Sheep Farming

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 4th September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is not often I get called first after the introductory speech—so thank you, Dr Huq. It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship. I commend the hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) on setting the scene so very well. I was at the Adjournment debate with him last night and now we are in Westminster Hall together—we are on a roll, and I wish him well.

As Members who have known me for a longer time will be aware, and perhaps those who are new, I represent a fairly rural constituency where farming is a massive contributor to our local economy. I live in a farm down the Ards peninsula at Greyabbey, and I have been steeped in agricultural activities all my life, so I understand the pressures and challenges faced by the farming industry and our local farmers. It is a pleasure to be here to speak on this issue and to give the Northern Ireland perspective. I am so pleased to see the Minister in his place—well done. I look forward to him responding to our questions as much as he can, although I am ever mindful that farming is a devolved matter; a theme of my speech will be how we can do it together across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers’ Union. I was also at one time, in a very small way, a hobby farmer of sheep. I enjoyed it, but the workload became so great with other activities that it was impossible to look after the sheep, so I sold them to my neighbour up the road. I have fond memories of lambing times and helping all those ewes to lamb.

Sheep farming is a significant part of the UK agricultural sector, shaping both landscapes and rural economies in the four regions of the United Kingdom. There are some 31.8 million sheep in the UK, down from a recent peak of 34.8 million in 2017. This debate is so important, because there has been a decrease in many such sectors.

Sheep are predominantly, but not exclusively, found in the north and west of the United Kingdom. I will share some figures to give a Northern Ireland perspective. The value of output from sheep decreased by 0.5% to £109 million in 2023. The total number of sheep slaughtered increased by 4% in 2023, whereas the average carcase weight decreased by 2% to 22 kg. I have to say that I owe all these stats to the Ulster Farmers’ Union; I thank it for making them available. The volume of sheepmeat produced increased some 2% in 2023, and the 2023 sheep census showed that there were approximately 2 million sheep in Northern Ireland, including almost 1 million breeding ewes. Thirty-eight per cent of farmers in Northern Ireland—quite a large number—have sheep, and the value of the sheep industry output in 2022 was £106 million, so sheep farming plays a critical part in the farming community in which I live and in the Ards peninsula.

Strangford has numerous sheep farmers who farm sheep for meat and wool. Wool has not been getting much of a price over the last few years, but it is all part of farmers’ revenue, albeit a small one, in rural villages like Carrowdore, Ballywalter, Greyabbey—where I live—Kircubbin and Portaferry, across the whole peninsula, across Ards and indeed further out to Comber and Ballygowan in the new constituency, which takes in more of South Down, down as far as the Quoile bridge in Downpatrick. There are numerous sheep farmers there too; countless farmers contribute to the local agricultural economy.

Farming is a huge aspect of the local economy of Strangford. Our sheep and lamb farmers provide high-quality meat to subsidiaries for retail purposes. Numerous local farm shops, such as McKee’s in Newtownards and Harrisons in Greyabbey, provide a farm-to-fork service, showcasing the locality and local restaurants. Doing farm to fork means that the shops get all the revenue from the breeding of the lambs, their sale and ultimately the eating. For McKee’s and Harrisons, it is quite productive.

The United Kingdom imports sheep products under new free trade agreements signed since we exited the EU. The hon. Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) spoke about the price of legs of lamb from here and from New Zealand. Agreements include tariff concessions for a range of products, such as lamb meat.

The previous Government set out their priorities for England in the 2023 environmental improvement plan, including the need for more environmentally friendly farming to meet further targets. Although I appreciate that farming is devolved, I believe the UK Government and the Minister here have a responsibility to ensure the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a collective has a joint policy on promoting sheep farming and protecting our family industries through future trade deals. The hon. Member for Hexham referred to trade deals, as did the hon. Members for Monmouthshire and for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron). They have an effect on farming back home and on farmers in my constituency.

There are environmental factors that will ultimately impact the future of farming. Steps must be taken to protect our sheep numbers through adequate funding. We often come here to ask for funding, but the fact is that sheep farming is such an integral part of my constituency and, indeed, of Northern Ireland. It makes a £106 million contribution to the economy, which is quite significant and cannot be ignored. We sometimes overlook the number of jobs involved and the families that live on those incomes.

