Written Statements

Thursday 16th January 2020 Written Statements

Thursday 16 January 2020

Agriculture Bill

Thursday 16th January 2020 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Theresa Villiers)]

Today, I am introducing the Government’s landmark Agriculture Bill to the House of Commons. This Bill delivers a new settlement for agriculture and those involved in this vital industry should be in no doubt of this Government’s absolute commitment to them and all those who produce our food and protect our environment.

Agriculture is one of this country’s great industries and nearly three-quarters of land in England is farmed. But despite its scale and importance to our nation, decisions about its future have, for the past half century, largely been decided in Brussels. All the while, our priorities have been overlooked, our productivity stifled, and farmers hindered in their preservation of our environment. These are the legacies of the common agricultural policy (CAP).

The CAP awarded subsidies based on the size of individual land holdings, and not the contribution farmers make to our society. The top 10% of recipients received the lion’s share of payments—almost 50%—while the bottom 20% received just 2%. Meanwhile, our farmers struggled with burdensome and inflexible bureaucracy at the expense of our countryside and their own well-being.

Our Agriculture Bill marks a decisive shift and will remove the constraints and burdens of the CAP and replace it in England with a new and fairer system that rewards farmers properly for the work they do to enhance our environment and safeguard high animal welfare standards. And it will do so gradually allowing farmers and land managers time to adapt to our reforms and transform the agriculture sector for the better. Change takes time and the Government are conscious that farmers will need to plan and adapt. The Bill will enable a seven-year agricultural transition in England as we gradually move away from the CAP.

At the heart of the Government’s proposal is a new system for England that pays public money for the delivery of public goods, such as clean air and water, from which we all benefit but the market alone does not provide. The Bill will allow us to invest public money in enriching wildlife habitats, preventing flooding, improving the quality of air and soil, planting more trees and raising standards of animal welfare. The enhancement of these public goods will help manage and mitigate the effects of climate change which is of profound public concern. The Bill will therefore be instrumental in delivering on the Government’s crucial goal to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

This Bill champions food producers and makes ground breaking strides to allow for a fairer, more transparent supply chain that will increase productivity and protect producers and consumers from unfair trading practices. It will create opportunities for new entrants who want to farm but have in the past had little prospect to do so. And it will incentivise longer-term thinking and investment while helping farm businesses to become more resilient and productive.

The Bill will also modernise aspects of agricultural regulation and make sure that they are tailored to the domestic market. It will include new UK-wide provisions on organics and fertiliser regulations. It will enable new marketing standards to be set for agricultural products in England and reform agricultural tenancies in England and Wales to reflect a more modern and fair agricultural system.

It has always been the Government’s intention to change our agricultural policy once we had left the EU. The Agriculture Bill introduced on 12 September 2018 fell with the dissolution of Parliament last year, but the principles in that Bill had broad support in this House and with our farmers and land managers across this country. We now have a second chance to pass an Agriculture Bill that will set a bold new course for farming in this country for decades to come.

The Government is clear that future policy will respect the devolved status of farming. By bringing back powers from Brussels to Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh, devolved Administrations can design policies that meet the needs of their own farmers, foresters and consumers and the challenges of their unique landscapes. The Welsh Government and Northern Irish Executive have asked the Government to extend certain powers in the Bill to Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government have chosen not to take any powers in the Bill and have instead introduced the Agriculture (Retained EU Law and Data) (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament in November 2019.

This is an ambitious Bill which makes the most of the opportunities created from leaving the European Union. It marks the first domestic farming policy in nearly 50 years and the first step towards a brighter, better and greener future for farming and our environment outside the EU.

[HCWS43]

Agriculture and Fisheries Council

Thursday 16th January 2020 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

I represented the UK at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on 16, 17 and 18 December.

On fisheries, the focus of the Council was EU quota negotiations, involving decisions on fishing opportunities for the next year for quota stocks in the North sea, Atlantic, the English channel, Irish and Celtic seas. Fishing opportunities are set under the rules of the reformed common fisheries policy, which aims to have all stocks fished at sustainable levels by 2020 at the latest.

Prior to the Council, a number of negotiations had taken place with third countries, such as EUNorway, which set fishing opportunities for certain stocks. The EU share of these opportunities were endorsed at the Council.

This year member states agreed on significant cuts in cod quotas due to scientific concerns on the state of cod stocks in the Irish Sea, west of Scotland and Celtic sea.

The UK took a lead on setting zero total allowable catch (TAC) for Celtic cod, which ensured that the agreed quota would allow the Celtic sea fleet to avoid being tied up before they fished their target species quota.

To further protect vulnerable cod stocks, the UK has also successfully pushed for enhanced rules on sustainable fishing practices such as changing net sizes, to help cod stocks recover.

