Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Thursday 20th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

As the hon. Lady will know, there has been an issue with the voisinage agreement, a long-standing agreement between the UK and the Irish Republic. There had been an issue with the Irish courts on this, and I discussed it just a couple of weeks ago with the Irish Minister, when we also talked about the arrangements we might have after Brexit.

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

Like my constituency neighbour my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), I have the honour of representing a constituency whose farmers feed the country. Will my hon. Friend the Minister work to ensure that farmers in Louth and Horncastle and beyond are not put at a disadvantage with their EU competitors when these exciting new trade deals are negotiated?

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend represents an important farming constituency, and I reassure her that I worked in the farming industry for 10 years and am passionate about it. I have been going up and down the country in recent months meeting farmers to discuss their concerns. We have a fantastic opportunity now on leaving the EU to design a new agriculture policy that is fit for purpose.

Future Flood Prevention

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

I start by thanking the Government for listing this estimates day debate so conveniently—it follows on from the monumental event of my second flood forum in Sandilands on Friday evening. I hope to be able to help the House with the conclusions drawn from that important event.

The reason I hold flood forums in my constituency is that it provides a chance to bring experts together so that local residents can raise issues with them and so that together we can find solutions. Flooding is a real risk in my constituency, both along the magnificent Lincolnshire coastline and further inland in the beautiful Lincolnshire wolds. Sadly, that threat was demonstrated only too keenly on Friday 13 January, when a state of civil emergency was declared along the Lincolnshire coastline, weather forecasts having suggested that a tidal surge could overtop the already substantial sea defences and put many tens of thousands of lives at risk.

As soon as the state of civil emergency was declared, more than 30 local and national organisations pulled together to ensure that residents were kept as safe as possible. I am extremely grateful to the Minister here today and the Armed Forces Minister for putting together a plan to bring more than 200 soldiers from Catterick to Louth and the surrounding area. They knocked on more than 1,000 doors in 72 hours to ensure that the most vulnerable people were offered the option of evacuation if they wanted it. I had better also mention the Burma and Quebec Company of 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, because they have been very good on Facebook.

We also had an incredible response from our emergency services. Fire officers, police officers, the ambulance teams, as well as volunteers, including from LIVES and the Red Cross, all played a vital role in our response. Emergency rescue centres were set up in a matter of hours. I had the pleasure of visiting the one at the Meridian centre in Louth to see for myself the comfort that vulnerable residents were receiving there. I also had the privilege of visiting the gold command centre in Lincoln, led capably by Chief Superintendent Shaun West, on that Friday night to see all the teams working together as they happily reached the decision locally and nationally that the weather had turned and the risk had been averted. I place on the record my thanks to everyone involved in that huge effort. I am proud that Lincolnshire showed the rest of the country how to respond calmly and professionally to such threats when they arise. It is better to be safe than sorry in those circumstances.

Today, however, we are talking about future flood prevention. I am grateful to the Government because for the last five years to 2015, more than £50 million has been provided through grant in aid to protect more than 23,000 households from flooding along the coast. I am delighted that this scheme is continuing under the current Government with a £39 million programme of grant-in-aid capital to extend protection to a further 14,500 households.

When it comes to flood prevention on the coast, the future is an interesting one. We discussed in the flood forum on Friday night the possibility of building groynes into the coastline, which can provide in turn marinas and interesting environments for tourists to enjoy the wonders of the Lincolnshire coastline even more. Both smaller investment schemes and the full flood protection scheme are important. For example, £1 million is being spent on replacing the Saltfleet pumping station and £385,000 is being used to refurbish Theddlethorpe pumping station. All these measures play their own vital role in making sure that my constituency remains resilient to whatever threat the sea throws at us.

What of inland flooding? Not many people know that Lincolnshire has hills. Indeed, the Lincolnshire wolds have some beautiful hills. Sadly, though, with that beauty comes some rainfall, and the market towns and villages in the wolds have to deal with fluvial flooding from time to time. That is why the new flood alleviation schemes in Louth and in Horncastle are overwhelmingly welcomed by the local communities. This is particularly important as developers seek to build yet more houses between the wolds and the coast. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow) is concentrating on this issue, too.

