Agriculture: Government Support Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Karl Turner
Main Page: Karl Turner (Independent - Kingston upon Hull East)Department Debates - View all Karl Turner's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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Karl Turner (in the Chair)
Richard Foord will move the motion. I will then call the Minster to respond. I remind Members that they may make a speech only with the prior permission of the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for a 30-minute debate.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for agriculture.
It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Mr Turner. It is good to have the Minister in her place. I hope she will forgive me if I take a direct tone. It was a direct tone that members of the National Farmers’ Union in my area of Honiton and Sidmouth took with me when we met last Friday in Devon.
Food security is fundamental to our national resilience. At a time of global instability, farming underpins the rural economy, although we tend to take the produce for granted.
Sarah Gibson (Chippenham) (LD)
Farmers across Wiltshire, especially in my constituency of Chippenham, say that Government support is not working. They are disappointed that Labour is compounding the damage left by the Conservatives, with an underspend of millions in the farming budget. Shockingly, the Government’s own statistics say that in 2023-24, between 17% and 29% of farming families did not turn a profit.
Karl Turner (in the Chair)
Order. I remind Members that interventions should be short.
Sarah Gibson
Absolutely. I just wanted to ensure that my colleague agreed with me that we would like the Minister to consider farming.