Small Abattoirs
Debate between John Lamont and Daniel Zeichner(3 days, 21 hours ago)
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John Lamont
The Minister is absolutely right to highlight the importance of supporting local food production and ensuring that consumers here in the UK buy local. I just wonder how that stacks up with what President Trump has just said, which is that this new UK-US trade deal
“includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all the products produced by our great farmers.”
How does that fit in with encouraging people to buy British products?
Daniel Zeichner
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for taking the opportunity to shoehorn a wider issue into the debate this afternoon. I would encourage him to look more closely at the details as presented by the UK Government, which are a very reliable source of information.
Daniel Zeichner
I could not possibly comment. I will return to the issue of small abattoirs, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government are absolutely committed to making sure that we uphold the very high standards that we have in this country, and that is what we have achieved through the agreement.
Returning to small abattoirs, we are working to modernise statutory livestock traceability services, which should make a big difference over the next two to three years and make it less burdensome for all actors in the supply chain to report the movement of animals into their premises. As we advance those opportunities, we have been working with the industry to identify ways of helping to alleviate the pressures that smaller abattoirs face with the disposal of animal by-products and with labour supply—again, points that were raised in the opening speeches. We will continue to work closely with the industry to explore potential solutions.
To further support economic growth, we remain committed to harnessing the purchasing power of the procurement supply chain to set the tone for delivering our wider ambitions on sustainability, animal welfare and health. We have an ambition to supply half of all food into the public sector from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards, in line with our World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations.
For the first time, as the Secretary of State announced at the Oxford farming conference in January, the Government will review the food currently bought by the public sector and where it is bought from. That work will be a significant first step to inform future changes to public sector food procurement policies, helping to create an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts.
As the Secretary of State also announced, we are committed to streamlining planning processes for agricultural infrastructure through the Government’s planned consultation on the national planning policy framework. That will give us the opportunity to consult on reforms to expedite the construction of essential farm infrastructure, such as buildings, barns and other facilities necessary for boosting food production, while also improving environmental sustainability.
As the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, I am absolutely committed to helping smaller abattoirs to succeed and to take advantage of the opportunities available to them by continuing to support the meat industry where and when I can. To support employment in the meat processing sector—a point raised by several Members—the Government are taking firm action to address the challenges we have identified through our engagement with that sector.
We are reforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and will align with the industrial strategy. That will include shorter-duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted, growing sectors. That will help more people to learn high quality skills at work and will fuel innovation in businesses across the country. The Government will set out our plans for further steps and detailed information on the growth and skills offer in due course, based on the findings of Skills England’s engagement over the autumn with key partners, including employers and training providers.
As part of our commitment to strengthening vital sectors across the agricultural and food industries, we have also announced measures to provide stability to farmers and workers in the UK’s poultry sector. In February, the Government announced a five-year extension to the seasonal worker visa until the end of 2030, ensuring a reliable pipeline of workers for farms. As in previous years, 2,000 visas have been allocated specifically for seasonal poultry workers, and annual quota reviews will balance farm support with reducing reliance on seasonal migrant labour, helping farms to grow with stability and confidence.
I turn to funding. Despite the ongoing financial challenges posed by a very tight public purse, we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, with the largest ever investment directed at sustainable food production and nature recovery. Capital investment will not solve every problem, but we do plan to simplify and rationalise grant funding to ensure that grants deliver the best benefit for food security and nature. We are currently working to agree our capital settlement as part of the spending review and, once it is agreed, we will consider how best to use capital to achieve outcomes.
In closing, I thank the meat processing sector and smaller abattoirs specifically for their continued commitment to supplying the nation with healthy and wholesome food. The Government stand with them, and I look forward to continuing to work with the sector to build a stronger and more secure future for British agriculture and food production.
Fly-tipping: West Midlands
Debate between John Lamont and Daniel Zeichner(1 month ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
We absolutely recognise the gravity of the situation, but we believe that the best thing to do is to work with people locally to try to get a solution. It is a complicated situation, as has been outlined by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield, and I think we had better concentrate on trying to get a solution than scoring political points.
Daniel Zeichner
Absolutely—I will happily have a further tit-for-tat with the hon. Gentleman.
John Lamont
I view this as an important part of our democratic process, not as a tit-for-tat. It is important to recognise the concerns around that deposit return scheme. I was a Minister in the Scotland Office when the Scottish Government put forward proposals, and the previous Government were concerned about how those would impact on the operation of the internal market in the UK. Are the current Government saying that having different deposit return schemes in different parts of the UK is no longer a concern?
Daniel Zeichner
The point we are making is that it is quite extraordinary that the Conservative party in government promoted a piece of legislation that the party in opposition now appears not to support.
