Contributions
1,279 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 13, in clause 1, page 3, line 17, at end insert ““protecting or improving the quality of soil” includes the restoration of blanket bog and other peatland…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)Once again, I cannot accept the Minister’s assurances and would like to press the amendment to a vote.25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)There is a whole argument to be had about the management of moors for the benefit of grouse, when grouse are imported into this country in their millions just so they can be shot…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I arrived in the office just before nine this morning to discover that these documents had been produced. That makes things very difficult, because we may have missed the…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)Can the Minister clarify whether she is talking about standards in the UK or standards of imports, too?25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)Mr Stringer, amendment 11 is in this group. Is it in order for me to speak to that amendment now?25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)Thank you for that clarification. My amendment 11 is very similar to the Labour Front Benchers’ amendment 2. It would give the Secretary of State the power to provide financial…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)I was pleased to see mention of pulses in amendment 35. People often talk about fruit and veg, but pulses are not only good for the soil, in terms of fixing nitrogen, but an…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)On the subject of peatlands—I have an amendment on this, to be considered later—it is one thing to talk about restoring peatlands, but if grouse moor owners are being allowed to…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fifth sitting)My concern is that other sectors have quite a clear road map for how we get to net zero, and carbon budgets that deal with that. I have never seen that for agriculture. I was…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)I beg to move amendment 12, in clause 1, page 2, line 28, after ‘activity’ insert— ‘, provided that such assistance does not contradict or undermine the purposes in section 1(1).’…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Sixth sitting)I am confused by what the Minister is saying. She is right that there is no mention of any limit in the Bill, but her earlier words, before she mentioned the clause about…25 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Is that how it would work? That is the other thing. It is the same as with planting trees or improving soil health; there is a danger that, in a bid to use public money to…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q We mentioned clause 17 on food security, which is new to this edition of the Bill. Do you think there is scope for an extra provision? It talks about looking at global food…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Could we talk about peatlands? You have been very involved in trying to make the case for the restoration of peatlands and their role as a natural climate solution. Do you think…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Third sitting)Q Meeting net zero is a public good, looking at climate mitigation and adaptation. Do you feel the Bill could be stronger on that? My concern is that while in a sector like…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Third sitting)Q Where to start? Could you say a bit more about the whole-farm systems approach and the concern that the Bill might lead to farmers cherry-picking some of the public goods, but…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Do you think that, in terms of the consumer side of things, that would be more an issue for the food strategy? I think there will be quite a focus in that on— Sue Davies: It is…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q There is some quite misleading packaging. There was the whole issue of Tesco and its fake farms—it had pictures of cows frolicking in meadows, when they had never seen the…13 Feb 2020HANSARDAgriculture Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Some groups are talking about method of slaughter labelling. Does Which? have a view? Would the consumers you deal with find that useful? Sue Davies: It is not something that we…13 Feb 2020