Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
As this House knows, Baroness Batters is a long-standing champion of British farming. Today, the Government have published her independent farming profitability review 2025, which we commissioned earlier this year. We will set out a more detailed response in the new year, but I can confirm today that, following her recommendations, we are establishing a farming and food partnership board to give farmers a stronger voice in Government. We will take forward sector plans to build profitability in sectors with great potential, and we will seek to boost private finance into farming.
Sam Rushworth
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
As we are all sleeping in or children are opening their stockings on this Christmas morning, farmers in Teesdale and Weardale will be up tending to their sheep and cows, and we thank them for that. As the Minister knows, at the moment only 25% of subsidies go to just 4% of farms. Smaller upland farms in areas like those I represent have done particularly badly under the transition. There are so many issues I could raise, but to avoid Mr Speaker’s cough may I just ask this? I am bringing a delegation of farmers from my constituency to Parliament in the new year. Will the Secretary of State meet them to hear their wisdom?
Emma Reynolds
I echo my hon. Friend’s thanks to farmers working hard over the festive season. Upland communities face unique challenges. I or the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs will be delighted to meet his delegation. We are reforming the sustainable farming incentive to make it simpler and easier for farmers to apply to. We want more farmers to benefit from these schemes, and under this Government we already have a record number of farmers in these schemes.
Mr Dhesi
No farmers, no food. That is why, as the son of former farmers, I believe it is imperative that we support our farmers. After the last Conservative Government sold out British farmers with their substandard trade deals with New Zealand and Australia, our farming and food sector has been held back from its full potential abroad. What exactly are this Government doing to ensure that our farmers can get their products on to international shelves and grow their businesses abroad?
Emma Reynolds
I am proud that this Government, unlike the previous Government, are protecting and promoting British farming in our trade deals, including with India and the USA. [Interruption.] Opposition Members may chunter from a sedentary position, but they sold them out on their trade deals with Australia and New Zealand. We are also making progress with the EU on a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, which will make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, and our global network of agrifood attachés has already brought down 46 trade barriers this year, worth £127 million.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
Obviously, one of the biggest challenges to farming profitability is the market fact that farmers are price takers. The farming campaigner Olly Harrison was this week highlighting that Lidl and Aldi are selling carrots at 8p per kilo, well below the cost of production. What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that when supermarkets sell under the cost of production, that cost is borne by the supermarkets, not the farmers?
Emma Reynolds
As the right hon. Gentleman will know, we have already introduced fair dealing regulations for pig and dairy farmers, but I agree with him that we need to look to go further.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
Sustained profitability requires sustained investment, and investment has collapsed as a consequence of the family farm tax, hasn’t it?
Emma Reynolds
I am very determined that we leverage in more private finance into farming. I visited a landscape recovery project in north Buckinghamshire a couple of weeks ago. It is really fantastic to see the innovative practices in these schemes that are levering in private finance in part of the compliance market, and part of the thriving and nascent nature credits market.
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
Here we are, at the 11th hour, on the very last day before Parliament rises for Christmas, and the Secretary of State has left it until now to publish Baroness Batters’ profitability review —48 days since it was handed to her. She has tactically left it buried in her Department until well after the Budget and purposely until after the crucial Finance Bill vote earlier this week, in which 333 Labour MPs backed the implementation of the family farm tax—all in the knowledge that whatever the recommendations in the profitability review, the Government’s financial assault on our farmers was locked in. What message does that say to our hard-working farmers?
Emma Reynolds
I am proud that this Government commissioned Baroness Batters to do the review into farm profitability, which is a lot more than the Conservatives managed to do in 14 long years. We will be taking forward a number of her recommendations, but, as I said, we will reply in full in the new year. We commissioned her because she has great experience and expertise. There are many ways in which we are unlocking profitability, not least the planning reforms that myself and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government are introducing to make it easier for farmers to build on-farm reservoirs, polytunnels and various other things that will diversify their farms. We are bringing down the barriers, which is something that they long called for, but they saw none of that action under the previous Government.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
If farm profitability is so important to the Government, I find it utterly peculiar that the review was released only today as a written statement at the last minute. It is an insult to this House and indeed the excellent Baroness Batters herself.
England is now the only country in the United Kingdom, and indeed in Europe, that does not provide financial support to its farmers. England’s farmers, therefore, have been uniquely abandoned by this Government, by their Conservative predecessor and by those whose madcap ideology took us out of Europe without any kind of a plan. Will the Secretary of State tell us whether food security will be counted as a public good, as the Liberal Democrats propose, and funded through environmental land management schemes? When will the SFI be reopened, and how much money will be in it? Will she ensure that this time the money does not mostly go to the wealthiest, as the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) just referred to, and when will she stop making English farmers the worst supported in the whole of Europe?
Emma Reynolds
The hon. Member asked a number of good questions. I have said that the new iteration of the SFI will be out in the first half of next year. My hon. Friend the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs and I are looking very carefully at how we get this right, and I can reassure the hon. Member that we are looking at the distributional analysis on who is getting these schemes at the moment. We do want to make it easier for smaller farms to gain access to the schemes—I can reassure him on that.
Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)
Poor air quality harms health, and it does not affect all communities equally. Our new environmental improvement plan sets a new target to cut exposure to harmful particles by nearly one third by 2030. We will deliver that by modernising industrial permitting, consulting on tighter standards for new wood-burning appliances, streamlining the assessment of harmful particles in the planning system, and exploring options to reduce emissions from small industrial combustion plants.
Kate Osamor
The Government’s policy to strengthen standards for new waste incinerators to receive planning approval was a step in the right direction. However, it was no comfort for my constituents, whose health will be impacted by the massive new Edmonton incinerator, which is currently being built. Can I urge the Government to take further action to reduce the incentive for waste authorities to continue to rely on incineration for decades to come?