I add my own to the voices of colleagues who have urged the Minister to encourage insurance businesses in considering insurance policy protections not just to look at households, but to extend those protections to businesses. This is critical to small businesses in my constituency, including pubs and restaurants that rely on the beautiful architecture of their market towns to entice people to visit them. We need this insurance to protect businesses as much as to protect homes.

I am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to share the delights of my constituency and the thoughts of constituents from the second flood forum in Louth and Horncastle. I look forward to holding many more of those forums. I am going to develop a rolling programme of them over the years, so that my constituents can come to me with problems—and if we cannot sort them out, I will write to the Minister in the hope that she can do so. I express the wish that everyone in my constituency and everyone living in flood risk areas will stay safe and dry for the rest of this year.

Leaving the EU: the Rural Economy

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to contribute to this important debate. It is clear from my perspective that our rural communities and rural economy have not fared well during our time as a member of the European Union. There is one thing that was even worse for the rural economy than being part of the EU, and that was 13 years of Labour Government. It is quite laughable that the Labour Front-Bench spokesman suggested that rural Britain has something to fear from a Tory Government, because I can tell the House from Cornwall that 13 years of Labour did no favours to our rural economy. We need to understand that leaving the EU presents some great opportunities for rural Britain.

As has been mentioned, much of our rural economy is dominated by agriculture and fishing and neither have been able to thrive in the way that I believe they can while we have been part of the EU. The one-size-fits-all common agricultural policy and common fisheries policy in which we have to take into consideration all 28 member states simply does not work for Britain. The British countryside is unique; there is nowhere like it in the European Union and leaving the EU presents us with an opportunity to develop policies for agriculture and fisheries and to manage and invest in our countryside in a way that will be fit for the British countryside and British rural communities. I believe that that great opportunity is facing us now that we have decided to leave, and we can make the most of it.

I am often asked what will replace the European funding—the hundreds of millions of pounds that we have had from the EU, or should I say through the EU, for Cornwall. Let us remember that that money is British taxpayers’ money that is recycled through the European Union and comes with strings attached under heavy bureaucracy, so we are unable to invest it in the things that we really need to invest it in. Leaving the EU will give us an opportunity to have a regional development fund fit for the UK and fit for Cornwall. We will be able to spend it on the things that we want to spend it on and the things that Cornwall needs us to spend it on without the bureaucracy, box ticking and form filling that so many businesses find is needed just to qualify for the grant. I am confident that Cornwall and rural communities across Britain will have the opportunity to thrive and trade with the world once again.

We seem to think that once we leave the EU it will suddenly stop wanting to buy our world-class produce. Of course the EU will still want Cornish clotted cream and Cornish seafood, but this will give us the opportunity to trade with the emerging markets around the world, such as China, where there is a growing demand. I am confident—

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Steve Double]

I will happily give way—

--- Later in debate ---

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

As we have heard, British food and farming are central to our national identity and a key part of the UK’s economy, generating £110 billion a year and employing one in eight people across the country, some of whom are employed on the small but none the less very important number of farms in my constituency, along with Hayhead farm shop and other food-related businesses.

In debating farming and fisheries in the context of this Opposition day motion, it is important that we recognise the role that all farmers play in managing the countryside, wherever they are in the UK, and the work that they do. I come from a farming background. My dad worked in farming for 40-odd years; he has probably never had a mention in this place before. I know that for many, farming is not a nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday job—it is a 365-days-a-year job in what can be a very challenging sector. That is why, in this post-23 June era, I am pleased that at this stage, as the Government prepare to leave the EU, we are guaranteeing that current levels of agricultural support will be maintained until 2020.

[Victoria Atkins]

Is my hon. Friend, like me, very pleased to hear the Secretary of State for Brexit’s announcement that agriculture will be at the centre of future trade negotiations with the EU and the rest of the world?

[Wendy Morton]

My answer to that is short and simple: absolutely yes.

