planting is an important natural solution to the nature and climate emergency, helping to decrease CO₂ emissions by storing carbon in the soil and to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency that we are already seeing by preventing flooding. It is disappointing, therefore, that DEFRA is proposing a tree canopy cover expansion target one third lower than the one it consulted on. The draft 17.5% target was proposed by DEFRA and agreed by the Department’s own expert group. Will the Minister explain why the Department lost confidence in its own consultation proposals and its expert panel’s recommendations for a higher target, as well as overlooking the responses to its consultation?

The target in the SI also fails to prioritise native trees. I find myself in agreement with the Woodland Trust, which has described that as “hugely disappointing”. That is against a background of failure, because in recent years the Government have failed dismally to deliver the existing tree planting target. There are concerns about the current rate of planting, which means that even their weak target will not be met until 2091—over 40 years too late. Will the Minister give us an up-to-date assessment of how many hectares of trees were planted in England last year? How many will be planted this year and next? That matters in the context of this SI and its watered down target.

As well as creating and maintaining new woodland, the management of existing woodland needs to be improved. The fact that that is not included in the SI suggests the Government will fail to do that, and that will cause further environmental damage and offset the benefits of the new woodland being created. Sustainable management of our woodland is essential not just for precarious and dangerously fragile habitats such as our own temperate rainforests, but for the effective protection of woodland and urban trees.

I will conclude on that note. I think I had my pages in the wrong order, which was bound to happen at some point, but I do not think that will trouble the Minister—the essential points have been made.

--- Later in debate ---

[Trudy Harrison]

The target to have 16.5% tree cover across England requires us to plant around 7,500 hectares of trees annually. The hon. Member for Huddersfield asked me a very direct question about how many have been planted recently. I believe that last year some 2,700 hectares of trees were planted, so we need to make a significant improvement in the rate and, significantly, the speed at which we plant trees. As the lead Minister for Natural England, I am working with that organisation to ensure that we speed up tree planting.

There were questions about coniferous trees and broadleaf trees. I want colleagues to know that we considered the inclusion of statutory sub-targets but decided not to move forward with those proposals. We intend to give a transparent picture of the contribution from each planting type towards the target through the Forestry Commission’s statistics. We will use policy and incentives to encourage the planting of woodland types that we want to see. The actions that we are taking through the England trees action plan, the suite of targets being released, our biodiversity targets in particular, and the UK forestry standard will act as a real driver for native woodland planting, and ensure that the woodlands we create are mixed.

[Daniel Zeichner]

Will the Minister give way on that point?

[Trudy Harrison]

Very briefly.

[Daniel Zeichner]

I am listening carefully to the Minister’s explanation of the ratio between broadleaf and conifer, and I could not understand it at all. Will she explain why it was decided not to set a proper target, particularly given that the head of Natural England, my constituent Tony Juniper, has expressed his disappointment about that?

[Trudy Harrison]

It would be unfortunate to get into a form of tree snobbery. Different species require different trees. I look out on the beech tree in my garden, which is the preference of the tawny owl, but I also see the mistle thrush taking its position at the top of the Sitka spruce. We still expect to see significantly more broadleaf woodland planted than conifer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

From watered-down tree targets to water targets. It will not be news to anyone here that rivers in England are in big trouble. As my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield pointed out, not one river is in a healthy condition—not one meets good chemical standards, and only 14% meet good ecological standards. It is fair to say that our waterways are suffering from a toxic cocktail of agricultural and sewage pollution.

Just last month at COP15, global leaders promised to clean up our rivers and committed to protecting 30% of nature by 2030. That was good, but unfortunately it was short lived, because during the summit, the Government confirmed that there would be no target indicator on river health—the only measure for water companies and the public to know whether their water is clean. Will the Minister confirm whether the existing 2027 target under the water framework directive will be carried forward—or will it fall victim to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill?

The Government’s decision on that target means that the statutory instrument we are scrutinising completely undermines the UK’s 30 by 30 commitment. The existing target, set under water framework directive regulations, requires water bodies to achieve good ecological status by 22 December 2027 at the latest. However, when that target expires, we will be left with no long-term target for the overall ecological improvement of rivers and streams in England. The absence of an overarching water quality target leaves uncertainty for businesses and uncertainty about environmental outcomes. Put simply, a target that expires in four years is not sufficient to drive a meaningful improvement in water quality.

[Mr Sheerman]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, if we are going to have water quality targets but we do not have a Government that can be strong enough with the water companies that are pouring sewage into our rivers, streams and oceans, there is no hope? Looking across the room, I see that there is a Member present with a name that resonates with sea creatures—I am talking about crabs. Around our country, crabs are disappearing because of the sewage that has been pumped into our seas. I want the crabs to be able to live and thrive in our country.

[Daniel Zeichner]

As ever, I am grateful to my hon. Friend—and, as ever, he pre-empted what I was about to say. Labour absolutely understands that. That is why we will introduce a legally binding target to end 90% of sewage discharges.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

I think I was referred to by the hon. Member for Huddersfield a few moments ago, but I remind the Opposition spokesman that in Wales—under the Welsh Labour Government—we have major problems with sewage going into our watercourses. He talks about Labour’s commitment; where is the practical evidence of that when it comes to how it governs in Wales?

[Daniel Zeichner]

Obviously, we want crabs to flourish wherever they may be found, but I gently remind the right hon. Gentleman that we are discussing the legislation in England.

Let me return to the Minister and ask her a simple question. Will she tell us how she plans to safeguard the health of our rivers without committing to an overall target for water quality?

[Nick Smith]

I asked the Minister for an idea of the number of face-to-face staff who would be able to help our farmers across the country produce good-quality water, but she was not able to answer. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be good to have an assessment from the Department of the number of people who would be needed to support our farmers across the country to prevent poor-quality run-off and ensure that we have better water for the future?

[Daniel Zeichner]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting observation. The issuing of advice to farmers is very important. It is one of the welcome things that has come through the environmental land management schemes. My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head: we need to know exactly how much advice will be available, to whom it will go, and whether it is likely to achieve a change in behaviour.

Last year, 2022, was a very dry year of high temperatures. Water shortages were a reality, with hosepipe bans across the country. The former Environment Agency chief says that lack of water presents an “existential” threat. Treating wastewater and delivering clean water to households is also a big emitter of carbon dioxide. A target to reduce water demand is therefore vital, but the one in the SI is framed as a relative target based on population. With a rising population, that means that overall water abstraction—the process of taking water from a natural source, often for industrial use—can continue to increase unchecked.

