Avian Flu: Turkeys in Norfolk
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Lord asks an important question. I met APHA yesterday to discuss exactly this issue because, when there are outbreaks of more than one disease, it has to look at how it will manage all the different aspects. It has assured me that it is confident that it has the resources to manage the response currently, and I am pleased that the Government have awarded funding to Weybridge to ensure that our future capability will be there.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I commend my noble friend the Minister on her wonderful work with the devolved Administrations, in meeting the various Ministers and organisations in the agricultural field. Whenever she next meets the Minister in Northern Ireland, will she ask him what joint work can be done to address disease in not only poultry flocks but animals such as TB reactors? That is a major problem for our farming industry.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
I actually met with the Minister in Northern Ireland only yesterday, and we have very regular meetings. Biosecurity is incredibly important, and it is important that we work right across all our devolved Administrations as well as with our European colleagues. I am more than happy to discuss this—I have discussed it when I have gone over to Northern Ireland. I have met farming communities over there and looked at the biosecurity measures at ports for things such as African swine fever. We are being very proactive about this.
Movement of Goods (Northern Ireland to Great Britain) (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Transitory Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I refer to my registered interests, including my membership of the Government’s Veterinary Medicine Working Group and of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of your Lordships’ House. I also declare that I support the Windsor Framework, I supported the protocol and I believe, like many others in Northern Ireland, that the Windsor Framework is a means of managing the friction of the trade in goods on the island of Ireland. It is about managing the delicate relationship that exists.
I am pleased that my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock is on the Front Bench. I must congratulate her on all the work she has been doing with the farming community in Northern Ireland. The latest such work was last week during her last visit, which I was told was very successful by the Ulster Farmers Union. They told me to say that they were very pleased that you visited the farm in Glenanne in County Armagh, which is an example of good farming practice in Northern Ireland.
This is the third debate in the last five weeks on regret amendments to Windsor Framework statutory instruments. Only last Friday in the House of Commons there was a debate on a Private Member’s Bill from Jim Allister, the Member for North Antrim. This sought to cancel the Windsor Framework and replace it with mutual recognition—maybe, in shorthand, the Liz Truss protocol Bill—which could impact on Article 2 of the framework on equality and human rights, as required by the Good Friday agreement, and even jeopardise our access to the single electricity market, which is protected by the Windsor Framework.
I ask my noble friends—I call them my noble friends because they are from Northern Ireland—do you really want to wreck our delicate political arrangements? Do you really want to wreck our special trading arrangements—that unique dual access for goods to the EU single market and the UK internal market? Those political arrangements reflect our unique political balance in Northern Ireland between unionists and nationalists and others. In turn, that could also jeopardise our economy and potential for growth.
Today in the Assembly—I do not know the result yet, but I can predict it—there was a debate on the democratic scrutiny committee on the Windsor Framework. I would say, “What have all of all these debates achieved?” but I imagine that today’s vote in the Assembly will result in a review of arrangements of the Windsor Framework. That would afford businesses, communities and individuals across Northern Ireland the opportunity to correct deficiencies and avail themselves of the benefits of two important global markets. This point was made this morning on “Good Morning Ulster” by the chief executive of the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland, Roger Pollen.
I know that perhaps the real purpose of the proposers —the noble Lord, Lord Dodds, and on previous occasions the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey—is that they want to cancel the Windsor Framework because they see it as causing certain constitutional jeopardy. I remind them that the majority of people in Northern Ireland voted to remain. In the last poll some weeks ago, 57% of the population in Northern Ireland support the Windsor Framework.
Windsor Framework (Non-Commercial Movement of Pet Animals) Regulations 2024
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
It is this side, thank you.
My Lords, I refer to the register of Members’ interests, as a member of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of your Lordships’ House and of the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Working Group. We had a similar debate on the Windsor Framework some weeks ago and I suppose that we have had debates like this on other statutory instruments in relation to the Windsor Framework. It is an issue that divides communities in Northern Ireland along broadly political constitutional lines. However, we must not forget that the Windsor Framework is a result of Brexit. It would not be here if we did not have Brexit. That is the political reality that we all face and must countenance.
I for one support the Windsor Framework and I supported the protocol, which I believed was the best means of dealing with the challenges that were presented by Brexit for trade in goods on the island of Ireland, both north and south. Before Brexit, goods moved freely across the island, helping to sustain and underpin our economies, both north and south. That fact was recognised in the Good Friday agreement, which was referred to earlier today, and in the three-stranded relationships as a result of that agreement, whether it was the Northern Ireland Executive, the Assembly, the North/South Ministerial Council or the British-Irish Council.