Agricultural support is being maintained until 2020 to provide stability while a new agricultural policy is being developed, and we are guaranteeing for their lifetimes any agri-environment schemes that are already in place or are agreed in future, even if they run beyond our departure from the EU. Anything we can do help to build a sense of stability will be good for the industry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Thérèse Coffey]

The original 127 sites were cited, but we have to follow the scientific evidence. That is the basis of this process. It is not about setting arbitrary targets but about making sure that we have a scientifically robust blue belt. That is what we will continue to do with the next phase of consultation.

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

Several farmers in my constituency of Louth and Horncastle have complained to me that the Rural Payments Agency has made mistakes in the land maps that determine how much they are paid. Will my hon. Friend help me to advise them on what can be done to address that, now and in future, so that farmers in my constituency receive fair payment for the land that is actually theirs?

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Lots of farmers have been affected by the challenges we face in this first year of the new, more complex common agricultural policy scheme. A number of farmers —several thousand—had to go through a reconciliation process where we had to match some of the land-use codes they had with the land maps, which caused some complexity. I believe that the issue has now been resolved, but if she has any specific cases that are still a problem I am happy to meet her to discuss them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

We are currently discussing the details of that, but the Treasury was clear that at least £40 million in the first year will go into maintenance, and £200 million of the initial allocation will go to capital spending on flood defences.

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

16. The Lincolnshire wolds are beautiful but suffer from flooding. How many homes will be protected in the market towns of Horncastle and Louth as a result of the flood alleviation schemes that are funded in part by this Government, Lincolnshire County Council, and East Lindsey Council?

[Rory Stewart]

Some 13,989 properties are due to be protected, including more than 300 in the areas mentioned by my hon. Friend.

Flooding

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

My constituents in Louth and Horncastle know only too well the devastation caused by flooding and will want me to express our sympathy for all those affected by flooding over Christmas. The beach replenishment scheme called Lincshore helps to protect the Lincolnshire coastline from the threat of tidal surges from the North sea, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers) mentioned. Since 2010, the Government have invested millions in flood defences across my constituency, but these must, of course, be maintained. Will the Secretary of State meet me, other Lincolnshire colleagues, including my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Matt Warman), and council leaders as a matter of urgency to discuss the Lincshore scheme so that we can continue to protect Lincolnshire residents in the years ahead?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have protected flood maintenance spending in real terms from the current level of £171 million. I am a great supporter of internal drainage boards and making sure that they are sufficiently empowered to do work. I am sure that the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), who has responsibility for floods, will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Rory Stewart)]

I am afraid that I do not have a great deal of detail on that issue now, so I will be happy to sit down with the hon. Gentleman and discuss it further. Climate adaptation is baked through our departmental policy. It sounds to me as though this is something we need to discuss with the hon. Gentleman, communities, local government and, in particular, the housing taskforce.

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

T3. “Water adds value.” That was the conclusion of the Canal & River Trust when it studied the economic, social and environmental benefits of waterways restoration projects over the past 20 years. Will the Minister join me in praising the hard-working volunteers of the Louth Navigation Trust, who for the past 30 years have been working hard to restore the Louth canal to its full glory?

[Rory Stewart]

I pay real tribute to the work of the Louth Navigation Trust. We are at an exciting moment with the Louth canal, with the potential removal of the Phillips 66 pipe. If we are able to deal with some of the land ownership issues and, in particular, work with my hon. Friend to talk with Merton College, Oxford, which appears to control access to the canal, then we can get what she and the Louth Navigation Trust have fought so hard for. I thank her for her interest.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Atkins Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Rory Stewart]

My hon. Friend has an enormous amount of experience in this area. We can do much more to help on flooding, including restoration of peatland, woodland and wetland areas, which not only benefits flood alleviation, but considerably benefits habitats and the biodiversity that depends on them.

[Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

My hon. Friend has mentioned the Lincshore scheme, which is vital to protecting the Lincolnshire coast, and he will know that the deadline to ensure next year’s use of the scheme is this November. Will he meet me and my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Matt Warman) before November to discuss the final funding details for the scheme?

[Rory Stewart]

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the final details of the Lincshore scheme, to which the Environment Agency is committed. The work, particularly the movement of sand, has taken the level of protection from one in 50 years to one in 200 years. That is something of which the House should be very proud.