The Agriculture Bill was debated in the House of
Commons on Wednesday for the report stage and subsequent third
reading.
Following the outcome, the CLA has issued the
following response.
CLA President Mark Bridgeman
said:
Transition
“It is deeply frustrating that calls to delay the
start of the transition from direct payments has been ignored by
the UK Government.
“It’s crucial, more than ever, that farming
businesses are given the right information so they can plan for
the future and adapt to the new system.
“The Environmental Land Management Scheme has the
potential to be a world leading land management policy and it
deserves to succeed – but if the transition starts before the
details are fully understood then it puts farmers in a very
difficult position. Government should publish full details
of how the new schemes will work in practice and how we will
transition, as soon as possible.”
Trade
“We’re also disappointed that the trade amendments
didn’t pass.”
“It was notable that a wide coalition of farming
organisations and environmentalists came together to make our
concerns known. We hope the Lords will allow for more time
to closely scrutinise the risks to food production in this
country of not having a level playing field with international
competitors in the next stage of the Bill.”
“We owe it to British consumers to ensure that any
food that we import under any potential trade
deals meet the same high standards of animal welfare and
environmental protection as is expected of UK food
producers. Importing food
produced to low animal welfare and environmental standards to
undercut UK farmers is unacceptable.”