Prior to and since the vote on the Brexit referendum, many of us have insisted that there was a need for a special status for Northern Ireland because of those unique trading and political relationships on the island. That fact has not diminished and now manifests itself in the Windsor Framework, which exists to manage those challenging relationships that exist—there is no doubt they are challenging. I believe that where there are imperfections with some areas of trade within the Windsor Framework, they need resolution through dialogue and negotiation between the UK and the EU.
On veterinary medicines, my noble friend on the Front Bench very ably chairs our Veterinary Medicine Working Group, which is trying to understand and deal with the challenges presented to our agri-food industry in Northern Ireland and to resolve with the EU those challenges with the supply of medicines to our veterinarians in Northern Ireland, as well as looking at an SPS veterinary agreement. I believe the same applies with pets and companion animals; it requires sensible management of this issue to ensure that there are no impediments.
I say to those who supported Brexit and who bring forward these regret amendments to your Lordships’ House to challenge every piece of secondary legislation on the Windsor Framework as an attack on the constitutional sovereignty of the UK and Northern Ireland that I believe that is disingenuous. I recognise their reasons for doing so, but I do not agree with them. At the end of the day, those same people and those same representatives argued for the hardest possible Brexit, and sometimes you get what you argued for. Put simply, I believe we would have been better to remain in the EU, and I am pleased that my colleagues in the new Labour Government, via the Prime Minister and other senior Ministers, are working with the EU on a reset of those relationships, notwithstanding the realities of the situation. For my part, I have my own political identity as a democratic Irish nationalist, but I recognise the difficulties that my colleagues on the Front Bench are presented with.
The purpose of the instrument under discussion this evening is to ensure the smooth movement of pet dogs, cats and ferrets from GB to Northern Ireland, while ensuring that any pet movements from GB and Ireland or other EU member states remain subject to the relevant EU requirements. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, of which I am a member, considered that this instrument
“is an example of where wider consultation would have been desirable”.
Our role in that Committee is largely process-driven, and effective engagement and communication through a publicity campaign and notices in veterinary surgeries will definitely be vital to improve public understanding of how the scheme will operate in practice.
Therefore, can my noble friend say whether there are any plans to do such publicity, and will she talk to ministerial colleagues, maybe through the usual channels, about the necessity for more consultation in relation to statutory instruments as per the Windsor Framework? That would help in explaining the detail not only to public representatives but to wider business and the communities throughout Northern Ireland.
Businesses want to see a resolution to all the challenges presented by Brexit and the bureaucracy of the Windsor Framework, and many businesses have said to me that they welcomed any agreement when faced with the catastrophic alternative of a no-deal Brexit. Business and trade in Northern Ireland welcomed an agreement that provided continued access to the all-Ireland market, which many businesses in Northern Ireland relied on. Furthermore, it welcomes a unique solution for a unique place with trade, social, family and emotive ties with both Britain and Ireland. It is also worth noting that in the assessment of the recent Queen’s University survey, most respondents—around 57%—again want MLAs to vote in favour of the continued application of Articles 5 to 10 of the protocol/Windsor Framework. That vote is expected by the Secretary of State to take place before the Christmas Recess of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In wanting the dismantling of the Windsor Framework, I wonder whether those who object realise that their fervour for opposition could result in tampering with the human rights and equality provisions of the Good Friday agreement that the Windsor Framework seeks to protect, as well as the single electricity market which exists on the island?
In conclusion, I say to my noble friend on the Front Bench that I totally support this statutory instrument. I support the Windsor Framework because it is a necessary legal device to deal with the complexities that were presented to us in Ireland, north and south, on the issue of Brexit. We need a pragmatic solution rather than choosing to have political contests and duels simply for the sake of them.
Does my noble friend the Minister agree with me that debate is necessary in a democratic society, but that all of us have to ask whether this is in the best interests of our businesses and economy? Perhaps my noble friend could also tell us how this statutory instrument can be progressed to full implementation stage and what she sees as evolving and developing as part of that full implementation?
Lord Blencathra (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, for moving her amendment and securing this important debate. She made a very powerful and detailed speech. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Dodds, on his excellent contribution. As I know the Minister appreciates, there are many noble Lords who feel very strongly about the Windsor Framework. I hope the Government will take these concerns seriously as they work to deliver a fair settlement for Northern Ireland now that we have left the EU.
In particular, the Government’s stated policy of seeking closer ties with our partners in the European Union is concerning to many in Northern Ireland, and we on these Benches are clear that the Government must not do anything that undermines Northern Ireland’s access to the UK internal market.