Mary Creagh
Our future circular economy growth plan and interventions will seek to go beyond recycling and drive circularity in our waste streams, reducing the amount of waste that is sent for incineration and, crucially, to landfill. That is on top of the reforms we are delivering to simplify recycling for all households and businesses, including introducing food waste collections from next April and encouraging reduced and recyclable packaging.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
The Minister referred to wood stoves. Many people use wood stoves, especially those living on farms, where trees fall. It seems logical to give them the opportunity to use that resource in a sensible way. The policy that is being followed may not be fair to those who have committed themselves to using wood stoves. Has the Minister any thoughts on how their concerns can be addressed?
Mary Creagh
The hon. Member is absolutely right; wood burners are an important way for some households to heat their homes. Our upcoming consultation will focus on tighter standards for new wood-burning appliances to help reduce health impacts.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
As I may not get another chance, may I take this opportunity to wish you, and all Members and House staff, a happy Christmas, Mr Speaker?
We are committed to promoting fairness across the food supply chain, including achieving a fair price for sugar beet that benefits both growers and processors. There is a well-established independent process in place to agree the sugar beet price. We continue to keep it and the regulatory framework under review.
Rachel Taylor
A merry Christmas to you and all your staff, Mr Speaker.
In the summer I visited Boultbees farm in Baxterley in my constituency, where I met Andrew and his team. Like all farmers who grow sugar beet, they are obliged to sell it to British Sugar, as the sole processor of British sugar beet in the UK. Common market organisation regulation exists to ensure fair negotiations on price, but British Sugar has sought to circumvent it. What are the Government doing to strengthen protections for farmers like Andrew to ensure that they get a fair deal in the combinable crops sector?
Dame Angela Eagle
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, which is an acute one. I agree that growers too often bear disproportionate risk, which is why the Government have launched a public consultation on fairness and transparency in the combinable crops supply chain. The consultation is open for eight weeks, and I encourage all interested parties to engage and share their views.
Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to all.
Of course, in team DEFRA, we are dreaming of a dry Christmas, but just in case we do not get one, we are investing a record £10.5 billion into our flood and coastal defences, and the Environment Agency has reprioritised £108 million into urgent maintenance, halting the decline of our assets. If we have flooding over Christmas, dedicated teams will be on call across the country, ready to support and respond to those in need. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the Environment Agency and all our emergency services for their unwavering commitment and tireless effort; I thank them all for their hard work.
Munira Wilson
Happy Christmas to you and all your staff, Mr Speaker.
Recently, out of the blue, the Environment Agency’s flood risk map was updated to include an extra 3,800 homes in Teddington in my constituency at flood risk. There has been zero engagement with residents or elected representatives, and this is causing a lot of alarm and concern about how people and their homes can be protected. It has an impact on insurance premiums and those buying and selling homes in the area. What assurances can the Minister give my constituents about engagement in future and, more importantly, what mitigations and protections are being put in place?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Lady raises an important point. Part of the purpose of that mapping is to inform people and the wider community. For the very first time, the mapping under the new national flood risk assessment—NaFRA 2—includes the risk from surface water flooding, which was never included in previous maps; previously, only tidal and river were included. It is part of informing people. It is not that they have an increased risk; it is that, for the first time, that risk has been displayed to them. Of course, it is very important that all of this is articulated carefully and considerately with elected Members of Parliament. If she would like, I can put her directly in contact with the EA area director, who can talk a bit more about the detail that is available on these maps and how they can better inform residents and local communities about the level of flood risk they could be subjected to.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)
Mr Speaker, I am sorry; I forgot to wish a happy Christmas to you, your staff, everyone in the Chamber and all the House staff who look after us so well.
Extended producer responsibility moves recycling costs from taxpayers on to packaging producers, making businesses pay their fair share. In October 2024, the Government published a full assessment of the impact of the scheme. It supports systematic change and is part of our reforms, which will create 25,000 new jobs and see £10 billion of investment from the waste sector over the next 10 years.
Peter Fortune
Mr Speaker, I would never forget to wish you and your exemplary staff a merry Christmas—I thank the Minister for the reminder.
The British Beer and Pub Association has estimated that because of EPR, the cost to brewers just for glass bottles alone is somewhere near £124 million annually. That is the equivalent of a 12% rise in beer duty. This, coupled with the Government’s disastrous jobs tax, is leaving pubs in my constituency in a perilous position, wiping out any profit on a bottle of beer. What will the Minister do to resolve this issue and other issues around EPR, to help protect the nearly 1,000 jobs in the 36 pubs across Bromley and Biggin Hill?
Mary Creagh
We have had some very good news on food inflation and the cost of living being reduced, so inflation is down. I am concerned that the hon. Member has some memory loss, because under the Conservatives a pub or bar closed every 14 hours. We are working closely with the industry to tackle concerns around the dual use of packaging, and we have held workshops with them. EPR fees only apply to drinks sold in bottles; they do not apply to pints of beer poured in pubs or wine sold by the glass, so I do hope that this will not stop the pubs in his constituency enjoying a festive Christmas.
Lauren Edwards (Rochester and Strood) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
We will restore our waterways to places communities can be proud of, where nature flourishes. Our environmental improvement plan outlines actions to reduce the volume of rainwater and pollutants entering the sewerage system, and we are rebuilding the water network through a record £104 billion investment. That includes over £10 billion to reduce sewer discharges from over 2,500 storm overflows in England and £4.8 billion to reduce phosphorus pollution.
