Contributions
1,788 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman tempts me to go back to the Marmot report. Sadly, not everyone is living to 100—not everyone necessarily wants to live to 110 or 120, of course—and the…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)The amendments cover a huge number of areas that could occupy us for many hours, no doubt. I promise I shall spare the Committee that. Greatly missing from the Bill, however, is…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are politicians and we know how the world works, but it is a pity. This Government have a strong majority and are at the start of their…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I am grateful, Mr Stringer. I am also grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for making that point. One difficulty we have in discussing the Bill is that the philosophical…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 34, in clause 1, page 2, line 12, at end insert— ‘(ca) improving public health;’. This amendment would add ‘improving public health’ to the list of…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)We have had a good discussion pointing out some of the interesting trade-offs and tensions that we face as we look ahead. I was struck by the point made by the right hon. Member…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)Amendment 2 seeks to address two issues: what we consider to be a lack of proper emphasis on access to healthy food, and the missed opportunity to support whole-farm…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I beg to move amendment 2, in clause 1, page 2, line 8, at end insert— “(aa) supporting agriculture and horticulture businesses in enabling public access to healthy food that is…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I always listen carefully to the right hon. Gentleman, because he knows of what he speaks, but I wonder whether that is a slight red herring in this case. What he warns of could…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister for clarifying some of those points. She said that the Government aim to create as much certainty as possible. That is sadly not how it feels to many…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)I understand why the Department wants maximum flexibility, but we want some action, because we have been waiting a long time for these promises. In fact, I think on the last day…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)I was intrigued to discover the direction in which the amendment would take us; I probably should have known in advance. It gives me an opportunity to have a genuine disagreement…25 Feb 2020HANSARDRules for Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020
Financing, Management and Monitoring of Direct Payments to Farmers (Amendment) Regulations 2020It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Nokes. It is also a pleasure to welcome the Minister to her place. I am sure we will spend many happy hours together discussing…24 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Good afternoon to you both. We have heard from a lot of witnesses, but this is possibly the first time we have actually heard about the people who work on the land, which is why…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Will you explain some of the reasons why you feel that agriculture is different from other sectors? When the Agricultural Wages Board was abolished in England, the coalition…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Before we turn to Compassion, on the antibiotics point, do you think there should be stronger, more directive provisions in the Bill? Vicki Hird: I think that would be very…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q I would like to pursue the labour supply issues, because my understanding is that there are very large numbers of people working in something like the poultry sector who are not…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Good afternoon, Professor Keevil. When I came to this debate a few weeks ago and started reading about it, I found the apparently contradictory claims about the safety of the…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Third sitting)Q Good morning, Mr Stringer, and good wishes to those on the Government side who may have a nervous day ahead—we wish you well. My question is one that we have put to other…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Third sitting)Q Since the earlier iteration of the Agriculture Bill, there has been wide acknowledgment that we face a climate crisis. As part of that, although clearly different in different…13 Feb 2020