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1,459 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, this has been an interesting debate taking us through a range of issues. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, for tabling amendments relating to…16 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillI am grateful to the noble Baroness. We are bringing forward these provisions in the Bill because we recognise that the current situation is far from satisfactory. We need to…16 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, it is very nice to hear the noble Lord; I enjoy having this dialogue. I am advised that your Lordships will have three times the amount of time, with the six days or…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillI apologise to the noble Baroness, but the only way that I can reply to that is to repeat that the whole construct of this is to ensure that farming with food production and…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, this has been very helpful debate. I am grateful to my noble friend for Amendments 58, 119 and 135, and to the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, for Amendment 122. The…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, this has been an absorbing debate once again. I thank my noble friend for her Amendment 35. I shall address Amendments 75, 56, 60, 69, 71, 36 and 92, all of which relate…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillObviously I take the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Curry. The construction of the Bill, as I said, ensures that we are rewarding farmers for those matters that we have…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, I will have to look again at Amendment 60. The construct is about where, following the Health and Harmony consultation we undertook, it was decided that we should…14 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillI thank the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. Those are very important points, and I will be happy to provide answers to that further range of questions.09 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillMy Lords, this has been another very interesting and, indeed, thought-provoking debate. I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to it. I declare my farming interests as set…09 Jul 2020HANSARDAgriculture BillI am getting conflicting advice as to when there should be further questioning of a Minister, but I am happy to answer as best I can. The tier 1 ELMS will be to the farmer across…09 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, this is why I am very pleased that the UK Plant Health Alliance steering group is working on a plant health assurance scheme. Working with the industry, the scheme will…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, we have arrangements with the EU and with the rest of the world, and we are absolutely clear that biosecurity will never be weakened. We will do all that we can on a…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, the reason we have intensified our surveillance, inspection and testing regime is to make it absolutely clear that we are not changing our position. The EU has a…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, we are intensifying this through APHA inspections, sampling and testing. The statutory notification scheme for olive, almond and plane trees means that imports can be…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, that is why I am again very pleased that science is helping us with ash dieback. We now have an archive of tolerant ash trees so that we can bring forward successors…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, that is why we are improving Grown in Britain and working with nurseries. Yes, we want to have trade but it needs to be safe. That is why we are working with the…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, this is a priority. We have intensified our surveillance, inspection and testing regime for high-risk plants. We feel very strongly about this. The Secretary of State…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, in April, Defra introduced national measures imposing stringent import requirements to protect the UK from Xylella fastidiosa. The Commission reviewed the measures and,…08 Jul 2020HANSARDEU: Xylella FastidiosaMy Lords, we have increased investment in surveillance and inspection precisely for that reason. The United Kingdom has more protected zones for plant pests and diseases than any…08 Jul 2020