(Sedgefield) (Lab): I
congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, which is
really important for Teesside and the south Durham area. I want
to raise an issue about farming. The National Farmers Union has
put out a report on the importance of bioethanol. My constituency
covers 150 square miles and is an agricultural area of County
Durham. Does my hon. Friend understand what the NFU has briefed
on the implications of this for climate change? It could lead to
700,000 cars being taken off the road. We require an
infrastructure that can secure that, especially in the
agriculture industry, where we can grow the appropriate crops for
this kind of industry to prosper. We are missing an opportunity
should we not invest in it...
(Strangford)
(DUP):...I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster
Farmers Union, a sister body of the National
Farmers Union. I will make some short comments from
the point of view of the farmers union. I am keen to see how we
can all benefit from the promotion of the bioethanol industry
sector across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, because if we all pursue the policy, we
should all get the benefit...
(Stockton North)
(Lab):...The National Farmers Union also
supports the call for E10 as it provides vital opportunities for
thousands of farmers, including the seven in my constituency.
Without the bioethanol industry, farmers who sell crops for
bioethanol production would be forced to export their crops and
they would lose, as I said earlier, £10 a tonne if they did that.
There are plenty of reasons for the Government to stop dragging
their feet and make a positive decision to benefit people in my
constituency and further afield, and hundreds of jobs could be
created in my constituency...
