Contributions
1,165 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyWe are monitoring the situation, but the hon. Gentleman will be aware that there are some commercially sensitive issues around that. He talks about the potential sale of the site…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyThe Government have already increased the national living wage to £9.50 an hour. We have stipulated that those coming in under the seasonal worker visa scheme must be paid at…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyAs the hon. Lady will know, the Government committed to keeping the budget that we spend on agriculture the same in cash terms for every year of this Parliament. That is exactly…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyWe have judged that we do not need any new legislative powers to implement all the things we have set out to do in the strategy. However, we have been very clear that the Food…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyThe money is already available, and we have already had a number of rounds. Indeed, earlier this year, when we opened a round of the farming investment fund for equipment on…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyLast year, we had just short of 30,000 people—it was around 27,000—who came to this country under the seasonal workers scheme. It was a covid year when there was a lot of stress…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyAs I explained earlier, the Chancellor has unveiled a package of measures to help those on the lowest incomes deal with the sharp increase in energy costs. We also have a range of…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyThe hon. Lady raises an important point. During the pandemic, when there were concerns about global supply chains, we looked in great detail, with the Department of Health, at…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyOn the latter point, I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss some of the issues that fishermen in his constituency have raised with him. Over the last six months the price of…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyAgriculture policy is indeed devolved but we have created the UK agricultural partnership. Its last meeting took place in Northern Ireland and I heard about some of the Northern…13 Jun 2022HANSARDGovernment Food StrategyToday I have published the Government’s first ever food strategy, outlining our plan to transform our food system to ensure it is fit for the future. The Government food strategy…13 Jun 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationAs I said, we have doubled the funding in the household support fund, putting an extra £500 million into it to help the right hon. Member’s constituents and others. We also…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationOur domestic production of food is crucial to our national resilience and plays an important role in our overall food security, as do open markets around the world. We will be…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationAs I said, we recognise that the single biggest driver of pressure on household incomes has been rises in gas and electricity bills. That is why the Government have focused their…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationThere have been so many questions for the Chancellor that I am sure by now he has tuned in and is listening to proceedings. In answer to the initial part of the hon. Gentleman’s…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationThe Chancellor acted with urgency in his spring statement to increase spending on the household food budget, to increase the national living wage and to put in place easements on…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationAgain, these are matters for the Chancellor, but I would simply say that, as we emerge from this pandemic, there are challenges—challenges to global supply chains, challenges to…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationThese matters are often covered in the Barnett formula and the complexities of Treasury settlements with the devolved Administrations, so I advise the hon. Gentleman to write to…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationConfidence among farmers to sow next year’s winter wheat crop and to continue to put down flocks of broiler chicken and so on really does matter. In the case of poultry and pigs,…19 May 2022HANSARD Food Price InflationI would simply point out that the ferocity of retail competition in this country at the moment means that two of the big companies, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, are in a price match war…19 May 2022