Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State was asked—
Great Britain-Northern Ireland Pet Travel
(Belfast South) (SDLP)
If he will take steps to ensure that the new regulations for
Great Britain-Northern Ireland pet travel are not overly
restrictive.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
The Northern Ireland protocol under the European Union withdrawal
agreement applies the EU pet travel regulations for pet movements
from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Great Britain has
currently been listed by the EU in part 2 of the regulations,
which requires some documentation. However, Great Britain and
Ireland have a similarly very high health status, and we are
discussing possible bilateral provisions with Ireland. In the
meantime, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural
Affairs is taking a pragmatic approach in this initial period.
[V]
I assume that the Secretary of State is aware of the challenges
this causes for ordinary pet owners, but specifically can he
advise what mitigations were anticipated and are being put in
place for those who require assistance dogs to travel between
Britain and Northern Ireland?
The primary purpose of the pet travel regulations is to control
the spread of rabies, and both Ireland and Great Britain have
very similar and very high health status on rabies, having not
had it in dogs previously. We therefore think that there should
be easement on the provision; we have argued with the Commission
that we should be listed in part 1, but we are continuing to make
those bilateral negotiations with Ireland a priority.
Buckskin Flood Alleviation Scheme
(Basingstoke)
(Con)
What discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on when
the Buckskin flood alleviation scheme in Basingstoke will be
completed.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
I understand that the Buckskin flood alleviation scheme became
operational on 24 December, Christmas eve, reducing flood risk to
170 homes. Final minor works are now scheduled to be completed by
the end of January 2021, and the scheme has been delivered within
budget despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mrs Miller [V]
That is welcome news, because just a few years ago Buckskin was
devastated by floods. My thoughts are with those who were flooded
out last night in Greater Manchester, north Wales and Merseyside.
No one can stop flooding completely, particularly groundwater
flooding, so in addition to this very welcome flood scheme, what
assurance can my hon. Friend give that homes affected by floods
will still be able to get property insurance?
I thank my right hon. Friend for highlighting that issue. The
joint Government and industry Flood Re scheme was designed to
help householders at high flood risk to access affordable
insurance. Flood Re is available from more than 85 insurance
brands now; more than 300,000 properties have benefited since its
launch. Before Flood Re just 9% of households who had made flood
claims could get quotes from two or more insurers, but in June
2020, 96% of households with prior flood claims could receive
quotes from five or more, so I hope my right hon. Friend agrees
that that is a hugely improved situation.
(Barnsley
East) (Lab) [V]
Many parts of the country are currently facing severe flood
warnings, and our thoughts are with those who have been flooded
overnight. We need a proactive rather than a reactive approach to
this crisis, so will the Minister today commit to holding an
emergency flood summit that brings together agencies and regional
leaders to make sure that we have a co-ordinated response to
support local communities?
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
We held a flood summit covering the south Yorkshire area shortly
before Christmas later last year. I have also said that we want
to hold a series of roundtable meetings around the country
covering individual water catchments.
Distant Fleet Fishing
(Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)
What recent progress has been made on negotiations for distant
fleet fishing for 2021.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
Last Thursday, the UK Government published the determination of
fishing opportunities for British fishing boats covering the
period to 31 March this year. Licences have been issued for 2,750
tonnes of cod in the waters around Svalbard, which result from
arrangements between the UK and Norway. The UK’s first annual
bilateral negotiations with Norway will also be relevant to
distant waters fishing, in particular with regard to Arctic cod.
[V]
Three weeks have passed since the transition ended and still the
Hull trawler Kirkella is laid up in its home port unable to sail.
The short licence the Secretary of State just mentioned to fish
off Svalbard is for a fraction of the previous quota, which means
it cannot operate viably, and still fishers’ jobs are at risk. We
cannot lose Hull’s last link with its distant fleet fishing
heritage, so I again ask: how much longer will they have to wait
for a sensible and viable annual fishing quota for both the
Norwegian zone and Svalbard?
It is not unusual for the annual fishing negotiations to go into
January. This year, there has obviously been the very special
circumstance that the withdrawal agreement came late, but in 2014
access was suspended while negotiations with Norway continued
through January. We would anticipate that these negotiations
would conclude within the next couple of weeks, and then access
for Arctic cod, should that be agreed, could be resumed.