We cannot reduce shortages without addressing one of the key causes: over-stressed infrastructure in need of repair. The system is creaking at the seams, and plugging those leaks will require an investment of perhaps £20 billion. Does the Minister not agree that private sector investment is likely to fall without a legal target for scrutiny and accountability?

Finally, let me touch on enforcement and regulation. In the consultation, the Government promised to allow for objective scrutiny and accountability of their progress, but the statutory instrument fails to achieve that goal. The Environment Agency is unable to properly inspect the practices of water companies. Let me therefore use this opportunity to reaffirm Labour’s commitment to giving the Environment Agency the power to properly enforce the rules. We will deliver mandatory monitoring of all sewage outlets. We will introduce automatic fines for discharges, and a standing charge penalty for discharge points without monitoring in place. Water bosses who routinely and systematically break the rules will be held professionally and personally accountable, and illegal activity will be punished.

We see nothing of that strength in this SI. That is why we will be opposing it—because it falls short. It does not guarantee an improvement in the freshwater environment in England and it does nothing to hold water bosses accountable.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

We go from water to marine, Mr Stringer. The seas and oceans around us support diverse marine ecosystems; they provide rich biodiversity and act as carbon stores. But our marine environment and the creatures that call it home face innumerable threats from human activity, including the damage from waste and toxins and from dredging and dragging the seabed, and the destruction of corals, maerls and sandbanks. Marine protected areas are an important tool in safeguarding our ocean’s future, so I am pleased that there is a commitment to extend the network. However, I share the concerns held by many stakeholders that the plans are not ambitious enough, and fail to align with the 30x30 targets. In particular, the representation of marine species in the 2030 species abundance target remains poor. Therefore I ask the Minister this. Will she agree to consider—

[Mr Sheerman]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Daniel Zeichner]

Yes, at the end of the sentence. Will the Minister agree to consider the addition of species to the indicator over time, to make it more representative of England’s marine biodiversity?

[Mr Sheerman]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for letting me intervene yet again. Is he not worried? He, like me, is a devotee of fish— together we have consumed a lot of fish. I go round the usual places where people buy fresh fish on the coast, and they are not selling any. They are not selling; people cannot buy fish in most of our ports and harbours as they used to, and the excuse given is that the sea is heating up or that there is pollution. What are we going to do to find out what is going wrong around our coast, with crabs dying and crustaceans having to be imported? When are we going to get some action?

[Daniel Zeichner]

I thank my hon. Friend; he makes an important point. Certainly there are parts of the country around the coast where fishers complain that their basic problem is a lack of fish, but I do not agree with my hon. Friend that it is not possible to buy fish anywhere around our coast. There are places where the fish continue to be fished and fishers continue to thrive. What we want, of course, is to ensure that that continues to be the case.

Healthy seabeds are home to many species and drive richer marine ecosystems, but sadly, marine protected areas currently fail to protect them adequately. We need to see a broader programme of ocean renewal. Globally, saltmarsh and seagrass beds alone can store up to 450 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. That is almost half the emissions of the entire global transport industry. Restoring these key marine ecosystems could lock up billions of tonnes of carbon each year; that is 5% of the savings needed globally. A sustained programme of ocean renewal must be part of any plan to tackle the climate emergency.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

We are getting there, aren’t we, Mr Stringer? It is probably time to come up for air, and this measure is about air.

A key element of preserving our environment is clean air. It is vital that we remember that our ecosystems are damaged by toxic air and air pollution, as are our waterways and the natural habitats of our wildlife. Of course there is an impact on human life—indeed, toxic air contributes to the deaths of many people who we represent in this House—so it is a matter of deep regret that the Minister has missed this golden opportunity to show leadership to clean our air and get things done.

Air pollution has been recognised by the UK Government to be the single largest environmental risk to public health, and we agree. An increasing body of evidence has linked air pollution to the causation and worsening of existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a likely link to cognitive decline and dementia risk. This is a major public health crisis.

Despite limited action to reduce pollution levels, there is still so much more that must be done at a national level to reduce the impact on our health and on our economy. The proposed targets for 2040 that we are considering can hardly be considered world-leading or ambitious. The proposed target for the annual mean concentration of air pollution—10 micrograms per cubic metre by 2040—is based on the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines, which were published as long ago as 2005 and surpassed in 2021 by a new guideline level of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.

I am afraid that we are falling behind internationally. The USA’s legal target for PM_2.5 has been stronger than the UK’s since 2012, having been set at 12 micrograms per cubic metre, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is considering lowering that further to between 8 and 10 micrograms per cubic metre. In Europe, the EU Commission proposed last October a target reduction of PM_2.5 to 10 micrograms per cubic metre by 2030.

A study by Imperial College London shows that an annual mean concentration of 10 micrograms per cubic metre can be achieved across 99% of the country by 2030 using policies already proposed by the Government, coupled with those set out in the Climate Change Committee’s sixth carbon budget, and a similar conclusion was reached in DEFRA’s clean air strategy in 2019. It is therefore a matter of regret that the Government, thorough this SI, have essentially ignored the wishes of the people and the businesses that responded to the consultation. Will the Minister explain why the target is less ambitious than that sought by 90% of the responses to the Government’s consultation?

The Government’s proposals to improve monitoring capacity are not comprehensive enough to deliver a full picture of air pollution across the country or ensure that we meet these unambitious targets. For example, by 2028 the whole of London will be legally required to have only 15 monitors to assess compliance with the targets. That really is not enough.

We are deeply concerned that the SI will fail to deliver any meaningful reductions in pollution for those who live near the sources of pollution, such as main roads in our cities across England, because the Government will assess compliance with the population exposure reduction target by using only urban or suburban background sites where PM_2.5

“is not significantly influenced by a source or sources of pollution in close proximity to the site”.

Communities living near sources of pollution tend to be more deprived, from minority ethnic backgrounds, and less able to mitigate the health impacts of air pollution. This SI will therefore fail to protect the most vulnerable. We will oppose it because it does not grasp the seriousness of the situation facing us.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

So we get to waste, and the Opposition have three main areas of concern on this SI. First, the waste reduction target omits the majority of waste in England. The 50% reduction target excludes major mineral waste created from construction, demolition and excavation activities. That is a significant oversight, as that type of waste, while easier to handle than other waste streams, accounts for the majority of waste produced in England and carries environmental costs. The construction industry uses more resources than any other sector in the UK, the extraction of which results in high carbon and environmental impacts—and yet we have heard little about that from the Minister today.