Lauren Edwards
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and merry Christmas.
Will the Minister outline how the Government are delivering a fairer system to clean up waterways such as the River Medway, which runs through my constituency? It saw over 200 sewage outflows in 2024 and the estimates for this year are even higher, while consumers are also facing rising bills over the next five years. Will she set out the support that will be available for consumers? A polluter should pay, and the water company should be diverting profits to improve its ageing infrastructure.
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I thank her for raising that important issue and for her work on it and her passion. She is right to point out as well that the Environment Agency budget was cut by half under the previous Government, which left it powerless to clamp down on polluting water companies. We have been clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. That is why we have already banned unfair bonuses for water bosses, introduced tougher automatic penalties to clamp down on pollution and secured money to upgrade storm overflows across England.
But we are not stopping there, Mr Speaker; we don’t want to give you only that! We are going to give you more treats in the new year with our water White Paper, which will set out long term reforms to strengthen regulation, tackle pollution and accelerate the delivery of water infrastructure.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The River Otter in Devon is classified by the Environment Agency as “poor”, with twice the phosphate levels of other rivers in Devon. We hear from the Environment Agency that that is because of agricultural runoff. That is incorrect. Citizen scientists from the Otter Valley Association have proved that it is because of sewage discharges. Will she make sure that whatever succeeds the Environment Agency is a regulator with teeth?
Emma Hardy
The hon. Gentleman is quite right: of course we want a regulator with teeth, able to identify the exact source of pollution. As we have already said about our water White Paper, there will be a regional element it order to be able to in more detail at those particular catchments to identify the main source of pollution in each catchment and, therefore, the best actions to take to address it.
Matt Vickers (Stockton West) (Con)
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
While the Conservatives failed to spend £300 million of the farming budget, we are backing farmers with the largest nature-friendly budget in history, and 50,000 farm businesses and half of all farmed land are now managed under our schemes. We have today published our initial response to Baroness Batters’ recommendations on farm profitability, and we are developing our 25-year farming road map.
Matt Vickers
I have met many farmers from my part of the world who have shared with me the horrific consequences of the family farm tax on food prices, on food security and on families who have farmed for generations. This morning’s farming profitability review identifies that that is the single biggest issue affecting farm viability. I believe that if the Minister heard at first hand from farmers in my part of the world, she might think again. Will she meet them?
Dame Angela Eagle
I meet farmers all the time, and I intend to spend the early part of next year, and hopefully many years thereafter, continuing to do so.
Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to you and your team, Mr Speaker.
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat—or it would be if we had not had such a terrible year for avian influenza. The poultry sector is worth £1.5 billion gross value added to our UK economy. As much as I welcome the investment going into Harlow for the national biosecurity centre, will the Minister tell us what action we are taking to make sure that we have more veterinary surgeons located in the area where the problems are being found?
Dame Angela Eagle
I pay tribute to the farmers in my hon. Friend’s constituency in the awful situation they face. We are closely monitoring the outbreak and have taken action to eradicate disease by putting in place control zones, tracing movements and issuing a proactive housing order. I am more than happy to talk to him about what we can do to ensure that we have the appropriate level of veterinary response. Avian flu is now endemic in the wild bird population, and we will have to get increasingly sophisticated at dealing with it.
Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)
Merry Christmas to you and your team, Mr Speaker.
The Government must enact policies that benefit farming communities. They have a chance to do that now with another critical issue that impacts our farming, food security, animal welfare and biosecurity. A recommendation was made this month by the council of the School of the Biological Sciences to close the University of Cambridge’s vet school. I declare my strong personal and professional interest as a graduate of that school and as a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. We do not produce enough vets in the UK. We face threats to our food security and our biosecurity, both of which vets are pivotal to. The health and welfare of animals depends on vets, as indeed does public health. Will the Government act now to press the University of Cambridge to block this closure proposal and save Cambridge’s vet school, for the benefit of animals and people here in the UK and across the world?
Dame Angela Eagle
This is a matter for the University of Cambridge, but having visited the veterinary school at Harper Adams University, I am all too aware—as clearly the hon. Gentleman is—of the importance of having enough well-qualified vets in our country. We need to ensure that the supply and the opportunities to train are there, but this particular decision is one for the University of Cambridge. I am happy to talk to the university, but I am unsighted on the reasons. If the hon. Member wants to talk to me afterwards, I would be more than happy to hear what he has to say.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
Modelling has shown that food prices are driven by the interaction of domestic and international considerations, including farm gate prices, import prices and exchange rates. Modelling from industry and Government expects food price inflation to fall gradually over the next two years.
Nick Timothy
Happy Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to all Members and staff of the House.
At the Liaison Committee this week, the Prime Minister admitted that some farmers will take their own lives because of the family farms tax, but he repeated the claim that three quarters of farms will not be affected. According to the National Farmers Union, the opposite is true: three quarters of commercial family farms will have to pay it. The big idea now is to drive up profitability, but as my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne) said, the family farms tax is killing investment. Does the Minister think that Baroness Batters was wrong when she said in her report, on page 4, that the closure of the sustainable farming initiative and the family farms tax have left farmers
“particularly in the arable sector… questioning viability, let alone profitability”?
Dame Angela Eagle
I do not think that the hon. Member’s characterisation of the Prime Minister’s remarks to the Liaison Committee is entirely accurate, but I am working on introducing and making available in the first half of next year a sustainable farming incentive scheme that will hopefully be more available to smaller farmers, easier to engage with, and much simpler than the mess delivered by the Government of which he was a part. Let us face it: 25% of the money in the SFI scheme goes to the top 4% of farmers. I want to see a different distribution.