Budget: Implications for Farming Communities
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)
My Lords, we understand farmers’ anxiety at changes to agricultural property relief. However, the vast majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by the changes. The latest data available shows that the top 7% of claims for agricultural property relief in 2021-22 accounted for 40% of the cost of the tax relief, with the top 2% accounting for 22% of the cost. Most families will be able to pass the family farm down to their children, just as previous generations have always done.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, farmers in Northern Ireland greatly appreciate that my noble friend the Minister has met the devolved Minister on a fairly regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues. When she next meets the Minister of Agriculture, the Ulster Farmers Union and the agricultural producers in the region, will she discuss the need for tax amelioration measures to provide for succession planning, to encourage young people into farming and protect farm families? There is a unique issue in Northern Ireland which needs to be addressed.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
As the noble Baroness said, I meet the Minister of Agriculture in Northern Ireland regularly and met the Ulster Farmers Union very recently, as well as the noble Baroness, to discuss these issues, and I know that my officials meet various organisations regularly to discuss them. I will be back in Belfast towards the end of this month and hope to meet the Ulster Farmers Union again shortly. As she pointed out, tax and succession planning is incredibly important. There is an issue with getting young people into farming, and I recommend that people talk to professionals about what is available to them for tax purposes going forward.
Rural Communities
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I first thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, for securing this important debate on rural priorities. I also acknowledge and congratulate my colleague from Northern Ireland, the noble Lord, Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard. He has served as a district councillor in Fermanagh District Council and as a Member in the Northern Ireland Assembly, to which we were elected at the same time in November 2003 and then re-elected on several occasions. We were leaders of our political parties at the same time, and we met regularly on a range of issues. We also served in the other place and now we serve in your Lordships’ House. The noble Lord, Lord Elliott, and I are also similar in age, although I edge upwards by being a few years older than he is. On a very personal level, I give him my best wishes and my congratulations on making his maiden speech.
The noble Lord, Lord Elliott, and I served and represented rural communities in fairly different parts of Northern Ireland, and we also have different perspectives on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland; he is an Ulster Unionist and I am a democratic Irish nationalist. But that does not prevent us working together on the issues that matter to the people; that has always been the case and will continue to be the case, and I am in no doubt about that.
Moving swiftly on to the Motion, I, like the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, want to give a perspective from Northern Ireland, where the local department is implementing the rural policy framework, the objective of which is to ensure that rural dwellers enjoy the same quality of life and opportunities as those in urban areas. Various rural priorities need to be addressed, undoubtedly. I am very pleased that my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock is on the Front Bench and has already met the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment on numerous occasions. She can report that in her response. No doubt she will have heard the various issues that confront rural communities, thereby necessitating a higher level of budget for farming and rural communities throughout the UK, but I would also say particularly in Northern Ireland.
The priorities for rural communities that need to be addressed, along with farming, are food production and food security, as well as better access and provision of sustainable services such as schools, broadband internet, mobile phone accessibility, the provision of banking hubs—we are all challenged in rural communities by the decrease and reduction in the number of bank branches—the provision and sustainability of shops and business development enterprises allied to the needs of those farming families, the restrictions on rural planning policy, and the provision of new housebuilding. None of us can gainsay that the issues in rural communities are different. There are many similarities and those need to be addressed.
Another factor is the potential for youth migration to urban areas. An important factor in knitting together rural communities is the continuing need for accessibility to good quality healthcare and allied services of acute hospitals. This also involves looking at the post-Covid-19 future and embracing the opportunities that green growth, climate change impacts, globalisation and technological innovation present. Therefore, a holistic approach to rural development is required to secure and underpin such communities and encompass many of the priorities that have already been raised by the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, and the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, in her introduction.
In Northern Ireland, our agriculture sector faces immense pressures due to rising production costs, the uncertainties of post-Brexit trade and the increasing impact of climate change. The 670,000 people living in rural communities in Northern Ireland and the 113,000 jobs in the food supply chain rely heavily on farming. There are also jobs linked indirectly to farms that rely on them for business. Northern Ireland’s farmers need increased financial support from the Treasury; and I know that, quite recently, the Ulster Farmers Union has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, regarding these matters, because its members wish to remain competitive, sustainable and resilient, as they have lost the EU Pillar 2 funding. I wonder if my noble friend could say something about the replacement for Pillar 2 funding and how the funding that could be provided could underpin and sustain rural communities.
In the post-Brexit world, it is important that, as part of the reset with the EU, the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Defra Secretary of State develop clear policies to facilitate smooth trade between Northern Ireland and the EU, and between GB and Northern Ireland, through the provision of funding for mitigating market disruptions caused by Brexit. It is important to increase investment in local food production and sustainable farming, and to promote renewable energy sources and energy efficiency within the agriculture sector. Undoubtedly agriculture is a holistic industry, along with rural development and rural services.
Therefore, in advance of the forthcoming Budget, it is important to recognise the economic pressures which the Government have told us about, but modest increases in agricultural funding will deliver substantial returns in food security and for the development of rural communities. I hope that my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock could detail some of those in turn, notwithstanding the budget pressures and the comprehensive spending review, because, at the end of the day, I want to see what joint working there is with the community, the voluntary sector and other government departments in the UK and the devolved nations and regions.