Secondly, the lack of ambition is an area of concern. Government modelling shows a rapid reduction in residual waste of 25% expected between 2024 and 2028. That means that half of the targeted fall in residual waste is estimated to have been achieved by 2028, with the next 14 years seeing the remaining 25% fall from 2019 levels. That moderate fall over more than a decade can be achieved with minimal measures, a licence for low- ambition waste reduction policies throughout the 2030s. This should be set against the Office for Environmental Protection’s recent assessment of the Government’s progress in implementing the environmental improvement plan, which reports that waste headline indicators have actually deteriorated since 2018.

The need for a high-ambition approach to drive meaningful progress towards waste reduction has never been greater. With Government modelling suggesting that 91.9% of waste is either readily or potentially recyclable—or potentially substitutable to a material that can be recycled—the 50% target falls short of both what is necessary and achievable.

Finally, we agree with many stakeholders, such as the Wildlife and Countryside Link, who want to see a target to reduce resource consumption. A target for residual waste alone does not account for the extractive effects of economic activity on the natural environment, and will not prevent them increasing. The Government had been expected to introduce a resource productivity target as part of the Environment Act target-setting process. They have stated that more time is needed to develop the evidence base and assess policies.

The Office for Environmental Protection and environmental NGOs have recommended the Government develop a target in that area that addresses resource use and the associated environmental impacts of consumption, including embodied carbon. Not setting a target for resource use, or for reducing the UK’s carbon footprint, means we will just carry on exploiting natural resources and exporting waste abroad, such as plastic for recycling, which can be an environmentally damaging substitute for meaningful progress towards a circular economy. Will the Minister tell us why no target has been introduced and what she is going to do about it?

My hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones), the shadow Minister for waste, attended the Foodservice Packaging Association environment seminar last Thursday. It was clear from the response to her remarks that the industry is crying out for change and action in equal measure. This statutory instrument, like all the others—we go right back to where we started—I am afraid suffers from the crucial lack of ambition that makes the targets too easily achievable, frankly. That is a fault not just of the SIs we are debating, but of the Government’s targets in general.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

To return to the beginning, the Minister extols the Government’s progress, but how does she square that with the Office for Environmental Protection’s statement:

“We assessed 23 environmental targets and found none where Government’s progress was demonstrably on track”?

[Trudy Harrison]

The hon. Gentleman makes the point that targets are easy to set, which is why the Environment Act 2021 requires the Secretary of State to make meaningful and achievable targets. Further details of how we will achieve those targets are not far away. They will be set out in our environmental improvement plan. I look forward to sharing it with colleagues when it is published on 31 January. These targets are stretching. They are challenging. They require Government to work with the whole of society to achieve, but the results are worth fighting for: an improved environment, left in a better state than we found it. That is the intention of this Government. These targets support exactly that.

Question put.

Antimicrobial Resistance: Farm Animals

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2023 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Bone. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) on securing the debate and on his comprehensive introduction. No one wants antibiotics to be used when they are not necessary, whether in animals or humans, and he made his case powerfully.

As I represent Cambridge, it is not surprising that I have been briefed on a number of occasions by clinicians and scientists about the risks of antimicrobial resistance. The issue was brought to my attention soon after I was elected in 2015, long before I took on responsibilities relating to farmed animal health, so I have taken a close interest. I am grateful for excellent briefings from a wide range of organisations, including the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, the British Veterinary Association, the National Farmers Union, the National Office of Animal Health, MSD Animal Health, World Animal Protection and Compassion in World Farming, among others. There is considerable interest and expertise.

There is no doubt about it: antimicrobial resistance is a challenge that affects the whole world, with—as we have heard—an estimated 4.95 million people losing their lives because of an antibiotic-resistant infection in 2019. According to research published in The Lancet last November, 1.27 million of those deaths were attributed to the antibiotic resistance of the infection. I suspect that many of us are familiar with the 2014 review, chaired by Jim O’Neill, which warned that annual deaths due to antimicrobial resistance could rise to 10 million by 2050.

Consequently, it comes as no surprise that the World Health Organisation deems antibiotic resistance to be one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. I do not think anyone is under any illusion about the scale of the problem that we face, its risk to human health and how important it is that we reduce our use of antibiotics. In recent years, we have rightly seen considerable efforts made to reduce the use of unnecessary antibiotics in both humans and animals.

Since 2014, annual sales of veterinary antibiotics in the UK have reduced by 55%, with the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance—RUMA—playing an important role. That achievement was commended by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in a report published last year, which said:

“The United Kingdom’s example demonstrates that building trusted relationships across all stakeholders, including between farmers, vets, and government, can lead to sustained behaviour change, and embed practices of responsible use across farming sectors. Industry leadership on the issue has empowered producers to take action. Farmers now have open conversations with their peers on the importance of addressing AMR, and the steps which can be taken in their respective areas.”

That reference to industry leadership and building relationships across all stakeholders is critical, as it is for so many areas in the food and farming sectors. There are many tensions within our food system today, some of which are understandably a result of the need to maximise output to feed a growing global population.

As we have rightly better understood the consequences, we are now trying to find a balance between that output and the environmental, health and animal welfare issues that are so important. Although progress has been made, we still face major challenges. For example, the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics advises that 75% of antibiotics used in UK farms are for group treatments, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall pointed out. That stands in contrast to other countries that manage to use antibiotics only to treat individual sick animals. Sweden and Finland are cited as examples. Although exact comparisons are difficult, we should always aspire to the highest standards here. We also heard in the introduction that some farms still use antibiotics in a routine way when others do not. The fear is that in some cases that is compensating for poor husbandry. Again, we should aim higher.

Let me ask the Minister about the Government’s antimicrobial resistance national action plan in which it was stated, as we have already heard, that the UK would implement legislation along lines similar to those being adopted by the European Union. Is that still the plan? If so, when? Why are we yet again falling behind the EU? This is the second time in this Chamber today that the Minister will have to explain why the Government have relegated the UK to the slow lane. What assessment has been made of the consequences for British farmers who export to the EU? What can the Minister tell us about ensuring in trade deals that we do not risk importing food produced to lower standards on antibiotic usage?

A key to reducing the use of antibiotics is, of course, vaccination. I am grateful to the National Office of Animal Health, which issued livestock vaccination guidelines last May to help vets and farmers to improve resilience, for its advice. Will the Minister tell us what support the Department is giving to vaccine development?

In conclusion, this is a short debate on a subject that merits much more detailed discussion. Overuse of antibiotics in general, and certainly in farming in the past, has clearly put us at risk from rising antimicrobial resistance. The falling use of antibiotics indicates that we are moving in the right direction, but there is more to do. As we transform and improve our farming systems to address wider environmental and health challenges, I am in no doubt that moving away from antibiotic use will play a key role in improving and safeguarding our health as well as the health of animals stewarded by farmers and vets.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mark Spencer]

Of course, we could always reduce it further. But at the same time, we have to balance that with animal welfare and ensuring that no animal is affected detrimentally. No farmer in this country can administer antibiotics to an animal without a veterinary prescription. It requires a professional vet to prescribe that medicine for an animal. I have huge confidence in our veterinary service, and their professionalism and ability to make those decisions.

