Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between George Eustice and Christian Matheson(3 years ago)
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George Eustice
The legislation on increasing the maximum penalty for animal cruelty is nearing its completion. I have a high degree of confidence that we will be able to get it through before the end of the Session. Indeed, we will say more about that over the next day or so.
Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
Agricultural Transition Plan
Debate between George Eustice and Christian Matheson(3 years, 5 months ago)
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George Eustice
Yes. The Agriculture Act 2020 sets out clear objectives on animal health and welfare, as well as the environmental objectives. We recognise that animal health and welfare is a public good, and it is right that the public are willing to support improvements in that regard. The Act also includes support for genetic resources—such as our native and rare breeds—that many farmers in many parts of the country will be able to access.
Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
The Secretary of State is a farmer himself, so he will know that farms cannot simply be turned on or off, as local farmers around my constituency in Cheshire have pointed out to me. They have noticed that participants in the ELM scheme will be paid a “competitive” rate; when will they be given details of what that competitive rate is, so that they can start to plan for the future and know exactly when they can alter their long-term plans for the management of their farms to meet the requirements proposed in the White Paper?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between George Eustice and Christian Matheson(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)
I understand that in 2019, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and FareShare worked on a pilot scheme to make sure that surplus food was diverted to people who needed it. That is still being evaluated. When will Ministers come up with the evaluation? Is now not a good time to put the scheme into practice?
George Eustice
As I said, we are working with food banks and retailers to ensure that they have the supply of food they need through schemes such as FareShare.