When the hon. Members for North Antrim (Jim Allister) and for South Antrim (Robin Swann) speak, they will give their perspectives. There will be three contributions from Northern Ireland, and we will all say the same thing about the importance of sheep farming. The point is that we are here to represent our constituents.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has called for a sheep scheme in Northern Ireland to improve the welfare of sheep and increase the sustainability of sheep businesses. With the Northern Ireland sheep industry taskforce, it will continue to lobby for a sheep scheme. I therefore urge the Government to engage with officials back home from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, including Minister Andrew Muir, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Northern Ireland sheep industry. If the Minister is not able to tell us today what discussions he has had with Minister Muir, perhaps he can come back to us. I understand the Minister has met him, on probably more than one occasion, so I would be interested to hear what discussions have been had and what that means.

Our farming sector is such an important aspect of our economic success. In this case we are talking about lamb and sheep, but it is also about dairy, beef, poultry and cereals; they are all part of the massive jigsaw that contributes to the economy. What we are debating today is an integral part, and we must do more to promote and expand it. I look forward to seeing the plans of the Minister and our Labour Government, and I have hope that the devolved institutions can play a significant role in our agricultural success.

The Minister told me that he had been in Northern Ireland in my constituency—I was unable to be there at the time. He was there before he was elected as Minister, and I told him, “Minister, last time you were here, you were asking questions; the next time you come back, you’ll have to answer them.” Today, Minister, questions have to be answered.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

If Members could keep to within seven and a half minutes each, everyone will get in.

Fly-tipping

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

That is okay—I will keep to the four minutes and I will not take an intervention either. I congratulate the hon. Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) on setting the scene with much information, detail and good ideas. I fully support her idea for a national strategy, which is one of the things I was going to ask for, ever mindful of where we are. It is nice to see the Minister back in her place after a short time away from the House, and I look forward to hearing her contribution at the end.

Very quickly, I want to give a Northern Ireland perspective and to reinforce what the hon. Member for Ealing Southall said—these things are mirrored all across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Fly-tipping has become such a massive issue, including in my constituency of Strangford, where constituents report countless incidents of fly-tipping to my office almost every week. It is time for us to have a debate in Westminster Hall on how we can work together to tackle this issue.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency has revealed that, from 2018 to 2020, it cleaned up 306 illegal waste sites across Northern Ireland, with taxpayers paying the half a million-pound bill, which is equivalent to employing 15 nurses. That is what we could do with the money if we did not have to spend it cleaning up afterwards. Fifteen nurses would be a big thing for us in Northern Ireland and a big thing in the constituency of the hon. Member for Ealing Southall as well.

Collective action is required to tackle fly-tipping. It is a serious crime, and that is without mentioning its devastating impacts on our environment. In the past, my council—Ards Borough Council, as it was then—used to have a system of skips that went around all the villages. Whenever a skip was filled up, the council brought a new one. Unfortunately, as the years passed, that seemed to fall by the wayside. New councils were amalgamated and that strategy was lost.

In 2023, the then Prime Minister’s antisocial behaviour action plan set out how councils would be supported in taking tougher action against those caught fly-tipping. That included raising the upper limit for on-the-spot fines to £1,000. In 2018, there were 74 cases of fly-tipping in the constituency of Strangford, and many fear that that will increase due to the new recycling centre booking system introduced just recently. There is no doubt that fly-tipping is wrong, and we must have a punitive system in place to ensure that it does not happen. However, we must also ensure that waste centres are accessible to constituents to ensure that fly-tipping does not become more common. If we make it illegal, we have to put something in its place.

It is important for residents to report fly-tipping, but not to touch it. I want to put out this caution: in many cases, there might be contaminated waste, such as syringes—that is the society we live in—broken glass, asbestos, or toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances that can severely harm individuals, and especially young children, or animals. In addition, it is important not to disturb a site in case there is evidence that could identify the fly-tippers and lead to their prosecution.

To conclude, it is an unfortunate reality that there are numerous incidents of fly-tipping and illegal dumping across the UK on a daily basis. Our local councils are working hard to prevent them, so I ask the Minister to do the very thing the hon. Member for Ealing Southall has referred to: introduce a national strategy covering all the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland—because we always do things better if we do them together—and, with that in place, ensure that all councils are given the powers to enforce tougher fines and even prosecute fly-tippers. We can do better, and we will hear shortly from the Minister on how she will do just that.

[Clive Efford (in the Chair)]

Order. I will bring in the Front Benchers at 5.8 pm. In order to do that, I have to bring the time limit down to three minutes.