Katie Lam
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
The cost of food in this country increased by 4.2% year on year last month, yet farming profitability is on the floor and has been hit repeatedly by this Government, whether that is in national insurance contribution increases, the family farm tax or energy taxes. Will the Government consider easing their terrible tax burden on farmers to solve both the cost of living crisis for food and the farming profitability crisis at the same time?
Dame Angela Eagle
I am puzzled by the hon. Lady’s view that the issues she talks about are somehow having a bad effect on food prices, since yesterday’s figures demonstrate that there has been a 0.7% decline in food price inflation, and estimates assume that inflation will gradually come down over the next two years.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to you and your crew, Mr Speaker.
Food prices from farm to fork are particularly tough on coeliac sufferers. Their shops are 35% dearer, and a loaf of bread costs six times the standard price. Will my Front-Bench colleagues look into Italy’s allowance system, in order to replace our outmoded subscription model, which is bad value for the taxpayer?
Dame Angela Eagle
I am more than happy to look at how Italy does things, but that can be a bit of a double-edged sword. I sympathise and empathise with coeliacs, who have to deal with much higher prices. Some of that is to do with production and the need to ensure that there is no cross-contamination of foods. It may well be that it is more expensive to produce food that is safe for coeliacs. I absolutely accept my hon. Friend’s point, and I am happy to talk to her about it.
Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)
On Monday, the Prime Minister admitted that farmers are considering taking their own lives for fear of the family farm tax—a tax that he described as a “sensible reform”. The next day, I was given a letter for the Prime Minister from 90-year-old farmer and grandmother Mrs Denton. It contains one chilling question that I expect the farming Minister to be able to answer. Mrs Denton asks:
“My husband and I now need to know as soon as possible the date we need to die by to avoid the totally unfair inheritance tax that will be forcibly put on our offspring to have to sell or split up a food-producing farm—and do what?”
Dame Angela Eagle
This is a highly sensitive issue. The reasons for someone contemplating taking their own life are often very complex. My heart goes out to every family who is devastated by such events. I understand the pressures that farmers are under, but I have to say that the right hon. Lady’s way of making her point is very distasteful indeed.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
Dairy farmers are facing a difficult period of market adjustment. The new fair dealing regulations ensure fairness and greater transparency, creating a more resilient dairy supply chain that supports farmers and strengthens national food security.
Wendy Chamberlain
Happy Christmas to you and your staff, Mr Speaker, and to everyone here.
Despite the agricultural supply chain adjudicator having a remit over fair dealings for milk prices, it appears that contracts are essentially a one-way street, with milk processors dictating prices. A constituent of mine, a dairy farmer, has recently been notified of a 2p per litre cut, which equates to a loss of £11,000 and makes it unviable for him to continue. What steps is the Minister taking to urgently redress that imbalance? Farmers are scared to speak out because it will have an impact on their contract.
Dame Angela Eagle
I understand and empathise with the experience of the hon. Lady’s constituent. A global glut of milk is driving prices down; prices had gone up because there was an undersupply, so there are market corrections going on. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 now apply to all dairy supply contracts. If her constituent feels that he is being unfairly dealt with, he can contact the agricultural supply chain adjudicator, who was appointed to carry out enforcement of the fair dealing obligation regulations. He can now do so because those regulations have been in place since July of this year.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to you and your fantastic staff, Mr Speaker.
I note that the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) obviously has better things to do than turn up and speak for farmers. I want to speak up for dairy tenant farmers. Tenant farmers manage a third of all farmland in England. As well as running her dairy farm, Rachel at Low Springs farm in Baildon also runs Baildon farmers market and is the director of the Great Yorkshire show. Will the Minister set out how this Labour Government are implementing the recommendations of Baroness Rock’s review to help tenant dairy farmers such as Rachel?
Dame Angela Eagle
My hon. Friend raises the important point that a third of all farmland in England is managed by tenant farmers, so a fair and sustainable tenant farming sector relies on positive landlord, tenant and adviser relationships. To help deliver that, we have appointed Alan Laidlaw as England’s first commissioner for the tenant farming sector. We will continue to look particularly at how tenant farming agreements are working, to see whether there is any need for reform in the future.
John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
Merry Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, and to your tip-top team.
Dumfries and Galloway is the land of milk and slurry. We lack not for grass and dairy cattle, but we do lack for people. We are heavily reliant on immigrants to milk the cattle, so the loss of occupation code 5111 from the immigration salary list is causing huge concern. Can my farmers count on the Secretary of State to speak to the Home Office and head off what appears to be a looming crisis?
Dame Angela Eagle
We have a close relationship with the Home Office, and I have old contacts there too. I promise that we keep a close eye on these things and look at what we can do about emerging shortages. Given that we want to reduce the number of people who come into this country and that we want to create job opportunities for people here, it is important that the sector looks at how it can train people locally to do those jobs.
Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)
I had the opportunity to meet a dairy farmer in my constituency, who explained just how financially challenging things have been. They have diversified, they have a farm shop and they do raw milk vending, but it is simply not enough for them to make a profit on other activities to subsidise their milk production. Will the Minister outline how dairy farmers, who are critical to a vibrant food and drink sector, will be supported in the long term?
Dame Angela Eagle
The global glut of milk has led to instability in price, which is difficult as many of our food prices are reliant on global markets. We have put in place the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, and we will be keeping a close eye on the sector to see what else we can do to ensure that we continue to support it.
Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
Our animal health and welfare pathway scheme provides funding to farmers to improve the health and welfare of their livestock. It also supports veterinary visits to discuss health and welfare, and it provides capital grants for equipment and infrastructure to improve animal welfare. I am pleased that 7,000 farmers have already signed up to receive funding.