Food Imports and Exports
(Enfield, Southgate) (Lab)
What steps he has taken to prevent disruption to food (a) imports
and (b) exports since the end of the transition period.
(Ealing
Central and Acton) (Lab)
What steps he has taken to prevent disruption to food (a) imports
and (b) exports since the end of the transition period.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
We have engaged extensively with industry to support trader
readiness for new requirements for exporting to the EU. For those
importing to the UK, we established a phased approach to border
controls for the first period of 2021. We have supported
exporters as they familiarise themselves with new processes
around export health certificates and customs declarations, and
we have liaised closely with EU states, such as France, that are
also getting used to new processes at the border. Finally, we
have worked closely with ministerial colleagues in the Department
for Transport to ensure the rapid deployment of the covid-19
testing measures required by France.
Further to that, may I ask the Secretary of State what measures
the Government are taking to prevent more border disruption and
costly delays for food and drink exporters when the volumes of
trade start to pick up again in the coming weeks? What assessment
has he made of the impact on jobs if there are delays and
disruption at the border?
The sector that has had greatest difficulty in these first few
weeks has been the fishing sector, principally because it is a
very time-critical, perishable product, but there are also some
smaller businesses selling smaller consignments in mixed, grouped
loads. Overall, the system is working well. We are issuing around
150 export health certificates per day. The volume of lorries
through the short straits is back up to around 6,000 to 7,000 per
day—still some way short of normal levels, but nevertheless it
continues to grow.
Dr Huq
Dina Foods, which produces delicacies in Acton for supermarkets
here and all over the EU, rejoiced at the Christmas eve miracle
of no tariffs and no quotas, but it is drowning in paperwork for
forward freight and it is experiencing crippling additional
transportation costs and pallet requirements, and border delays
for customs clearance. Goods loaded for Spain on the 8th still
have not made it. Buyers are losing patience. The same is
happening for those importing from everywhere; what took two
weeks now takes three months. Will Ministers fix the rules of
origin to stop battering British business?
Colleagues in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are looking at
the specific issue around rules of origin, which does affect some
sectors, but overall, flow at the border through the short
straits has been good. More than 6,000 lorries per day are
travelling. DFDS, which leads on fisheries distribution, now says
that it is getting lorries to Boulogne within 24 hours. Goods are
starting to flow, but unavoidably, as we leave both the customs
union and the single market, there is of course some additional
paperwork.
(Tiverton and Honiton) (Con) [V]
I congratulate the Secretary of State on the work that he has put
into getting the deal to work. We welcome the deal, but there are
still lots of problems with people getting things through the
border, and delays are reducing the value of fish especially.
What compensation can be given to people, and what more can the
Secretary of State do to get goods flowing through the
borders—both at our end and, in particular, through French ports
when there are problems at their customs?
Yesterday, we announced that we would offer one-to-one support
for individual enterprises in the fishing sector that are
struggling to get used to the new paperwork; that could be from
HMRC or the Animal and Plant Health Agency. In addition, we work
very closely with customs officials and Border Force officials in
France to help improve the understanding at that level. We also
announced a £23 million fund yesterday to help those fishing
businesses that have struggled in these initial weeks.
(Cambridge) (Lab) [V]
I fear the Secretary of State is living in a parallel universe.
He must have seen the headlines: “Pig Heads Are Rotting In
Rotterdam As Brexit Delays Hit The British Meat Industry”. Nick
Allen of the British Meat Processors Association understands that
these problems are not teething problems; they are structural. He
warns that the meat industry’s trade with the EU is in jeopardy.
Is he right about that? What is the Secretary of State going to
do about it—just suggest that farmers do something else?
The hon. Gentleman is wrong about that. Actually, goods are
flowing, particularly lamb, which is our principal meat export.
Dairy goods are also flowing. Yes, there are occasionally delays
at the border, as border officials in France and the Netherlands
get used to the new processes, but we are intervening in all such
instances to help the businesses concerned.
(Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP) [V]
Europe’s biggest fish market in Peterhead is empty. An industry
has collapsed because this Government’s ideological blinkers
meant they made a mess of the negotiations and Ministers think it
is a teething problem or a paperwork problem or it is not their
fault. Will Ministers tell us how they intend to sort this out?
Will the Government go back to the EU to seek a grace period and
new negotiations on market access, as many in the sector are
asking for, even if that means accepting some regulatory
alignment?
No.