Concerning seabass, Ministers decided to slightly increase the by-catch levels in the northern areas and grant additional flexibility in their management. The bag limit for seabass recreational fisheries was set to two specimen per fisherman per day under certain conditions, and only from 1 March to 30 November 2020 for northern seabass.

Total fishing opportunities agreed for 2020 included increased quotas for:

North sea haddock (+23%)

Sole in the western channel (+19%)

The Commission also provided a general approach on regulations on Baltic cod and western fisheries herring. It announced that it will take measures to help fishermen cope with the harmful socioeconomic effects of the severe fishing restrictions on cod and western herring in the Baltic sea that are already in place and agreed for 2020.

The primary focus for agriculture was a debate on the post-2020 CAP reform package, including three legislative proposals: the first on CAP strategic plans; the second on financing, management and monitoring of the CAP; and the third on common market organisation (CMO) of agricultural products. The Commission proposed a new delivery model that would allow member states more flexibility in the way they use EU funds and would allow them to tailor their programmes.

In the discussion that followed, EU member states’ Ministers broadly welcomed the report, considering it as a good basis for continuing work under the incoming Croatian presidency. They indicated that the “new delivery model” and the “green architecture” were the main elements requiring further debate, the latter also in light of the recently published “European Green Deal” communication. Amongst further issues, interventions in certain sectors and coupled support were also mentioned as elements which should be discussed further. Ministers stressed the importance for the agricultural budget to be in line with the proposed enhanced environmental and climate ambition.

The Council also adopted a conclusion on EU action to protect the world’s forests during a ministerial lunch debate. Member states welcomed the Commission’s political guidance on protecting and restoring the world’s forests.

Five other items were discussed separately under “any other business”:

The presidency informed the Council of the issue with long-term funding of the EU minor use of pesticides co-ordination facility (EUMUCF).

The French delegation informed Council about their views on informing consumers about the origin of food products.

The presidency updated Council about the conclusions on the updated EU bioeconomic strategy.

The Spanish and French delegations updated Council about the impact of US tariffs on European agrifood products.

The Czech delegation informed Council of budget flexibility within the European maritime and fisheries fund 2014-2020.

[HCWS42]

Foreign Affairs Council

Thursday 16th January 2020 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe and the Americas (Christopher Pincher)]

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HRVP), Josep Borrell, will chair the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels on 20 January.

The FAC will discuss current affairs, the Sahel, climate diplomacy, and will be followed by an informal ministerial lunch to discuss the middle east peace process.

Current affairs

HRVP Borrell will raise Bolivia, ahead of the future elections, and the prospects of sending an EU electoral observation mission for May’s elections.

On Venezuela, the HRVP will touch on recent developments following the parliamentary elections on 5 January and plans for EU engagement.

We also expect Germany to debrief on the planned Berlin summit on Libya. HRVP Borrell will focus on what role the EU can play in support of any outcomes in Berlin.

The Sahel

We expect HRVP Borrell to debrief on the outcomes of the G5 Sahel summit in Pau on 13 January. Ministers will discuss the EU’s approach to the Sahel in the context of the deteriorating security situation in the region.

Climate diplomacy

Ministers will assess the EU’s climate diplomacy strategy, drawing on the December European Council outcome. They will consider how they can work together to drive ambitious action at COP26, in order to deliver on the promise of the 2015 Paris agreement. The United Kingdom will emphasise the importance of, and its commitment to, tackling climate change as a national and global priority ahead of COP26.

Informal ministerial lunch on the middle east peace process

Following the FAC, Ministers will discuss the middle east peace process and the wider security and stability in the middle east. The United Kingdom will reiterate its support for a negotiated settlement based on the two-state solution, leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. Ministers may also discuss developments in the wider region which were last discussed at the FAC on 10 January, following the E3 (France, United Kingdom and Germany) triggering the dispute resolution mechanism (DRM) on 14 January.

Council conclusions

The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on climate diplomacy to give momentum and focus to its external engagement ahead of COP26.

[HCWS41]

Manston Airport

Thursday 16th January 2020 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I have been asked by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, to make this written ministerial statement. This statement concerns the application made by RiverOak Strategic Partners Ltd (“the applicant”) under the Planning Act 2008, of 17 July 2018 for the proposed reopening and development of Manston airport in Kent.

Under sub-section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make his decision within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report unless exercising the power under sub-section 107(3) to extend the deadline and make a statement to the Houses of Parliament announcing the new deadline. The Secretary of State received the examining authority’s report on the Manston airport development consent order application on 18 October 2019 and the current deadline for a decision is 18 January 2020.

The deadline for the decision is to be extended to 18 May 2020 (an extension of four months) to enable further information on a range of issues to be provided by the applicant and other interested parties before determination of the application by the Secretary of State.

The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent.

[HCWS40]