Adrian Ramsay
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
The Animal Law Foundation’s report “The Enforcement Problem” shows that only around 2.2% of farmers were inspected in 2024 and only around half of complaints about farmed animal welfare led to any inspection. Even when non-compliance is detected by local authorities, only 2% of cases lead to prosecution. Allowing those breaches is terrible for animals and terrible for the farmers who do comply with the rules. How will the forthcoming animal welfare strategy ensure that credible complaints are consistently investigated, and that enforcement bodies have the resources and duties needed to act when animal welfare concerns are raised?
Emma Reynolds
I can confirm that further details on this issue will be set out in the animal welfare strategy, and I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising it. He is right that we need to have a closer eye on enforcement and work more closely with councils to ensure that there is better enforcement.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Reynolds)
We know how much you love your pets, Mr Speaker, and we are a nation of animal lovers. We intend to publish our animal welfare strategy very soon, taking forward our manifesto promises with the most ambitious reform in a generation. This commitment to animal welfare sits alongside our wider ambitions for nature. Earlier this month we launched our environmental improvement plan, which sets out how we will protect our environment for future generations.
Finally, Mr Speaker, I wish you, your family, your many pets, your staff, the House staff who look after us so well, and all hon. Members, a merry Christmas. As many of us prepare to spend time with loved ones over Christmas, I want to thank the farmers, the emergency workers and many more who will continue their vital work throughout the festive period.
Sir John Whittingdale
While wishing the Minister, and indeed all hon. Members and staff, a very happy Christmas, may I tell her that many of my farming constituents will not be celebrating as they gather with their families, because their hopes of passing on their farms to their children, just as their parents and grandparents did before them, have been made impossible by Labour’s family farm tax? She has already heard from some of them when she and I did “Any Questions?” in Essex a few months ago, but will she now, once again, try to persuade the Chancellor to withdraw this punitive and damaging measure?
Emma Reynolds
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We did debate this issue on the radio together. The reason we are making these changes is that the top 7% of estates account for 40% of inheritance tax reliefs—that is £219 million for the top 37 landowners—and we think that is unfair.
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
Emma Reynolds
I am pleased to confirm that the animal welfare strategy will be published before Christmas, and I will have more to say about that shortly in the House. We are giving this country of animal lovers the legislation to match. The strategy will set out our priorities until 2030 and take forward the manifesto commitments on which Government Members stood.
Emma Reynolds
Well, Mr Speaker, it was not really worth waiting for. In the first instance, I urge the right hon. Lady to check her emails, as I sent a detailed response to her letter. I also urge her to stop talking the sector down. We are ensuring that we are helping farmers to be more profitable, which is why we have published the Batters review today. We are setting out in the new year our next iteration of the SFI, in close collaboration with the farming sector, and we will also set out our 25-year farming road map.
Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to you and your team, Mr Speaker.
Alongside many colleagues on the Government Benches who are passionate about farming, I will continue to argue for a rethink on inheritance tax, but I back this Government and their mission to improve the profitability of our farms. We are speeding up planning, tackling unfair supply chain practices, unlocking finance and boosting exports. Does the Minister agree that the findings of the Batters review mean that we can finally turn a page on dwindling farm incomes and unleash benefits for farmers, the rural economy and our nation’s food security?
The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Dame Angela Eagle)
That is absolutely true. Stepping forward with confidence into the future using new agritech techniques, diversifying farm income and seeing what we can do in partnership with the industry, as Baroness Batters’ report says this morning, is the way forward; talking down the industry and covering it in doom and gloom is not.
Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker, and I hope you get to enjoy a turkey from Norfolk.
Water availability is increasingly important for my farmers, and Conservative austerity and cuts to the Environment Agency made obtaining water abstraction licences and permits painfully slow and often expensive. Can the Minister provide an update on work to speed up that process so that farmers are not kept waiting for important decisions?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)
My hon. Friend raises a really important point. I was delighted to meet a number of water abstraction groups— who might not be the WAGs most people think of—to talk about some of the work they are doing as farmers to make farms more resilient. It is a hugely important issue, and just this week, the Minister for Housing and Planning has talked about how we are going to make the rules for farmers creating their own reservoirs simpler and more straightforward, so that we can build resilience. We know what a difficult time farmers have had, with a particularly wet winter and a very dry summer, and we want to do everything we can to help them become more resilient.
John Milne (Horsham) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)
Absolutely not. This is a very new policy, and BNG remains a legal requirement. These changes are targeted and proportionate and have been consulted on, and what the hon. Gentleman omits to say is that we are introducing BNG into nationally significant infrastructure projects for the first time. On a net basis, we think the market will continue and thrive.
Claire Hazelgrove (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Lab)
Merry Christmas to all, Mr Speaker.
Over the Christmas break, many of us across the constituency will enjoy getting out for a good walk in nature. I am particularly pleased that our Labour Government have confirmed that the first new national forest for 30 years, the Western forest, will be planted across our region, making it even easier for more people to do that in future. Will the Minister please set out how the early stages of the programme are progressing, and share more about the plans for this new forest and the benefits it will bring for local people?
Mary Creagh
The hot news is that the Secretary of State has planted an oak tree there and I have planted an apple tree there, so I feel that as a Department, we have done our bit. It is a brilliant forest providing lots of different ecosystem services, from agroforestry to increasing access for local people and, critically, preventing flooding. The initial sites include Pucklechurch in Gloucestershire, and when it is completed, the forest will serve over 2.5 million residents, bringing trees much closer to where they live.
Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)
Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
A recent outbreak of avian flu near Wetheral in my constituency affected 43,000 birds and required the culling of the entire flock. Although I welcome the turkey vaccination trial, I am concerned that it will not conclude in time for the vaccine to be rolled out for the next avian flu season. Will the Minister set out what steps she is taking to remove the regulatory barriers that might prevent a roll-out in time for the next avian flu season?
Dame Angela Eagle
We have to get the science right on vaccination trials. The turkey trial is being carried out because this is one of our most valuable stocks, so we cannot rush it. I would not want to get our turkey industry into a situation where the vaccination trial was rushed and we were not sure of the response, because if there is not international recognition of vaccinations, it destroys the trade.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Dame Angela Eagle
We have already brought forward some sectoral regulations to improve fairness, but there is a built-in difficulty when there are small suppliers and very large buyers. The fairness regulations that the hon. Gentleman talks about have been put in place to try to redress that difficulty.
Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Many constituents, including my own, were shocked to see that 24,000 homes and businesses in the south-east were without drinking water for two weeks. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that residents get the compensation that they deserve?
Emma Hardy
My hon. Friend raises a hugely important point. It was outrageous that those residents had to wait such a long time for water. We are putting customers first by more than doubling the compensation that they receive for water company failings, such as supply interruptions, low pressure, sewer flooding and meter company issues. It is because of changes under this Government that, for the first time, customers will receive compensation for boil notices. The recent incident in Tunbridge Wells is the first time that boil notice compensation has been issued. The changes will rightly increase the amount of compensation that customers receive. We are clear that, under this Government, customers come first, and we are going even further by introducing a water ombudsman as part our wider reforms.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Emma Hardy
The hon. Lady has raised this important point with me, and she will know my commitment to the River Wye following my visit. One recommendation is to explore the feasibility of a water protection zone. This would be a complex undertaking, and the Environment Agency is currently considering it. In the first instance, it might be wise to meet the Environment Agency, but if that it unsatisfactory, and she wants to meet me, I can arrange that.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)
Last week I visited Ball Corporation, the leading global manufacturer of sustainable aluminium packaging, at its head office in my constituency. What steps is the Department taking to improve recycling of prime aluminium in the form of cans in the UK, to help support jobs in the UK’s circular economy?
Mary Creagh
Our simpler recycling reforms are all about creating clean streams of recyclable material. I was delighted to see some of the investment that is going in when I opened a new chemical recycling facility for plastics in Amber Valley, which can produce food-grade plastics. I hope that much more investment is to come, because aluminium is infinitely recyclable.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
The Solicitor General (Ellie Reeves)
This Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record caseload of 80,000 criminal cases waiting to be heard in the Crown court. Doing nothing was not an option. Let me be clear: jury trials remain a cornerstone of our justice system, but justice delayed is justice denied. Too many victims are being let down and too many defendants are being denied a fair and timely trial due to the ongoing crisis in our courts. That is what the reforms are about.
Dame Caroline Dinenage
The Government have cancelled elections and are scrapping jury trials, and now we hear that they are limiting the right to appeal to a Crown court, despite the fact that such appeals have a 40% success rate. The Solicitor General talks about justice denied; surely, that is a case in point? Given that her job is to uphold the rule of law, would she push back against some of her colleagues’ more authoritarian tendencies?
The Solicitor General
Justice delayed is justice denied. The previous Conservative Government allowed this crisis to develop in our criminal courts, with rape victims waiting up to three years for their cases to be heard. On appeals, Sir Brian Leveson recommended a permission stage on appeal, which would mean that appeal claims with merit will have the opportunity to be heard.
Mr Francois
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
I am sure the Solicitor General is aware of Operation Nova, which is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and assists veterans who come into contact with the criminal justice system, so may I set her a theoretical challenge? Let us assume that an Op Nova veteran who fought in Afghanistan goes out one evening and is assaulted in a bar, perhaps by someone who does not like soldiers very much, but the situation is confused, and the soldier—the veteran—ends up in the dock. Should not that person, who fought for his country in a war zone and in this country’s uniform, be entitled to put his defence in front of a jury of his peers?
The Solicitor General
Jury trials make up 3% of cases currently heard in the criminal courts. It is important for both victims and defendants that they are not waiting years and years for their cases to get to court, which is happening as a result of the crisis that the previous Government left us in. The most serious cases will still be heard by juries—for example, rape, murder and grievous bodily harm cases—and it is important that justice is delivered swiftly.
Nick Timothy
I am going to do my best to get an answer, but I am not sure I will get one, based on the two we have just heard. Without any kind of mandate, the Government want to do away with jury trials and to extend the powers of magistrates to sentence people for up to two years, without any right to appeal the conviction or the sentence. Will the Solicitor General confirm that, of the 5,000 cases appealed from magistrates courts last year, more than 40% were upheld? Is it the Government’s policy simply to live with that number of miscarriages of justice?
The Solicitor General
The hon. Gentleman is wrong to say that we are getting rid of jury trials. I will say it again: less than 3% of cases are currently heard by a jury. Under the proposals, some cases would be heard by a Crown court bench, or by the magistrates courts. When we are facing backlogs of up to three years and rape victims are not having their cases heard, doing nothing is not an option.
In relation to the hon. Gentleman’s point about appeals, Sir Brian Leveson has recommended introducing a permission stage for appeals. We are not doing away with appeals. Appeals that have merit will still be heard.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
Restricting jury trials may help to reduce the Crown court backlog, but there is no evidence that the use of juries caused the current delay. However, there is evidence, starting under the previous Government, that a lack of advocates—prosecution and defence—is a significant cause of delay. What steps is the Solicitor General taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service is decreasing, rather than increasing, the wait for trial, which is such a blight on our criminal justice system?
