Wednesday 13th May 2020
(3 years, 11 months ago)
Commons ChamberAgriculture Act 2020 View all Agriculture Act 2020 Debates Read Hansard Text Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 13 May 2020 - large font accessible version - (13 May 2020)
The House divided: - Ayes: 56 / Noes: 362 - Question accordingly negatived.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
I would like to acknowledge the work that has got us to this point. In particular, I would like to thank DEFRA officials, those who provided evidence and especially those Members who served on the Bill Committee. I am conscious that the restricted nature of the hybrid Parliament means that many of those Committee members have found it difficult to contribute to this stage of proceedings, but they all contributed comprehensively during earlier stages, and the points they raised have been heard.
The Government stood on a manifesto commitment to guarantee the current annual budget for farmers in every year of the new Parliament. Our farmers need stability, certainty and a smooth seven-year transition to adapt to our new policy of public money for public goods, and the Bill provides for that.
This is the second outing of this Bill. I was involved in the last Parliament at Committee stage for the first. We have made a number of changes since then, including strengthening parliamentary scrutiny with the requirement for a multi-annual plan; a strengthened duty around food security, with five-yearly reviews of food security; and a new clause on the importance of food production. Finally, I am conscious that animal welfare has been a big feature of the debate. The Government have a manifesto commitment that in all trade deals, they will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.