I am going to move back to fly-tipping, because that is the subject of the debate. We recognise the role of the public in tackling fly-tipping. Approximately 60% of fly-tips involve household waste, and householders have a legal duty to take all reasonable measures to ensure that they give their waste only to an authorised person. They should check the register of waste carriers to avoid giving waste to criminals who promise quick, cheap waste collection but only go on to dump it in our communities. I have asked officials to look at how we can strengthen the regulatory regime for waste carriers, brokers and dealers to crack down on the waste criminals.
We also need to help householders to get rid of their rubbish before they turn to rogue waste collectors. Simpler recycling will provide all householders with a comprehensive and consistent set of waste and recycling services, end confusion and enable householders to recycle as much waste as possible. DEFRA recently published guidance to ensure that local authorities consider certain factors when they review services, such as residual waste collections, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. Those include ensuring that there are no disamenity impacts, such as an increase in the fly-tipping of residual waste. We expect local authorities to monitor any changes to collection frequencies to ensure that there are no adverse consequences.
We also recognise the importance of household waste recycling centres, which was mentioned by Opposition Members. It is for local authorities to make the relevant decisions. They hold the responsibility for the operation and management of such centres in their areas.
I recognise the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to rural areas, and recognise that more than 80% of farmers say that they have been affected by fly-tipping on their land. We will continue to work with the National Farmers Union and others through the national fly-tipping prevention group to promote and disseminate good practice on how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Whether it is councils, individuals or businesses, when we all work together we can tackle fly-tipping and littering more effectively. Our work with the national fly-tipping prevention group, which includes councils, the Environment Agency and police representatives, is identifying issues, highlighting innovative ways of tackling fly-tipping and sharing best practice.
Members on both sides spoke warmly about their experiences of volunteering. I commend all those who have been out picking up litter themselves, as I have done in the past, as well as all the volunteers in voluntary groups around the country. The Government have been proud to support Keep Britain Tidy’s excellent Great British spring clean campaign, and my colleague, the Minister for nature, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East, was pleased to speak at the launch event earlier this year. DEFRA colleagues recently cleaned a section of the Regent’s canal with the help of the Canal and River Trust. I urge everyone to try to get involved in helping to create an environment we can be proud of.
Reducing waste in the first place should mean that there is less of it to be dumped unlawfully. In our manifesto, we committed to moving to a circular economy, in which resources are kept in use for longer and waste is minimised. The Secretary of State has convened a circular economy taskforce of experts from industry, academia, civil society and beyond to help the Government to develop a circular economy strategy for England.
The strategy will be supported by a series of road maps, detailing the interventions that the Government and others will make. Among other things, the outputs will aim to support economic growth and tackle threats to our environment and circularity, such as fly-tipping. What gets tipped is often landfilled, rather than recycled, remanufactured or repurposed.
In conclusion, this Government believe that whether someone lives in the countryside, a town or a city, they should be able to walk through their community feeling proud of a clean environment that is free of rubbish and litter. That is why we are committed to stamping out antisocial behaviour such as fly-tipping from our streets and countryside. It is time to dump the excuses. Working with councils, regulators and others, we will force offenders to clean up their mess, put a stop to waste criminals and together keep our communities clean.
Foot and Mouth Disease
Debate between John Lamont and Daniel Zeichner(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Daniel Zeichner
I recognise the hurt that the hon. Lady recollects from that dreadful time. A great deal of work was done in the light of those events, and lessons have been learnt; for instance, technology has changed and improved. I will not go into all those lessons, which are probably worthy of a longer debate, but it is important for us to act on them, because we do not want a repeat of what happened in 2001.
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
Like many other Members, I clearly remember the events of 2001, not least because all the cattle and sheep on our family farm—my father’s farm in Berwickshire—were slaughtered. The emotional trauma will stay with farming communities for many years to come. I am reassured that this Government are engaging with the Scottish Government, but is the Minister also speaking to NFU Scotland and to local authorities, to ensure that they are able to support farming communities in the best way possible?
Daniel Zeichner
The hon. Gentleman has spoken with passion and conviction about that dreadful time, and I fully respect that. We were notified of the outbreak on Friday; today is Wednesday. Of course we are ready to move to the next stage should it be necessary, but at this point the key priority must be ensuring that we keep the disease out of our country, and that is where the attention is currently focused. In the dismal eventuality that we have to move to measures within our country, we will of course work very closely with everyone who needs to be involved.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between John Lamont and Daniel Zeichner(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Daniel Zeichner)
The Labour Government have committed £5 billion to the agricultural budget over the next two years—the biggest budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in our history. It is good for British farming, it is good for the country, and it should be welcomed by the Opposition.
John Lamont
This week, the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, Martin Kennedy, said:
“The new UK Government’s first budget…hammered hard-working family farms and crofts with crippling tax bills”.
The Minister has accused the Conservatives of scare- mongering about Labour’s family farm tax. Is the National Farmers Union of Scotland also scaremongering?
Daniel Zeichner
I talk regularly to the National Farmers Union of Scotland. I respect it fully, but I genuinely say, as I have said on many occasions, that we need to look closely at the figures and look at the detail. We will find that the vast majority of farmers in this country will be fine.