The Solicitor General
My hon. Friend makes an important point. He will know that Sir Brian Leveson, in his report, said that investment on its own is not enough; radical reform is also needed. This Government have provided record funding for sitting days in the Crown courts—5,000 more this year—funded a £150 million boost for court maintenance, committed £34 million more a year for criminal legal aid advocate fees, and delivered a package of support for victims. Reform and investment, hand in hand, will hopefully start to tackle the backlog left by the previous Government.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
For any victim of rape or sexual assault, to wait years for justice to be delivered is horrific. The mental toll on victims, who are unable to see their perpetrators have their day in court, is unimaginable. It is a stain on our justice system. Will the Solicitor General confirm that victims will be kept at the heart of our justice system, and that this Government will deliver timely justice for victims of rape and serious sexual assault?
The Solicitor General
I am delighted that the Minister for Safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), will today announce a landmark cross-Government strategy to halve violence against women and girls. This Government are introducing structural reforms as well as investment, including half a billion pounds-worth of support for victims—including victims of rape and serious sexual assault—so that we can support victims and deliver swifter justice.
Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)
The Solicitor General is absolutely right to say that justice delayed is justice denied. My constituent Qesser Zuhrah has been on remand in prison for over a year. Two other constituents, Heba Muraisi and Lewie Chiaramello, have also been on remand, awaiting trial. None of the offences of which they are accused are offences of violence against the person. All three are now on hunger strike. Would it not make much more sense, be much more efficient for the criminal justice system and, quite honestly, be a humanitarian gesture to allow these three to be released, with tagging and appropriate monitoring, to face trial in due course?
Mr Speaker
Order. The point has been made, and it is on the record. Can I just tell the Solicitor General that because this is sub judice, I will move on to Helen Grant, the shadow Solicitor General?
Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I wish you and your brilliant team a very happy Christmas?
The 2017 Lammy review looked at prejudice in the criminal justice system. Our now Justice Secretary said:
“Juries are a success story of our justice system… juries are representative of local populations—and must deliberate as a group, leaving no hiding place for bias or discrimination”,
and
“This debate and deliberation acts as a filter for prejudice”.
In 2020, he said,
“Criminal trials without juries are a bad idea. You don’t fix the backlog with trials that are widely perceived as unfair.”
What advice has the Minister given on how to avoid the discriminatory outcomes that the Justice Secretary warned about?
The Solicitor General
The hon. Lady will know that in the judicial oath, judges swear to act
“without fear or favour, affection or ill will”,
and they decide cases in line with the law and the facts of the case. That underpins our democracy and our criminal justice system. Our reforms will not impact the outcome of trials; they will affect only the mode of trial. We are working to bring in new and diverse magistrates over the next 12 months, ensuring that our benches reflect the communities that they serve, and we will continue to recruit high numbers in the future.
Helen Grant
I am not too sure that answered my question; I shall have another go. This month, the Minister’s colleague, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner), wrote:
“The erosion of jury trials not only risks undermining a fundamental right, but importantly, will not reduce the backlog by anything like enough”.
He went on:
“If this ever comes to the House of Commons, I will rebel and vote against it…The House and the public will not stand for the erosion of a fundamental right”.
It would seem from X that at least 38 of his colleagues take a similar view. Is the Solicitor General, who is charged with upholding the rule of law, also concerned about the Justice Secretary’s proposals?
The Solicitor General
I take very seriously the proposals put forward by Sir Brian Leveson, which made it clear that because of the crisis in the justice system, and the backlog of 80,000 cases left by the previous Conservative Government, investment alone is not enough; radical reform is also required. Jury trials are not being got rid of, but some cases will be heard by magistrates, or by the Crown bench division. Justice delayed is justice denied. People are waiting far too long for their case to get to court. That is no justice. It is no justice when rape victims wait three years—and 60% pull out of their case before it gets to court as a result. Doing nothing is not an option, so it is important that we implement these measures.
Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)
Thank you, Mr Speaker; I also wish you and your excellent team, and everyone across the House, a very merry Christmas.
Following on from my question on the legal aid means test for domestic abuse victims, I want to highlight the danger that scrapping jury trials for sentences under three years poses for domestic abuse cases. It is highly questionable that this will bring the backlog down, as has been claimed. A Cornish legal aid clinic got in touch with me to detail a judge’s deeply troubling conduct towards a woman seeking justice against her abuser; the judge reportedly described her as “difficult” and effectively blamed her for the abuse she endured.
The complex nature of domestic abuse cases requires the breadth of perspective and understanding that jury trials provide. What assessment will the Solicitor General make of the impact that reducing jury trials will have specifically on domestic abuse cases heard in the Crown court?
The Solicitor General
The Government are committed to supporting survivors of domestic abuse and ensuring that they have access to justice. I recently visited the brilliant specialist domestic abuse court based at Westminster magistrates court, and saw at first hand the work it is doing to support survivors and help cases get through the courts as quickly as possible. When survivors of domestic abuse bravely come forward and report crimes, it is important that they receive help. Alongside the reforms, we are introducing a package of support for victims. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the Government’s cross-party strategy to tackle violence against women and girls will be published today.
Lauren Edwards (Rochester and Strood) (Lab)
The Solicitor General
It is this Government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls. As I have said today, we are launching our cross-Government VAWG strategy. I will not pre-empt it—there will be a statement in the House shortly—but I hope that my hon. Friend agrees that this national emergency needs a truly cross-Government approach. The Crown Prosecution Service recently launched its own complementary strategy. Under its victims transformation project, adult victims of rape now receive an enhanced service that provides access to a dedicated victim liaison officer and a pre-trial meeting with the prosecution team.