Scottish Fishing Communities: EU Trade
(Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
(SNP)
What assessment his Department has made of the effect of the
UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement on Scottish fishing
communities.
(Airdrie and
Shotts) (SNP)
What assessment his Department has made of the effect of the
UK-EU trade and co-operation agreement on Scottish fishing
communities.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
The trade and co-operation agreement establishes tariff-free
trade on fisheries exports to the EU and also establishes a
five-and-a-half-year multiannual agreement on access and sharing
arrangements for quota. Under the agreement, there are
year-on-year transfers of fishing opportunities from EU fleets to
the UK fleet. Overall, the EU relinquished 25% of the quota it
had previously been allowed to catch in UK waters. There are
gains, both in the North sea and in the west of Scotland.
[V]
Scotland’s high-quality seafood producers are warning that they
are going out of business. They cannot have their products
sitting in lorry parks in Kent waiting for customs clearance.
Those products have to reach market fresh. What are the
Government doing to change procedures and technology to ensure an
entire industry is not destroyed? Will there be ongoing
compensation offered to businesses until this is sorted, or was
that offer a one-off? If the Minister could offer a slightly
fuller response this time, that would be appreciated.
As I explained earlier, we have announced a £23 million fund to
help exporters who struggled with the paperwork in the initial
weeks. We have also been working daily with the fishing sector to
tackle and iron out any particular issues it has encountered.
Twice a week we hold long stakeholder calls with all businesses
concerned. I have had personal conversations with organisations
such as DFDS, which leads on distribution. We have given them all
the support we can to help them iron out the teething issues they
have been having.
[V]
This Government have followed up their sell-out of Scotland’s
fishing communities with this £23 million insult. The industry is
losing more than four times that every day. It is losing
customers with it. And this was the one industry, we were told,
that would benefit from Brexit. Why will the Government not act
now, act quickly, eat some humble pie and re-establish
barrier-free rapid access to the European market for this
industry, so it can finally supply its customers again?
With the support we have given industry to iron out some of the
issues it has been having, the flow of goods is now continuing.
DFDS in particular has been very successful at transporting
salmon to the European Union. This week, it resumed groupage
systems to take smaller consignments. We know there are between
30 to 50 lorries of fish making their way to Boulogne each and
every day.
Agricultural Support
(Ynys Môn)
(Con)
What steps he is taking to support agriculture as direct payments
are phased out.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
The Government made a manifesto commitment to maintain the
current annual budget to farmers. In England, we will be offering
both transitional and productivity support from this year. Now we
have left the EU, Wales, too, can shape its own agricultural
policies.
[V]
I thank the Minister for her answer. This week is Farmers’ Union
Wales Farmhouse Breakfast Week. This morning my family tucked
into a hearty breakfast of local produce from the butchers at
Anglesey Fine Foods in Valley. Farmers in my constituency, such
as Gerald Thomas and Brian Bown, grow and rear some of the finest
foods in the UK. What discussions has the Minister had with the
Welsh Government to ensure they receive the same levels of
support as English farmers now that they have left the EU? Does
she also agree with me that Welsh farm sausage is the finest
addition to any good breakfast?
Mr Speaker
A good challenge for you there, Minister!
Well, a Welsh sausage is hard to beat, and I congratulate the
Farmers’ Union of Wales on its excellent farmhouse breakfast
campaign and my hon. Friend on sourcing and enjoying local
produce with her family this morning. DEFRA works closely with
the Welsh Government, and we have a shared commitment to
promoting Welsh food.
Mr Speaker
, follow that one!
Food Producers: Content Restrictions
(Buckingham) (Con)
What assessment he has made of the potential effect on UK food
producers of proposed restrictions on promotions of products high
in fat, sugar and salt.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
Colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care carried
out a consultation on the proposal to restrict the promotion of
foods high in fat, salt and sugar in stores. The Government’s
response to the consultation and the impact assessment were
published on 28 December 2020. This concluded that the benefits
for the nation’s health and the reduction in cost on the NHS
outweighed the costs.
The inclusion of breakfast cereals in the proposals for
restricting the promotion of these products is causing real
concern to cereal growers in my constituency, such as Morris of
Hoggeston, and the wider breakfast cereal industry. particularly
as there is no allowance for the naturally occurring sugars and
fats from the dried fruits and nuts often put with cereals such
as granola, porridge and muesli. Will my right hon. Friend advise
what assessment has been made of the impact on UK farmers of
these proposals and work with colleagues, particularly in the
Department of Health and Social Care, to see more common sense
applied to breakfast cereals?