[Daniel Zeichner]

I think the Minister will agree that I have been uncharacteristically generous to him this afternoon. Let me press him on the point of group usage. Is that something that he thinks we should continue, or are there plans to change that?

[Mark Spencer]

I do not like blanket, overarching rules. There may well be a circumstance where a flock of birds or a group of animals are suffering from an infection and need to be treated. To rule out the use of group therapy when there is a group of animals that need veterinary intervention would be very silly. Of course, we want to ensure we target medicines at poorly animals, and that we use antibiotics to treat those animals. But to have a block rule where we rule out the use of a medicine to a group of animals that are suffering from an infection would be silly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

We want ELMs to work, but as it stands, the scheme risks going the way of those magnificent elm trees that have so suffered across the English countryside over the past 40 years. The Minister has admitted that the uptake of sustainable farming incentives is low—indeed, the National Farmers Union rightly described last week’s announcement as “too little, too late”. Will the Minister come clean and tell the House how many farm businesses he will allow to go to the wall because of this failing agricultural transition process? Will he sit down with us and work out a simpler way forward that keep farmers farming and secures the environmental goals we all share?

[Mark Spencer]

I am genuinely disappointed by the hon. Gentleman’s response, and his negativity is in danger of spreading across the Front Bench. We ran a pilot—that is why the uptake was low; it was because the pilot was small—and we listened to individuals who took part in that pilot. We tweaked those schemes in response to the pilot that we ran. That is good government. The way to organise and run such schemes is to listen to those who are taking part. We have listened, we have improved the payments, and there is now a great opportunity for our farmers across the country to engage in those schemes, improve our environment, improve biodiversity, produce great food, and make a profit.

Annual Fisheries Negotiations with EU and North Atlantic States

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Tuesday 20th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the shadow Minister.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) on securing the urgent question. I share the hon. Gentleman’s frustration that it took an urgent question to hear about the negotiations. I hear what the Minister said about the timeframes, but there was a convention under which each year the House had a proper discussion about the outcome of the negotiations. I hope the Minister will promise today to return to that convention so that we can have proper and full discussions.

I pay tribute to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and other charities, as well as the fishers, who last week intervened so effectively to save human life in the channel. I remind the Minister of the continuing anguish that is being caused to many in the inland fleet at the hands of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; the Minister really needs to work with colleagues to get a grip on that.

On the recent negotiations, it is clear that many industry players have welcomed the outcomes of the various sets of talks, and that is positive, but may I ask the Minister about the status of the Faroe talks? What efforts were made to ensure that the deals made with the EU and other coastal states included a commitment to keep Russia’s fleet out of their waters? Although we welcome the promise to stop the fishing of sand eels in our waters, will the Minister tell us when that will take effect and whether we have secured commitments from others during the negotiations?

In general, we will, of course, want to see the detail of the outcome and understand the potential environmental impact, but not everyone in the industry is quite as happy as the Minister says. Therein lies a fundamental problem that we have identified in the new architecture, including in the latest version of the joint fisheries statement, something also recently published and not discussed in this House. Although the Minister speaks for the UK Government, the devolved Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also play an important role in fisheries management, so we ask again: who speaks for England?

Labour has consistently pointed out that no one fights the corner for English fishing in these negotiations. The statement has been welcomed by the Scottish Government and fishing sector, but can the Minister explain how much of the increase in catch will be available to the hard-hit English fishing sector? What will be the overall impact on jobs and economic opportunities in our English North sea fishing ports and surrounding communities?

The Minister mentioned the distant fleet. Jane Sandell, the chief executive officer of UK Fisheries Ltd, which is based in Humberside and operates in distant Arctic waters, did not react with any positivity about this outcome. She called it

“yet another body blow for fishers in the North East of England. While the government is gloating over its ‘success’ in the Norway talks, we are having to make skilled people redundant in the Humber region. It’s an absolute travesty of fairness and common sense.”

She also said:

“The few extra tonnes of whitefish in the Norwegian zone won't come close to offsetting the loss in Svalbard due to the reduced TAC. Defra knows this, and yet it simply doesn’t seem to care about the English fleet.”

That was borne out at the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs a couple of weeks ago, when the Secretary of State appeared to be unaware of the problems facing the English distant fleet. So perhaps the Minister can explain today why the English distant fleet has fared so badly, and what he plans to do about it.

[Mark Spencer]

We have of course tabled a written statement; we did that as soon as we were able, give that we signed the deal this morning. Once again, it is a little disingenuous to say that we were not prepared to make a statement, as the deal was not signed until after the statement deadline.

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Faroe Islands has just concluded its general election and is in the process of forming a Government, so it is difficult to negotiate with its Fisheries Minister when that Minister has not been appointed. As soon as that Minister is appointed, we will be back around the table talking to them to try to sort out the challenges we face, particularly on the Russian fleet, which the Faroes has allowed access to its waters.

I will write to the hon. Gentleman with the details on sand eels. He talked about the devolved Administrations, the north-east fleet and who represents England. We tried very hard on this. We work with our devolved Administration colleagues constantly and we worked very hard to get a fair deal for all parts of the UK. We get the best deal for the UK and we try to divvy that deal up as best as we can among the devolved Administrations and around the coastline. I think we have struck the right balance. It is entirely possible to increase quota for any part of the UK that we want to, but we have to take that off somebody else. If he wants to write to me to tell me from whom he wants to remove quota, we will give due consideration to that representation and consider his thoughts.

DRAFT ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HEALTH, FEED AND FOOD, PLANTS AND PLANT HEALTH (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2022 DRAFT TRADE IN ANIMALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS (AMENDMENT AND LEGISLATIVE FUNCTIONS) REGULATIONS 2022

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Monday 5th December 2022 General Committees

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Hosie. We are discussing the draft Animals and Animal Health, Feed and Food, Plants and Plant Health (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and the draft Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment and Legislative Functions) Regulations 2022. Once again, we are fixing problems that we have encountered since the withdrawal process. I notice that when the matter was discussed in the other place a few minutes ago, the same point was made. We keep having to correct errors from the past. I was expecting to see the Minister’s colleague, the right hon. Member for Sherwood (Mark Spencer), but I am delighted to see her here today—not least because he gets cross when I raise points of criticism with him. I was going to please him by not opposing the instruments, but I was then going to disappoint him by saying that I have found others who have points of criticism, which I will come on to in a moment.