Lauren Edwards
I thank the Minister for her response. Earlier this week, I attended a local multi-agency roundtable on tackling violence against women to discuss how we can work together better to support victims, and I have reflected on what I heard from a very brave constituent who shared her story. Will the Minister set out how the Government will improve the experience of women like her, who need not only better support to access legal aid and bring the perpetrators to justice, but longer-term support as they navigate custody issues, mental health challenges and the significant impact that domestic violence has on children?
The Solicitor General
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the devastating impact that VAWG has on victims and their families; it can affect every aspect of their lives, and I commend her brave constituent for coming forward with her experiences. That is why the strategy being announced today adopts a truly whole-system approach and unites action from every area of Government, including the criminal justice system, as well as health, education, housing and more. However, action must be backed with investment, and that is why in May we announced almost £20 million to provide vital support for victims of VAWG.
Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)
Happy Christmas to you and your team, Mr Speaker.
Earlier this year, I was successful in my campaign to increase the ridiculously short sentences handed down to three vile grooming gang members in my constituency. However, I spoke to at least one victim in my constituency who has told me that she did not know that the sentences of her abusers could be referred as unduly lenient. As the VAWG strategy is released today, will the Solicitor General meet me to discuss introducing a new statutory duty on authorities, mandating that victims of crimes must be informed about the unduly lenient sentence scheme?
The Solicitor General
This year I expect to have received in the region of 900 referrals to look at sentences under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. It is an important part of our criminal justice system that some cases can be referred for a review. I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the issue further.
Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)
The Solicitor General
Every community deserves to feel safe and protected. Our rural and farming communities face distinct and often targeted threats from criminals, which is why the Government are taking decisive action to address these challenges, with tougher powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour and prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. Additionally, the Crown Prosecution Service has revived its community engagement forum on rural crime and will be bringing together key stakeholders to discuss the action required in January 2026.
Claire Young
Merry Christmas to you and all in Parliament, Mr Speaker.
What work is the Attorney General undertaking through their superintendence of the Crown Prosecution Service and in collaboration with the Home Office to reduce delays in prosecutions for rural crime and to ensure that prosecutors are equipped to support effective enforcement in rural areas?
The Solicitor General
The hon. Lady is right to raise this important issue. It is important that we look at all the ways to tackle rural crime and that those crimes are successfully prosecuted, such as by implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and resale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting. We are also committed to funding the national rural and wildlife crime units with more than £800,000, to allow them to continue to provide their important work on intelligence, analysis and investigation to assist forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK in investigating rural crime.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, Mr Speaker.
The chief constable of Suffolk has informed me that much rural domestic violence is simply unreported, with one reason perhaps being the feeling that trials are very long delayed. Would my right hon. Friend agree that we have an absolute duty to address this urgently?
The Solicitor General
My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for tackling violence against women and girls in his constituency and beyond. He is right that we need to see swifter justice, which is why we are investing in the criminal courts with £500 million extra funding to support victims, 5,000 more sitting days and a package of support and reform to ensure that these cases get to court quickly so that justice can be served.
Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)
The Solicitor General
I am sure my hon. Friend will agree that a fair and just legal system, which must work for everyone, must also reflect society as a whole. The Government Legal Department has expanded early career routes and is running a national law placement scheme for students from deprived backgrounds. The Crown Prosecution Service runs initiatives such as the Anthony Walker bursary scheme, which supports students from minority backgrounds and provides legal work experience for black undergraduates and graduates.
Kate Osamor
I thank the Solicitor General for her response; I know she has done a lot of work in this area. I need to read out a quotation in the Chamber from the Lammy review:
“A fundamental source of mistrust”
in the criminal justice system among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities
“is the lack of diversity among those who wield power within it.”
What impact will the proposed judge-only trials and the empowering of legal professionals have on the trust of under-represented groups in our legal system?
The Solicitor General
My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is vital that the judiciary and the legal profession continue to reflect the society they serve. We are working to bring in new and diverse magistrates over the next 12 months and will continue to recruit. It is vital that our judicial benches reflect the communities we serve. Judges swear a judicial oath to act without fear or favour, which is a cornerstone of our justice system.
Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)
The Solicitor General
The most granular data that I can provide is for the Dorset police area, where the crime with the highest prosecution volume is shoplifting, followed by driving under the influence and then assault by beating. To keep communities safe over the Christmas period, the Government have launched the winter of action. Police will use hotspot patrols, and will work closely with businesses and communities to clamp down on shop theft and street crime across hundreds of town centres, including Bournemouth.
Tom Hayes
Mr Speaker, may I wish you and your team a happy Christmas? What the Solicitor General found on looked into this does not surprise me. Chris has said that he cannot stomach shoplifting, particularly at the Asda petrol station in Charminster, and Jackie is putting up with antisocial behaviour and shoplifting at the Co-op on Christchurch Road. Does the Solicitor General agree that businesses need easier ways to report crime, and that no shop worker or constituent should have to put up with fear of harm or abuse on their high street?
The Solicitor General
My hon. Friend makes a good point. I know that he has convened a meeting in his constituency on retail crime with high street businesses, and he has been vocal, both in the Chamber and with me, about the scourge of shoplifting. The Government are introducing new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to tackle retail crime. That includes removing the £200 low-value limit for shoplifting, as well as introducing a new offence of assaulting a shop worker.
Royal Assent
Mr Speaker
I have to notify the House, in accordance with the Royal Assent Act 1967, that the King has signified his Royal Assent to the following Acts and Measures:
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025
Mental Health Act 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025
Space Industry (Indemnities) Act 2025
Employment Rights Act 2025
Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure 2025
Abuse Redress Measure 2025.