Brexit: Food Prices

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton]

My Lords, will the Minister accept that his words stating that the Government are aware of the impact of rising food prices on the poorest people in the country have a hollow ring? To be aware of the problem and pursue policies that worsen the situation is a very evil act. Many of these families are suffering enormously because of the Government’s policies. Will the Minister take back the message that nobody wants to see this deprivation continue and that all benefits should be increased to account for the increase in the cost of food?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I hope that the noble Baroness will accept that the Government have done a number of things, including introducing a new mandatory national living wage which has meant a £600 a year increase in earnings for a full-time worker on the previous national minimum wage. According to the ONS, the lowest-paid workers are seeing their pay go up most—by more than 6% last year. We obviously need a safety net and we have a safety net. As I say, the amounts the Government are spending on disability, incapacity, the unemployed and mental health are very considerable indeed. In fact, as a share of GDP the UK’s public spending on disability and incapacity is higher than that of any G7 country except Germany.

Rural Areas: Income

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Tuesday 7th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, as I say, the rural-proofing guidance is to go across Whitehall and the DCLG is of course a very important government department in that respect. There are clearly considerable sums of money still going to local authorities and it is for them to decide on the division of the budget. But this predicates something rather more important: we have to have a growing economy to afford all the things we want to do. That is why this country has the fastest-growing economy in the G7, which is important because it is only when we grow our economy that we will have the resources to do many of the things which I am sure your Lordships wish to have done.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister care to correct his assertion about the national living wage and the national minimum wage? Secondly, can he assure me that when the Government put in new free schools in areas where there is no need in terms of numbers, they will consider the needs of the rural economy? I declare my interest as a former chair of Lancashire education authority. Because of the history of Lancashire, we have the largest number of voluntary-aided schools. People have wanted diversity locally for Anglican and Catholic schools, in the main, across the county. Can be we assured that the Government will not come in from Whitehall with little knowledge and step over the needs of the local community? Some of those schools need money and investment.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, that is precisely why I suspect we are going to hear about more investment: we want to enhance the opportunity for children across the country. We have some schools that are simply not up to the standard that we want. That is why we will need to invest more and why I am a champion of rural schools—precisely because we want to ensure that there are opportunities in rural areas, as across the rest of the country. As for the living wage, I will check Hansard. The national living wage will certainly rise to £7.50 per hour in April but I will see whether I have made a mistake.

Agriculture: Dairy Farmers

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Monday 22nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, we certainly see the need for mixed farms. The most important thing is that animal husbandry and animal welfare are at their best whatever size of farming unit it is. SoI would not say that large units are bad and small units are good. The important thing is that there are high animal welfare standards across the piece.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister undertake to look at the policy of Booths supermarkets in the north of England, which have deliberately set out a policy to help dairy farmers? Booths supermarkets package their milk so that customers know that they are giving appropriate support to local dairy producers. Will the Minister investigate that and compliment them?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I would be delighted to compliment all those retailers that are taking their responsibilities seriously. What the noble Baroness has said is that it is very important that we improve our labelling. It is very important people know that, when they buy British produce, it is not British-processed produce but produce that is grown in this country.

Air Quality

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Monday 23rd November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I see no complacency or hypocrisy, if I may say so to the noble Baroness. I think that the officials who are working hard on this problem in local authorities might take exception to that description. Everyone here is in an honest adventure to ensure that we get this right. It is very important that we get it right. That is why we have to get everyone working together in local authorities, and at EU and other international levels. By bringing forward real-world testing, we will get a much better result.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister care to inform the House how many air-monitoring devices at local level were in operation five years ago and how many are now? It is my understanding that many have been closed down, so our ability to tell what is happening is being reduced by Government policy.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I am not aware of that, and I will look into the matter more thoroughly. However, we have a daily air quality forecast, for instance, and we work with Public Health England and its adviser the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. I have plenty of information on what is available for everyone to see. There is a five-day air monitoring forecast, which is very important. I will get back to the noble Baroness on the finer detail.

Eurostar: Passengers with Pets

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, all carriers are audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the results show that they are doing a good job. Last year, only 0.9% of those checked through the audit process were found to be non-compliant with the entry rules. If there are any further details, I will be in touch with the noble Baroness.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister accept my assurance that he should be careful when dealing with the issue of ferrets? We had a ferret called Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which belonged to my son, and she enjoyed trouser legs. It is very important that people take care. A former colleague of mine called Derek Hatton started a ferret appreciation society in Wigan. I had to warn him that I would turn up with said ferret, and that he had to beware of her interest in going up trouser legs.