The draft Trade in Animals and Related Products (Amendment and Legislative Functions) Regulations 2022 state that the UK will continue to align itself with the directives and regulations dictating the rules on the importation of animals and animal products as of the date of the UK’s exit. Nothing much will change, which is fine, but, as I have noted before, the world did not stand still the day we left the EU. Rather inconveniently for us, the EU has since revoked many of those directives, replacing them with the EU’s Animal Health Law. We are told in the explanatory memorandum that the instrument

“preserves and maintains the policy and legislative regime as of exit day and does not try to align itself with the EU’s Animal Health Law.”

It seems that we now work to different rules but, of course, we continue to trade.

I ask the Minister what assessment has been made of the impact of any possible divergence now that our exports to the EU are dictated by the EU’s Animal Health Law, and whether that has distorted the level-playing field we hoped British farmers would have when they export to the EU? This is of immediate, practical importance, as I am sure the Minister will know, because the meat export sector has been up in arms in recent weeks, as the EU now requires veterinary attestation confirming animal health checks on sites before an export health certificate can be granted. Of course, we now need an EHC to export to the EU. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has explained that this is to meet the requirements under the EU’s animal health regulations, which stipulate that farms wishing to import into the EU must have had regular animal health visits by a veterinarian. That works for people on accreditation schemes, but many others have had to provide self-declarations to provide that EHC. This new situation creates additional costs and lots more red tape and could result in meat exports becoming non-compliant if there is not enough time for hard-pressed vets to undertake the checks required.

As I understand it, after the alarm was raised, DEFRA kicked the can down the road for another year, but the same problem will emerge on 13 December next year if new digital systems are not in place in time. In relation to this statutory instrument, the point is that the SI solves a legal issue by keeping things as they were, but given that the world has changed, it does not resolve the practical issue facing farmers nor the political issue that we now face of having to make changes because a system is being altered in the EU over which we have no influence.

Moving on to the second SI, there is a legal issue to be flagged, because the eagle-eyed members of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments have found fault with the drafting of both these statutory instruments. It said:

“The Committee accordingly reports the instrument for defective drafting, by virtue of including inaccurate information in the footnote to regulation 9(5)(a), acknowledged by the Department.”

It goes on to cite further drafting errors, including—I am delving into realms that I am probably unqualified to comment on in terms of my legal knowledge—unregistered equidae and various other fine points of law touching on Lebanese potato ring rot. You will be glad to hear that I will not go into detail, Mr Hosie, but the Joint Committee is basically saying, “I’m afraid these have not been drafted correctly.” On the scale of sins committed by this Government, I am not quite sure where that sits but, to be fair, the Department has actually acknowledged mistakes. I guess it is the equivalent of almost getting a yellow card but just getting a ticking off.

This has happened twice now. The Minister is in danger of being benched for our next encounter. I hope the Department will do better with its drafting in future. I will not go any further tonight. There is a lot of detail in here. The serious point is that these are important issues to maintain our biosecurity. I hope we will not have to keep going back over past statutory instruments because of mistakes and drafting errors. I hope the Minister can address some of those points.

Draft Agricultural Holdings (Fee) Regulations 2022

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2022 General Committees

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Twigg.

The instrument looks like an innocuous proposal, but I am afraid there is rather more to it than meets the eye, which is often the case when it comes to tenancy issues. The Minister has already referenced the Rock review. Baroness Rock produced her excellent report some weeks ago, and despite plenty of prompting from me and others, we have not yet had a full response from the Government. I understand that “in due course” can mean many things in this place, but I encourage the Minister to speed up that response. It is an important report and people are waiting on the Government to respond. That is relevant to this statutory instrument because the whole question of the arbitrator, whose fee is raised by this SI, is central to the debate, and, indeed, the Rock review is referenced in the explanatory memorandum, in paragraph 10.4.

I am, as so often, indebted to George Dunn of the Tenant Farmers Association for his advice on this matter. He tells me that the TFA is objecting to the proposals. He cites the recommendations of the Rock review, which expresses concern about the way in which agents operate in general, and how arbitration is in need of some oversight and reform. The report highlights the need for a commissioner or ombudsman to oversee the operation of arbitration. The TFA’s view is that that needs to be implemented preferably before or alongside any decision to increase the appointment fee. He says that the increase in the fee would land much better with his members if they had some sort of indication or assurance that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will take seriously the recommendations set out in the Rock review on the appointment of a commissioner or ombudsman whose role is to look at the operation of arbitration.

George Dunn also tells me that most of the costs associated with accreditation, assessment, training and continuing professional development of arbitrators fall to the arbitrators themselves. As a result, the cost of using arbitrators already reflects those increasing costs, as they pass on the costs to the parties involved in the process. It is unclear what costs the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and others incur in the appointment process. None of that is on the record.

George Dunn argues that RICS should see the process of appointing arbitrators as part of its public interest work under its royal charter rather than as part of its commercial activities, particularly in the light of the recent conclusions of the Bichard review into the royal charter. Recommendation 3 of that review said that there must be a separation between the RICS portfolio of commercial activities, which the TFA would argue the appointment of arbitrators does not fall within, and its wider activities. I have not had the chance to pursue that with RICS, which may take a different view, but there is sufficient uncertainty to make me question whether it would not be more sensible to make the changes as part of a broader response to the Rock review. Indeed, having that discussion might accelerate any response from the Government. On that basis, we will not support the SI today and will divide the Committee.

[Mark Spencer]

I am disappointed by the Opposition spokesman’s comments. It appears fairly obvious to me that in Wales, where the Labour party is in charge and has the responsibility to sort the matter out, it is happy to go along with the increase, but here, where we are in charge, it somehow finds a political opposition to the increase. That is pretty disappointing.

There are two separate issues. One is the arrangements for the management of the arbitration service; the other is the cost. Today we are just sorting out the cost of the arbitration service, and £200 does not seem like a large sum for that service to be delivered. These occasions are quite rare, and in order to resolve challenges between tenants and landlords a fee has to be applicable. I think that £200 is an appropriate amount of money, particularly if we are talking about blocks of land where rents may be in excess of £150 an acre. We are talking about a fee equivalent to 1.5 acres on a block of land.

The hon. Member mentioned the Rock review. Of course, we will respond as soon as we can. I would gently say to him that it is more important to get it right than to do it quickly. He can have a response as quickly as he wants, but we want to get it right and consider it properly. There were 80-plus recommendations in that report. It deserves the Government to look at it properly, and consider how many they can adopt. I am keen to take onboard as many recommendations as possible. A lot of work went into the report, and it deserves due consideration. That is what it will get. I hope that the hon. Member will reconsider and support the motion, as his colleagues did in Wales.

