Contributions
571 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDartmoor PoniesDartmoor ponies are a vital part of our landscape and history. As the Environment Secretary, I have a duty to protect our native species, which obviously include Dartmoor ponies.…09 Jul 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe right hon. Lady lectures us about regulators. We have a tighter grip on our arms-length bodies than the Conservatives did when they were in Government. I issued strategic…09 Jul 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewThe hon. Gentleman is right to raise that question. This week’s weather brings into sharp relief the Climate Change Committee’s report from a couple of weeks ago on the risks of…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI do agree that we have to get much fairer contracts, which is why we are extending the fair dealing regulations that already cover dairy and pig farmers to other sectors. As she…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words. There is a focus in the road map on innovation and on reducing the use of inputs and therefore the costs in farming, so that we can…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI did not catch that last word.24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and the Labour rural research group, and I thank him for what he said about the road map. I have an update for the House. The hon. Member…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewWe consulted on that issue—obviously, this falls under the MHCLG—in December. The Ministry is considering the responses, but I am working with the Secretary of State for Housing,…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI will come to fertiliser, but let me first say to the right hon. Gentleman that we are cutting red diesel duty by a third, bringing it to the lowest level in more than 20 years.…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewWe have announced additional funding for the farming innovation programme, bringing total innovation funding to £123 million. This is to back practical technology, including…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewIt is in the road map, but I want to say, first, that I look forward to going on holiday in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency at some stage—sounds like we get a great…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI think my hon. Friend’s name is very striking, Madam Deputy Speaker. We are consulting on longer-term plans to change fertiliser rules so that we can diversify the sorts of…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewIt is kind of the hon. Lady to think that I am so powerful that I could have a hand in that. One person in the House wants me sacked, but I am glad that she thinks I have that…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewIn response to Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review, we have already established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, and are already working on sector…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewThat is very similar question to that of the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne). I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and other hon. Members. Upland…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewWe do want to see more British food in our institutions. As I said in response to a previous question, we are establishing a baseline—which was not established under the hon.…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI agree with my hon. Friend. The focus of the road map is on reducing the burden of regulation and making sure that we have a simpler system, which is something Baroness Batters…24 Jun 2026HANSARDFarming Profitability Review: Government ResponseI shall be making an oral statement on this subject later today. [HCWS142]24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewI thank the hon. Member for welcoming the road map. We have certainly learned a lot of lessons from what happened last summer, and I would absolutely like to see no sudden stops…24 Jun 2026HANSARD Farming Road Map and Profitability ReviewThe farming road map is a plan for the whole of England. Obviously, each different sector of farming faces different challenges. I was glad to visit a dairy farm in my own…24 Jun 2026