My hon. Friend raises an important point. Cereals, such as those
are grown in my hon. Friend’s constituency, are an important
source of healthy food. Breakfast cereals will be captured by
DHSC’s policy only if they are classified as high in salt, fat or
sugar, and the nutrient profiling model used by Public Health
England accounts for the nutritional benefits of cereals, fruits
and nuts. I suggest that he raises his concerns with the
Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon.
Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (), but I would also be willing to engage in that
discussion, given the particular concerns that he raised.
Tree Planting
(West
Worcestershire) (Con)
What steps he is taking to increase tree planting.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
We committed in our manifesto to increasing planting across the
UK to 30,000 hectares, and we are working with the devolved
Administrations to deliver that. We announced a £640 million
nature for climate fund, a lot of which will contribute towards
the tree planting, together with our green recovery challenge
fund, and the skills required to plant these trees and look after
them will all be part and parcel of this. We will be publishing
our tree strategy with all the details later in the spring.
As communities along the River Severn catchment are facing
flooding once again, I thank the Minister for all she has done to
fund a hardening of flood defences along the River Severn. Will
she say how tree planting is also effective at reducing the
amount of floodwater that goes through the catchment and reducing
the speed?
I thank my hon. Friend very much for that question, and of course
our sympathies go to anyone who has been flooded overnight. With
the Environment Agency, we have a very big project on to oversee
all that. We are absolutely committed to better protecting the
country from flooding, and I thank her for her comments about
what is happening in the Severn valley. Natural flood management,
including tree planting, cannot solve the issues of conventional
flooding, but it is part and parcel of the whole plan—the
holistic plan—for dealing with flooding on a much wider and more
comprehensive scale. Proposals to do that include flood-risk
management options, which will include tree planting, improve
water quality and enhance the environment. It will be an
integrated approach and I very much look forward to hearing more
about the plans for the Severn valley, which I know she is hugely
behind.
Air Pollution: Brownfield Redevelopment
(Ealing, Southall) (Lab)
What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the
level of air pollution generated from the redevelopment of
brownfield sites.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
The Secretary of State regularly meets Cabinet colleagues to
discuss a range of issues, including air quality and planning
issues. Air quality is a key consideration of local authority
planning decisions, and there are strong protections in place to
safeguard people from unacceptable risks from air pollution where
development is proposed, and this is detailed in national
planning policy.
Mr Sharma [V]
People living in my constituency feel choked by the fumes from
the remediation of Southall gasworks, a project forced through
against the wishes of local residents and local representatives
by the then Mayor of London, . Will the Minister confirm that they will meet me and
local residents to explain why they think this is acceptable and
why the Government will not empower either the Environment Agency
or Public Health England to act?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The redevelopment of
the former gasworks site at Southall is a matter for the local
authority and the Mayor of London, as I am sure he is well aware.
Local authorities are required to review and assess local air
quality and decide what monitoring is necessary in line with
statutory duties. This Government are tackling air quality and
taking it extremely seriously with their £3.8 billion project. If
the hon. Gentleman wants to contact me with any details about
this issue, I am happy to speak to him but I am not able to get
involved in any way in particular planning issues.
Food Security and Poverty: Lockdown
(Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)
What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on tackling
food poverty and insecurity during the January 2021 covid-19
lockdown.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
The Government have put in place a winter package to support the
economically vulnerable. This includes a £170 million covid-19
winter support grant for local authorities to support households
with food and other costs, and £16 million of funding for the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support
charities with food redistribution to the vulnerable.
[V]
Over the last five years, millions of families have experienced
food insecurity, causing a 74% increase in food bank usage, yet
the Government are refusing once again to extend free school
meals over the February half-term, saying that councils have to
cover the cost. What assurances can the Secretary of State give
that every single child entitled to free school meals, including
those with parents with no recourse to public funds restrictions,
will receive the meals they need over the half-term?
While we have not extended the free school meals during the
half-term period, we have announced a range of other
interventions, including the holiday activities scheme that was
announced late last year and also the grants that I have just
announced that local authorities can use to help those in need.
Animal Welfare
(Bosworth) (Con)
What steps he is taking to ensure the UK is a global leader in
animal welfare.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
The Government are committed to the animal welfare agenda.