Food Security

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir John Hayes]

I will hear nothing negative said about Cambridge, given my connection with King’s College; I have never knowingly been to Croydon, so I cannot comment on it. What is certainly true is that this goes beyond party politics. My right hon. Friend is right to emphasise that any responsible Government would recognise that the salience of the matter has changed, as I have set out. We have been through some difficult times in recent years, and they have concentrated minds in a way that might not otherwise have happened.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

rose—

[Sir John Hayes]

I will happily give way so that the hon. Gentleman can make one of his rare interventions in the House.

[Jim Shannon]

I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. The issues that he has outlined also apply in my constituency, where agriculture is really important: it creates some 3,500 jobs in the factories. I live on a farm—I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers’ Union—and I well understand farming issues.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the strategy that he hopes to see here at Westminster must encompass all the regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? If we work together with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we can make a food strategy that works for us all. Does he agree that that is the best way forward?

[Sir John Hayes]

This is a kingdom-wide priority, as I have made clear, so the hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the issues in his part of our United Kingdom. However, I will return to Lincolnshire, if I may.

Over 90% of fens farmland is grade 1 or 2 quality. That is interesting in itself, given that grades 1 and 2 cover about 21% of all farmland nationally, while grade 3a covers a further 21%. Disturbingly, since 2010 my region has lost 3,232 hectares of best and most versatile farmland —the greatest absolute loss within a single region. Worse still, the county that I represent is being targeted for large-scale developments, which are invidious in the light of my point that the common good and the national interest are served by protecting our food security. In Lincolnshire alone there are currently applications for large-scale solar developments equivalent to the size of 62 Hyde Parks, totalling 9,109 hectares or 1.3% of the total land across the county.

Flood Defences: West Worcestershire

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) on being elevated to Deputy Speaker. She is well-respected and her appointment is well-deserved. Everyone in this House is very encouraged to see her in that position.

May I also congratulate the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) on securing this debate? Is she aware that inadequate flood defences mean an increase in homeowners’ insurance premiums? That increase has been noted in her constituency, as it has been in mine of Strangford. Does she agree that this House and Government must work on a UK-wide approach to ensure that insurance premiums are not hiked because defences are inadequate?

[Dame Harriett Baldwin]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important matter. Indeed, it was after the 2007 floods that the idea of a flood reinsurance scheme came about. It was something that was established when the last Government came into power in 2010. It has now become somewhat easier to get insurance, but it does continue to be a challenge, and I shall highlight examples of that in my speech. It will be interesting to hear if the Minister can confirm from the Dispatch Box whether Flood Re will continue to be a priority for the new Government.

I have campaigned successfully for many flood defence schemes in West Worcestershire over the years. We have made real progress. In particular, the two schemes that protect Upton upon Severn have been deployed year in, year out. In fact, they have successfully protected Upton upon Severn from flooding something like 40 times since they were opened in 2013. We have had a bund built along the Defford Road in Pershore; a flood defence gate installed in Kempsey; a gate barrier installed at Uckinghall; a bund built in Powick; and a community scheme is now in place in Callow End, so there has been real progress.

We have seen the cumulative impact of the many millions that have been spent on flood defences across West Worcestershire in the resilience that the communities showed last winter when it was so very wet. I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to previous flood Ministers, to the teams at the Environment Agency, to Worcestershire county council and to the regional flood defence committees, which have helped over time to get these flood defence scheme funded and built.

--- Later in debate ---

[Emma Hardy]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words, and I recognise the difficulty that these works cause to businesses. That goes to the point that I made to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire: the design has to be right, and works have to be done in conjunction with the community. That is why works sometimes become more expensive. However, I will take away the point the hon. Gentleman makes.

On the funding formula, I said many times in opposition that I was keen to look under the bonnet, and now I am delighted to get that chance for a detailed look at exactly how things work. That is something I am reviewing. As is always the case, pulling one lever can have unintended consequences elsewhere, so I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me for not giving the details of exactly which levers I intend to pull. However, I am actively gaining a clear and transparent understanding of how the funding works, who the winners and losers are under the formula that we have, and our priorities.

[Jim Shannon]

In my intervention on the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin), I referred to insurance premiums. If we sort the flooding out, insurance premiums will fall and there will be less cost. That must be a factor for constituents and their living costs. Is that something the Minister will look at, please?