Contributions
571 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsWell, Mr Speaker, it was not really worth waiting for. In the first instance, I urge the right hon. Lady to check her emails, as I sent a detailed response to her letter. I also…18 Dec 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We did debate this issue on the radio together. The reason we are making these changes is that the top 7% of estates account for…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI thank the hon. Gentleman, on behalf of the whole House, for what he has just said, and for his service, before he became a Member and since. This is a really important area, and…18 Dec 2025HANSARDFarming ProfitabilityI am very determined that we leverage in more private finance into farming. I visited a landscape recovery project in north Buckinghamshire a couple of weeks ago. It is really…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyWe are a country that cares deeply for animals, and we have a proud history of being pioneers when it comes to ensuring the very best for them. We had the world’s first known…18 Dec 2025HANSARDAnimal Welfare StandardsI can confirm that further details on this issue will be set out in the animal welfare strategy, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising it. He is right that we need to have a…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyThank you, Mr Speaker. I think you have much in common with my hon. Friend. I thank her for her doughty campaigning on this issue. The work we are doing on the Veterinary Surgeons…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI say politely to the right hon. Gentleman that the time to raise those issues was earlier today.18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyMay I start by thanking the right hon. Gentleman’s wife for her service over the Christmas period? I am glad to hear that, by the sound of it, he will be spending a lot of time in…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI can confirm that. As I said earlier, measures are already in place to provide funding to farmers to help them improve animal welfare standards. Those measures include veterinary…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyIn the new year, we will issue a consultation on banning trail hunting, as we committed to do in our manifesto. My hon. Friend is right in the things she says about it.18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI am sure that there will be opportunities in the new year to have a discussion about the animal welfare strategy. I will be able to confirm the answer to the hon. Member’s…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyMy hon. Friend is a great campaigner for his constituency and does great work locally. We do indeed have a good reputation for animal welfare around the world. I was in Brussels…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI could not agree more. I was not a Member of this House during the last Labour Government, but as a proud Labour member, I am proud that that Government banned foxhunting. I…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI have ordered my meat from my local butcher already. It is a bit late in the day, but I thank my hon. Friend for the reminder to those who may not have done so already. We want…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI want to reassure the shadow Minister that we will publish the animal welfare strategy before Christmas, as we have promised. He is right that we face a number of significant…18 Dec 2025HANSARDFarming ProfitabilityAs the right hon. Gentleman will know, we have already introduced fair dealing regulations for pig and dairy farmers, but I agree with him that we need to look to go further.18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyAs the hon. Member will probably know, that is a joint responsibility with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which leads on it. We are working closely with…18 Dec 2025HANSARD Animal Welfare StrategyI know that one of my Conservative predecessors, Michael Gove, has been very critical of the trade deals done by the last Government with Australia and New Zealand, but the hon.…18 Dec 2025HANSARDIndependent Farm Profitability ReviewA strong domestic farming sector is, and always will be, a linchpin for national security. As Secretary of State, I will always champion British farming and rural communities. I…18 Dec 2025