Currently, we are working on proposals to ban live exports for
slaughter or fattening, banning primates as pets and introducing
compulsory microchipping for cats. We will increase sentences for
animal cruelty, enhance the welfare standards of farmed animals
and bring forward proposals relating to animal sentience.
Dr Evans [V]
I thank the Minister for her answer, and I am grateful for all
she is doing, but both the demand for puppies in the UK and their
price have skyrocketed over lockdown. I declare an interest: I
bought two of the same breed several months apart and saw a
doubling in the price. I have been speaking to reputable
breeders, and they are choosing not to breed their dogs because
of concerns about welfare. What are the Government doing to
ensure puppy welfare, clamp down on puppy farms and stop puppy
profiteering?
My hon. Friend raises an important question, which I know he has
campaigned on before. Regulations in England require anyone in
the business of breeding and selling dogs to be licensed. Last
year, we banned commercial third-party sales of puppies and
kittens, and also launched our national Petfished campaign to
educate the public on how to source pets responsibly.
Puppy Trafficking
(Denton
and Reddish) (Lab)
What steps he is taking to stop recently born puppies being
brought into the UK illegally.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs ()
DEFRA takes the trade in puppy smuggling seriously. We operate a
rigorous checking regime, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency
works collaboratively to share intelligence, disrupt illegal
imports and seize animals where that is necessary. The end of the
transition period has created new opportunities for cracking down
on puppy smuggling, and we are considering a range of options to
help with this.
[V]
Every year thousands of puppies are still illegally smuggled
across eastern Europe to be mis-sold to British dog lovers. Many
suffer significant health problems and behavioural challenges and
some do not survive. The Dogs Trust wants the Government to raise
the minimum age for puppies to enter the UK to six months and to
significantly increase penalties for smugglers. The Minister
talked about the opportunities of the end of the transition
period, so when are we going to get on with it?
The Government are actively considering a range of opportunities
to crack down on this abhorrent trade, as the hon. Gentleman
says. We are listening to the views of a large number of
stakeholders, including the Dogs Trust and the Select Committee
on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which have made useful
comments in this space. I look forward to working with him and
Members from across this House to take these proposals forward.
Topical Questions
(Pontypridd) (Lab)
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
()
Over the past 48 hours, Storm Christoph has led to very high
rainfall, leading to hundreds of flood warnings, particularly in
areas around the north-west and Yorkshire, including in
Chorley—your constituency, Mr Speaker. Four severe flood warnings
have been issued, two in the Didsbury area of Manchester, and two
in the Maghull area of Liverpool. Overnight, those in 200 hundred
homes in Maghull and more than 2,000 homes in Didsbury were
advised to evacuate. Water levels in the Didsbury flood basin
have started to recede, but water will continue to work through
the river systems in the north-west and Yorkshire in the coming
days. More unsettled weather is expected next week, so we
continue to prepare for further impacts.
[V]
The Secretary of State may not be aware that last night’s
rainfall has caused another landslip on a former coal tip in
Rhondda Cynon Taf. The long-term management of these tips is a UK
Government responsibility. We all need to do what we can to
protect our local environment, and coal tips are a major part of
our heritage here in the Welsh valleys. Will he therefore commit
to working with his colleagues in the Cabinet to publish a
strategy outlining the Government’s long-term plan for managing
these coal tips?
We have been working closely with both the Secretary of State for
Wales and the Welsh Government on this challenge, which we all
take seriously. I know that discussions have taken place in the
past with the national Coal Authority on this matter as well, and
we will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government on it.
(South West Bedfordshire) (Con)
I can visit the Lucombe oak at Kew Gardens, but not the rhinos at
Whipsnade, and they are both out in the fresh air. Will the
Minister press for the outside areas of zoos to be made available
for the public to visit, just as they can go to Kew Gardens, as
soon as possible?
We all very much hope to be able to lift the restrictions of
lockdown as soon as possible. My hon. Friend will be aware that
in the first lockdown, we allowed zoos to open after we allowed
parks to open. Zoos are outdoors, but people tend to follow the
same routes, so the risk is judged by Public Health England to be
higher. However, I have sympathy with the issues zoos face, and
we want to get them open as soon as possible.
(Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
Each year, 40,000 people die from poor air quality. Labour has
tabled an amendment to the Environment Bill, on which there will
be a vote on Tuesday, to put the World Health Organisation air
quality standards into law. Can the Secretary of State tell me
why his Government plan to vote against that amendment?
We are working on the air quality targets that will form part of
our targets under the Environment Bill. We are looking at
population exposure, as well as an absolute concentration target,
and we are working with experts to assess what that concentration
target should be.
I do not think that answer was good enough, and it speaks to a
larger concern: the Government seem to be rolling back hard-won
environmental gains. It will not just be Britain watching the
votes on the Environment Bill; it will also be the Biden-Harris
Administration. If Labour’s amendment is voted down, although it
would prevent the Government allowing bee-killing chemicals,
loosening the chemicals regime, and having a weaker environmental
watchdog than we had last year, what message does it send about
how much we can trust the Prime Minister when he speaks about
“building back better”?
We have not changed our regulations on neonicotinoids, if that is
what the hon. Gentleman is referring to. In common with 10 other
EU countries, we have granted an emergency authorisation, which
is an integral part of the precautionary principle. We have done
so for a non-flowering crop, and we have also made it clear that
flowering crops cannot be grown there for at least three years.
(Eastbourne) (Con) [V]
Six years ago, my right hon. Friend visited Sovereign Harbour in
my Eastbourne constituency and saw ambitious plans for a whole
new quayside development. Despite the challenges of covid,
construction is in full swing. When the coast is clear, will he
make a return visit to congratulate all those involved—and,
importantly, to assure them that there are new opportunities
ahead for the under-10 metre fleet, and that historical
inequalities in quota will be levelled up?
I remember very well that visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency.
It is always good to see such ambitious plans come into effect
and start to take shape. I would be delighted to visit her
constituency again, and to outline some of our plans to ensure
better fishing opportunities for our inshore fleet.
(Lancaster
and Fleetwood) (Lab) [V]
Farmers in Cockerham, Winmarleigh and Pilling have experienced
considerable flooding in recent years. The farms consist of grade
2 and grade 3 agricultural land—some of the most productive
farmland in Lancashire—which is vital to our local economy. What
extra support are the Government prepared to give farmers and the
Environment Agency to make sure that such businesses can
adequately protect themselves from flooding and continue to
produce high-quality, nutritious food?
Floods have impacts on many communities—not only urban
communities and households, but farmland, which can lead to the
loss of crops. There is some weighting in the floods formula to
protect farmland, and we have a number of schemes to help to
remedy flood risks on agricultural land when flooding occurs.
(Dewsbury) (Con) [V]
Early last year, Storm Ciara forced the banks of the River Calder
to burst, causing devastation in the Mirfield part of my
constituency. Yesterday, unfortunately, we had a repeat
performance in Mirfield when Storm Christoph hit, cutting off
businesses and homes. Will my right hon. Friend reassure the
people of Mirfield that action is being taken to prevent such
destructive flooding events in future?
Late last year, we held a flood summit to discuss some of the
particular challenges around the River Calder in my hon. Friend’s
constituency. There have been a number of important projects
around that area, including at Hebden Bridge, where I believe
construction is well under way. Further projects are in the
pipeline, and we continue to work with the Environment Agency to
manage water catchments effectively.
(Brigg and
Goole) (Con) [V]
All that water from the Calder that we just heard about finds its
way into my constituency via the River Aire, and we have, yet
again, another nervous wait here in the lower catchment as the
washlands start to fill and flood alerts and warnings are issued.
Will the Secretary of State comment on the adequacy of the flood
defence funding rules for communities such as mine, which
repeatedly face flooding issues, or flood alerts and warnings?
My hon. Friend’s constituency is in a unique area with a unique
geography, as he knows, and it does face frequent flooding—it was
among the worst-affected when we had the floods last year. We
will shortly issue a consultation on changes to the flooding
formula, and one thing that we want is for greater weight to be
placed on frequently flooded communities.
(North East Fife) (LD) [V]
I have a constituent who wants to start a lobster hatchery, but
they have been shocked by the impact on the fishing sector of our
departure from the EU. Should anybody interested in coming into
the fishing industry even bother?
Of course they should, because in the white fish sector and the
quota sector we have secured an uplift in quota that is
front-loaded; the uplift is 15% next year. We will also have full
regulatory autonomy on technical conservation measures, which
gives us the ability to support the shellfish sector far better
than we were able to in the European Union.
