Written Question
Monday 30th October 2017
Asked by:
Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote increased vegetable consumption at the Food Foundations Veg Summit on 24 October 2017.
Answered by George Eustice
At the Food Foundations vegetable Summit of 24 October, the Minister took part in a panel to discuss vegetable production. At the Summit, I pledged that Government would launch a new web market that food producers, including vegetable producers, could use to promote their products to public sector bodies to increase public procurement of nutritious local food.
Written Question
Friday 2nd December 2016
Asked by:
Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health on the potential health implications of the lifting of EU sugar quotas.
Answered by George Eustice
The removal of EU sugar beet quotas will allow British growers to move towards competing with other sugar producers around the world. The Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan includes a range of actions to support families in reducing their sugar consumption, including a new Soft Drinks Industry Levy on sugary drinks and a challenge to industry to reduce 20% of sugar from the products that contribute most sugar to children’s diets by 2020. Defra meets regularly with the Department for Health and Public Health England to discuss these and other issues.
Written Question
Tuesday 9th December 2014
Asked by:
Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question
to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has she made of the implications for her Department's policies of the findings of the recent European Union Food and Veterinary Office report on India, audit number 2014-2705.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The report was discussed in the Plant Health section of the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed in November. After consideration by the Commission and Member States, the Committee will advise on whether enough has been done to justify an early review of the EU legislation which imposes the ban. We are pressing for an early decision, to provide clarity in advance of the next mango import season.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"I am most grateful to the House for giving me the opportunity to raise the important matter of European Union’s ban on the importation of Indian Alphonso mangos. I am very pleased to see so many Members in the Chamber, including my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester South (Jonathan …..."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"I am delighted to hear that, and my hon. Friend did the right thing in eating mangos before she landed, or else she might have been arrested for eating them here.
The United Kingdom is the mango’s true home in the EU as we are the largest importer of the …..."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"There are many salad crop growers in urban Reading, and I know that the hon. Gentleman would be keen to protect them. I can assure him that, as I will say in my speech, this has already been done...."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"Yes.
Leicester is the mango capital of Britain. Last year it hosted the first-ever mango festival in Cossington park in Belgrave in my constituency: four giant elephants dominated the scene and many hundreds of boxes of mangos were consumed. Retailers in Leicester have told me that they will face critical …..."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"I agree, and I will set out an action plan to address the issue, which I hope the Government will follow.
I raised this issue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and in his response he stated that the reason for the ban was that …..."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"My hon. Friend is right to suggest that it will not be a proper summer without mangos in Leicester. This is a serious issue that will affect many of our constituents...."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 08 May 2014
Mango Import Ban
"I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He is an assiduous worker in his constituency, and I know how strongly he feels about this issue. I will set out what the Indian Government have done, which will include fresh information that arrived from India today.
Let me go back to what …..."Keith Vaz - View Speech
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