[Daniel Zeichner]

I hear what the Minister says, but the increase in the rate has been waited on for eight, nine or 10 years.

[The Chair]

Order. Sorry, Mr Zeichner, but you cannot make another speech. You can intervene if you have a question for the Minister.

[Daniel Zeichner]

Okay. In that case, we will leave it there.

Question put.

Draft Air Quality (Designation of Relevant Public Authorities) (England) Regulations 2022

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2022 General Committees

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

I echo the congratulations to you, Mrs Latham. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair. It is also a pleasure to have the Minister back in her place. I am standing in for my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones); she has a long-standing engagement, visiting Chester Zoo in her role as shadow animal welfare Minister. She has asked me to send her best wishes to the Committee today.

Before us are the Air Quality (Designation of Relevant Public Authorities) (England) Regulations 2022, which we agree are an important set of regulations that allow us to address the increasingly important challenge of cleaning our air, protecting our lungs and saving our planet. I know from discussions that my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West has had with colleagues in the sector and various stakeholders, such as Tim Dexter at Asthma and Lung UK, Ruth Chambers at the Green Alliance as well as the mighty crew at ClientEarth, that the view is that the regulations are to be welcomed because they allow us to go that little bit further in the battle to preserve our environment. The Opposition agree and we will not be opposing them, but I would like to note the importance of the many demands for sustainable, long term and comprehensive action on cleaning our air. The Minister was characteristically optimistic about the state of that battle; others are slightly less positive and think there is much more to be done.

A key element of preserving our environment is clean air. It is vital that we remember that our ecosystems are damaged by toxic air and air pollution, as are our waterways and the natural habitats of our natural wildlife. And, of course, there is the impact on human life. Toxic air contributes to the deaths of people that we represent in this House. I recall that, in a speech given by my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West back in 2020, she noted that, following a number of legal challenges by ClientEarth in the High Court, the Government were forced to direct 61 local authorities to bring nitrogen dioxide levels on local roads within legal limits as soon as possible.

The regulations will allow, in part, for the expansion of clean air zones in cities that National Highways runs through. We have already heard the example of Dover; I understand the Birmingham ring road would be another good example of somewhere where there would be a benefit. This is to be welcomed as we look to be doing more and going further, but it would be helpful to understand from the Minister what support will be provided to local authorities. I rather echo the points made by the right hon. Member for Beckenham because they are also responsible for the local road network and their own fleets, and will play an important role in the fight to clean our air. Including National Highways is positive, but more agencies means more work and more liaison, so what resources are the Government making available, or is it just another unfunded demand?

We want action; we do not want hot air; we want action, and that means weighing up all factors. In conclusion, the Environment Act 2021 should have been used to finally tackle toxic air in England. Disappointingly for many in the sector and out in the country, nothing in the Act will stop the UK continuing to fall behind the EU when it comes to the green agenda and our environment. Indeed, in recent years, the Government’s air quality proposals have been ruled unlawful multiple times.

The task of making our air cleaner starts with each of us. It is important that we are all aware of the air pollution levels in the communities we live in, so we know the local challenge facing us all. Air quality management areas have an important role in that, but I ask the Minister to comment on how effective she thinks they have been. The regulations should help to make them more effective, but more needs to be done. I hope that the debate on the regulations, the comments that we have heard in the discussion and the determination of Opposition Members to keep raising these issues show Ministers that we do not want warm words—we want real action.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

It is very good news to hear that £42 million has been spent. Has the Department measured what the outcomes of that £42 million have been?

[Rebecca Pow]

Of course, there is constant review on the targets, as the hon. Gentleman knows. Indeed, we are introducing further targets, which I think he will agree will make a great deal of difference, on PM2.5 and population exposure. All of this is driving towards getting cleaner air. As I pointed out in my opening speech, our air has improved. It is just that it needs to improve a great deal more. On the funding point, we believe, through our consultation and work that we have done, that there is sufficient funding for local authorities to carry out their statutory duties. Also, it should be remembered that National Highways is funded by the Department for Transport, and that includes funding for its environmental obligations, which include action on improving air quality. Working together more collaboratively is the key to that. Guidance has already been sent to local authorities on how to operate with their new air quality partners; and so far, according to the consultation that we have done, it is all being well received.

I think that that concludes the answers to the shadow Minister’s questions. As I have outlined and as has been said, National Highways already works alongside local authorities and has had to consider actions to improve air quality to address NO₂ exceedances, because we have national statutory concentration limits on the strategic road network. But it is true to say that a lot of those roads are not meeting the limits. This instrument is proposed in the spirit of the work that National Highways is already doing. It clarifies that National Highways, as a newly designated partner, will now have this added role in working with local authorities where there are exceedances of air quality objectives. I think that that will create a much more consistent framework across the piece and that this instrument will make a difference in how local authorities can contribute to improving air quality. I call this a very positive day for air quality—not least, of course, for those who experience an impact on their health from air quality. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.

Question put and agreed to.

Support for British Farming

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 Westminster Hall

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Gary. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Devon (Simon Jupp) for securing this debate. We had many positive contributions from across the floor. They echo many of the points that have been made from Labour Benches over the last few years, whether that be on labour supply, trade deals or the importance of food production. I particularly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis) on echoing Labour’s cry to make, buy and sell more in Britain, and milk from the Hills will certainly be part of that. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) on convening his farmers groups. I wish him luck with the Minister. Should he be unlucky, I am very happy to oblige whenever he requires.

I will come to the future later, but let us start with the present. What are we seeing, and where is the support for British farming? Frankly, farming is hurting at the moment. There may be good prices for some, but there is still no respite, particularly for those in the pig sector. It is a very grim time for poultry farmers. Avian flu is horrible, and we know the APHA is struggling. As mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley Central and the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), I am afraid that last week the Secretary of State ducked my question of what happens if we get another disease outbreak. Crossing fingers and hoping it does not happen does not constitute a plan.

We should not allow avian flu to be a cover for the longer term problems egg producers have been highlighting for many months. Back in the spring, egg producers warned retailers that costs were running ahead of prices. At the egg and poultry fair, retailers failed to show up. They were replaced with cardboard cut-outs. It is a failure in the food system. What have the Government done? Nothing. The Agriculture Act was supposed to produce action on supply chain fairness, but all we have had is consultations and no outcomes.

I ask the Minister once again: where is the dairy code? Where is the pork supply chain code? Can he confirm that the daft proposal to move the Grocery Code Adjudicator into the Competition and Markets Authority is dead? Or is that yet another thing that the “Department for Running Away From Any Problem”—DEFRA as it was formerly known—does not know the answer to? At first I thought the points the hon. Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder) made about the GCA were slightly unfair, but he pointed out that it does not have the powers it needs, exactly as we argued during the passage of the Agriculture Act.

On trade, we know about the lack of support for British farming, because the former Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice), did not mince his words last week. He said that

“overall, the truth of the matter is that the UK gave away far too much for far too little in return…We did not need to give Australia or New Zealand full liberalisation in beef and sheep—it was not in our economic interest to do so, and neither Australia nor New Zealand had anything to offer”—[Official Report, 14 November 2022; Vol. 722, c. 424.]

I admire his candour. I just wish he had listened to the many organisations, including the Opposition, that made exactly the same points at the time, not many months after the Conservatives sold out British farming. No wonder so many are so furious; they are right to be.

There are more made in Britain—or rather made in Marsham Street—gaffes that are undermining British farming. Look at the meat export sector. I was at Lancaster auction mart last week to see the sheep auctions and to hear from farmers at first hand about the problems they face. There are not just high input costs, fertiliser costs and labour shortages, as if they were not enough. The latest is the gold-plating of rules for export into Europe. If that is not resolved by 13 December, it will kill the export trade. Will the Minister tell us what he is doing to resolve the situation?

How do the growers feel about the support they are getting? The NFU published a report this week showing that many are walking away from contracts and cutting production by as much as 20%. They cite a whole range of extra costs, including fertiliser, wages, packaging and transport, but the killer is energy. Farmers in competitor countries have support from their Governments, but here there is no certainty beyond a few months. The Minister knows full well that farming is a long-term businesses in which decisions about whether to plant are made many months ahead. Without certainty, the only sensible decision for too many will be not to plant. The end result is that this country will be less secure and will depend more on imports, almost certainly produced to lower standards, just as we warned during the passage of the Agriculture Act.

I could give many more examples, but let me conclude by looking briefly at future prospects. To replace basic payments under the common agriculture policy, a new system was introduced under the Agriculture Act. The intellectual case for moving away from direct support was couched in terms of public money for public goods, and we agreed with the broad principle, but we argued then—we believe we have been vindicated by subsequent events—that food security is a public good. I was delighted to hear the hon. Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas) endorse that point.

Frankly, it was never clear whether the Government believed that a volatile and vital sector such as food production requires direct Government support or just indirect support through environmental schemes. The problem now is that they seem to be achieving neither. The ELMS saga has played out in public view over recent months. The headlines in last week’s Farmers Guardian screamed out: “ELM uproar” and “New Ministers tear up scheme plans”. Perhaps the Minister can tell us what is going on. Perhaps the Minister can also tell us why Parliament is always the last place to be told. Is it true that there will be an announcement on 1 December? If so, are we invited?

Informed sources—I include the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border in that—tell me that the changes may not be as dramatic as the headlines suggest, but perhaps the Minister can clarify that. Is tier 2 ELMS being replaced by countryside stewardship? If so, is that the genuine nature recovery network system promised in the Environment Act 2021? If not, how is it supposed to work? What is happening with tier 3—the landscape recovery part of ELMS? Has it been postponed, scrapped or scaled down? Perhaps the Minister can tell us.

Replacing more than 80,000 schemes under basic payments with just a couple of thousand so far under the sustainable farming incentive leaves a whopping almost £1 billion hole in the rural economy. To some extent, I echo what the hon. Member for South Dorset said. Frankly, is that what the Conservatives mean by supporting British farming? I wonder.

What assessment has been made of the impact of all this? Does the Minister know? I have asked him before and I ask him again: what assessment has his Department made of the economic impact so far on the rural economy? What assessment has been made of the environmental impact? I do not think we will get an answer because I know the answer: none and none.

Under this Government, support for farmers and the rural economy is haemorrhaging. The failures of this Government make them a threat to our farmers, undermine our food security and, despite the heroic efforts of the staff in the agencies, are leaving us dangerously exposed in the event of further animal disease outbreaks. Our farmers deserve support. They are not getting it at the moment, but they will with a Labour Government.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mark Spencer)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Gary. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Simon Jupp) for securing the debate. I was going to start by saying that we have seen the Chamber at its best today: we have seen a huge amount of celebration of and positivity about UK agriculture. I am sorry that the speech made by the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) soured that mood, to be honest.

[Daniel Zeichner]

It is the truth.

[Mark Spencer]

The truth is that if the hon. Gentleman looks around him, he will see how many members of the Labour party are here to provide support, and how many members of the Conservative party are here. Seeing how many Conservative Back Benchers have come to take part in this very important debate demonstrates how important rural communities are to the Conservative party and to this Government.

I will respond to the hon. Gentleman later; I will start by commenting on the speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon. He talked about how the new schemes are going to change the way in which we farm. This will be an exciting moment in UK agriculture: we will move in a direction where we can balance growing food—food security is a very important part of our agricultural production and our supply chains, and it will continue to be so going forward—with improving our environment and our biodiversity.

The good news is that UK farmers are very much up for that fight. They want to get involved in it, and are very proud of the landscapes they have created. I think it was my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas) who made reference to people criticising farmers and saying that they are the problem. He hit the nail on the head: farmers are part of the solution. The beautiful rolling landscapes that we see in Cumbria and in Devon are not there by accident, but because farmers have created those landscapes through the way in which they have produced food for generation after generation. The beautiful stone walls in North Yorkshire are not there for decoration, but to keep sheep in. We need to recognise that and celebrate it, and help and support our farmers through this process, because they are up for the fight.

My hon. Friend the Member for East Devon went on to talk about trade Bills. I would put a much more positive spin on this than the hon. Member for Cambridge.

[Daniel Zeichner]

Or the former Secretary of State.

[Mark Spencer]

The former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice), was a very good Secretary of State. He fought tooth and nail on behalf of UK farmers during those debates, and secured a number of concessions from the Government on that journey. What we have been left with is a trade deal with Australia and New Zealand that has brought those countries closer to us and allowed us to co-operate and work with them, which will give us huge opportunities in future. There are massive markets around the world in Asia and North America where we can sell top-quality UK beef and lamb, working with Australia and New Zealand—which have the opposite seasonal activity to us—to supply those markets. Bringing them closer through those trade deals is the first step on that journey, and I am very proud of what UK farmers produce. We should celebrate that and make the most of it in trying to exploit those markets moving forward.

Turning to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis), I am delighted that his son is going to agricultural college—did he say Askham Bryan? I think he just said that it was a college in North Yorkshire, but I hope it is Askham Bryan, which I know is a very good college. If there was ever a moment when we needed bright young people to come into our sector—the next generation to take us forward—this is it, and I celebrate the fact that the hon. Gentleman has family getting involved in the sector. We should do all we can to encourage that. One of the first meetings I had when I took over as Minister was with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, looking at some of the work it is doing to encourage young people into the sector. It is also very in tune with some of the mental health challenges that young people and farmers in rural communities are facing. Anything I can do in this job to help it on that journey, I will do.

The hon. Member for Barnsley Central also talked about biosecurity, which is very important when it comes to dealing with avian influenza: anything we can do to increase the biosecurity of some of our professional poultry units is to be welcomed. He went on to talk about African swine fever, which is a challenge that is spreading across Europe. That is why on 1 August this year, we changed the rules: we did a spot check on items coming into the UK to see how much illegal or unregistered pork meat was coming in, and have now changed the rules so that no one can import more than 2 kg at a time. Border Force employees are on their toes, looking for any violations of those rules to make sure we keep the UK safe from African swine fever—it would be a disaster if we ended up with it.

There has been a lot of talk about seasonal workers; clearly, I am not in a position to announce those figures, but we are in close discussions with our friends in the Home Office and hope to give clarity on that issue as soon as possible. That neatly takes me to the former Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel). She started with a series of massive plugs for her constituency and the great food producers of Essex, including Tiptree, which I do recognise as one of the premium jam producers in the world, not just the country. She went on to talk about avian influenza. It is fair to say that Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk have been at the epicentre of that disaster. My heart goes out to those poor farmers who have found themselves victims of that terrible virus. The good news, from a national point of view, is that we have robust supply chains in place. There will be turkeys for Christmas. There are some challenges in the goose market, but the chicken market is also fine.

The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), who always attends these debates, is a great advocate for his farmers and fishermen. He was the first to raise the Grocery Code Adjudicator, along with my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Chris Loder), who mentioned the adjudicator a number of times. It is important to understand what the Grocery Code Adjudicator can and cannot do. Their role is to ensure that contracts that are entered into are adhered to appropriately and not violated.

If an egg producer has signed a contract at X per dozen eggs, the supermarket has the right to expect the producer to stand by that price. The producer could procure and secure the feed supply for the same period as the life expectancy of a laying hen, which is about 14 months. The producer could sign the contract for X amount per dozen, secure the price per tonne of feed and therefore protect the margin. The price of feed has gone up exponentially and farmers have reached the point where they must make a decision on whether to enter into a new contract for a new price or at the same price. About a year ago, many of them voted with their feet and said that they were not willing to sign up to that level of contract. The retailers made a mistake when they did not to see the huge challenge coming in the egg-supply market, and we are now seeing that.

What is the role of the Government? It is to encourage conversations between retailers, primary producers and wholesalers on a regular, monthly basis. The Secretary of State and I meet the farming unions, the hospitality sector, retailers and the processing sector to ensure that those conversations take place. I hope that that will continue to bear fruit, but I acknowledge there are challenges in the sector that are not linked to avian influenza.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) has been a great advocate for farming for a long time. He was one of those who celebrated my elevation to this position. So many people celebrated my arrival at the Dispatch Box, I felt like Ronaldo must have felt when he joined Man U and all the fans celebrated. I reflect on how that worked out in the end—let’s see how that goes.

My hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset talked about grant funding, and he will have seen today that we have announced some grant funding to help farmers improve slurry systems. We are very much committed to supporting farmers with capital expenditure to allow them to invest in new tech, especially if that will benefit animal welfare and the involvement of modern practices and technology in food production.

My hon. Friend went on to talk about bovine TB, of course. There is probably not enough time for me to get into that subject today, but what I will say is that we must use every tool in the box to fight bovine TB. That includes vaccinating badgers, it includes ensuring that we have improved biosecurity and it includes culling badgers where that is essential. We should be guided by the science and not by anything else—not by the calendar and not by political lobbying, but by the science. That is what the Government will do.

I think that, for the first time, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) managed to get to the right of my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset when he committed to shooting every fox in Northern Ireland. I wish him well in his pursuit—[Interruption.] I know it was tongue in cheek. He is a huge advocate for the farmers of Northern Ireland, and they are great food producers. He also mentioned the price of fertiliser and the challenges with fertiliser, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Dr Hudson), who talked about CF Fertilisers. Yesterday I met my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to see what we can do to co-operate and work together to assist CF in ensuring that we continue to supply the nation with ammonium nitrate, nitric acid and carbon dioxide, which of course is very important.

I know that I am running out of time, but I want to make a couple of comments about my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives, who talked about potato and dairy farmers leaving the sector and the importance of education. Education of our consumers is one area where we could criticise the agricultural sector. I do not think that we have done a very good job as farmers—I put my hand up as one of those farmers—of ensuring that our consumers understand how and where our food is produced. We have to do better to ensure that the next generation fully understands where and how our food is produced. Education was also mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra).

My hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border talked about grant schemes, which I hope I have mentioned. He also mentioned the work of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which is under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Sir Robert Goodwill). It continues to be a great critical friend of the Department, and I would encourage it to continue its great work.

My hon. Friend for Penrith and The Border also talked about the reward for—that is, payments for—hedgerows and so on. I hope that when we announce the new schemes, which I hope will be very soon, he will see the fruits of those discussions. I am very keen to ensure that farmers want to take part in the schemes and feel part of the solution. But money is not the only barrier. I think that we can help, assist with, and tweak some farming practices. Hedgerows are a good example. It is not just about money; it is about being able to get on to the land and cut the hedges at the right time. If we can fund and assist with wildlife strips by the side of the hedgerows, it is possible to cut a hedgerow in January and February without running on to the commercial crop. That has the added benefit of creating a wildlife corridor and leaving berries and so on the hedgerows for wild birds to feed on during that time.

I think I have run out of time—apart from for mentioning the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart), who gave us his rant about Brexit once again. We will have to come back to that on another occasion, but I enjoy the same loop of conversation we have with him every time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab)]

Food production is vulnerable to animal disease, and we have heard about the impact of avian flu on supermarkets, which are limiting the sale of eggs. This week, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted what it describes as

“a long period of inadequate management and under investment in the Weybridge site”

of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The PAC warned that the APHA would struggle if there were a concurrent disease outbreak. As the Secretary of State well knows, other diseases do threaten. Although staff are doing their very best, what is her plan if we face another disease outbreak, or is it just fingers crossed in the hope that it does not happen on her watch?

[Dr Coffey]

I have been at COP27 for the past few days, so I have not read all of the PAC report, but I reject its assertion that our biosecurity is not well done. We should be proud that the United Kingdom is protected against such diseases, and that will continue. That is why the APHA is an important part of what DEFRA does, not only for England but for the UK.