Domestic Ivory Market

Luke Hall Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Westminster Hall

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered e-petition 165905 relating to the domestic ivory market in the UK.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Brady. This petition has attracted more than 107,000 signatures and is very clear in its aim. This is the second time that this matter has been debated in the House in the past two months, following a debate in this place on 8 December.

I pay tribute to the work of Tusk, the World Wildlife Fund, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other organisations for highlighting the threat to elephants and other endangered species. I also pay tribute to the work of Lord Hague and the many other right hon. and hon. Members for whom this matter is of great concern, including my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham), who has spoken regularly about it in the House. I will leave most of the detail to her. I want to be clear that the debate is about the UK’s commercial ivory trade. It is not about stopping people owning ivory, inheriting family heirlooms or donating to museums. It is about how we play our full part in increasing global efforts to halt poaching.

The survival of elephants is threatened across Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has estimated that only 415,000 African elephants remain. The savannah elephant population declined by 30% between 2007 and 2014, largely due to poaching. Between 2010 and 2012, 30,000 African elephants a year were being slaughtered for their tusks. The rate of poaching has since declined, although that is partly due to the fact that it is now harder to find large groups of elephants to kill. However, the Great Elephant Census has revealed the current rate of decline is still around 8% a year, which is far higher than could ever be considered sustainable.

The UK currently has one of the largest domestic ivory markets, which contributes directly to illegal trade, providing the opportunity for illegal ivory to be laundered. TRAFFIC has stated that the UK’s role in illegal ivory is in particular as a transit country. Examples in the last year alone can be cited. Christie’s was fined more than £3,000 in 2016 for selling a piece of ivory without the relevant documentation, and in November 2016 an individual based in the UK was prosecuted for selling 78 ivory items valued at almost £6,500.

The Government’s consultation announced in September on banning the sale of modern-day ivory—that is, dated after 1947—is welcome. It follows leadership by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Minister. However, there are a number of reasons why we should go further.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Given the intensity of the crisis that the hon. Gentleman rightly identifies, are we not in danger, as in so many other areas, of paralysis by process? Should the consultation be brought to a close, and should we now take action?

[Luke Hall]

I will come to my thoughts on the steps the Government should take later in my remarks.

There are a number of reasons why we should go further. First, the proposal will not cover worked ivory dated before 1947, which makes up the vast majority of the current UK ivory market. Secondly, it is difficult for our law enforcement officers to tell the difference between pre and post-1947 ivory, especially as newer ivory is frequently and deliberately disguised as antique. Thirdly, it is unclear how all ivory could be age tested.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Although the hon. Gentleman is confining his remarks to the UK market, there are bigger markets outside the UK. We need international action, because countries such as China import a lot of ivory. If we are going to save elephants, we cannot confine the problem to one country.

[Luke Hall]

I will talk later about the action that countries around the world are currently taking and looking to take in the years ahead.

As I was saying, it is unclear how all ivory could be age tested. Radiocarbon dating every piece of ivory would be hugely expensive and significantly increase the cost of the licensing regime. International momentum for action is also building. In December last year, China announced a timetable for closing its domestic ivory trade.

[Oliver Dowden (Hertsmere) (Con)]

As my hon. Friend knows, I am a fellow member of the Petitions Committee and welcome the opportunity to debate this subject. We spend an awful lot of time discussing as an international community how we can deal with the challenge of climate change, which seems somewhat intractable. Does he agree that this is a much simpler problem, and that we could get on and save great species such as the elephant and the tiger?

[Luke Hall]

My hon. Friend has put a lot of work into this issue in the past and has raised it on behalf of his constituents a number of times. I understand the point he makes.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this matter forwards from the Petitions Committee. If we are determined to stop the ivory trade, we have to stop the demand. The hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) referred to China. China blatantly disregards world opinion. It pays lip service to stopping the ivory trade, but the trade continues. Does the hon. Gentleman feel that it is time for our Government to step up to the mark and persuade, and perhaps even elbow, China to stop the ivory trade in its totality? That is where the problem is: China says one thing and pays lip service, and does something different.

[Luke Hall]

As I have said, I welcome the Government’s leadership. Other countries around the world are also taking action. Hong Kong has confirmed that it will totally ban all ivory sales within five years. In August last year, France proposed further restrictions on its domestic market. India has implemented a near-total ban. The US introduced a near-total ban on all ivory sales at a federal level in July 2016, and 80% of African elephant range countries support the closure of domestic ivory markets.

It is clear that the public support further action, as is demonstrated by more than 107,000 people—2,000 just over the weekend—signing the petition and therefore triggering the debate, which is the second on this subject in two months. Further research carried out by TNS in September 2016 found that 85% of the public think that buying and selling ivory in the UK should be banned.

[Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Lab)]

It has been suggested by some of those who are against a ban that a certification system could be introduced, whereby pieces of ivory to be sold in the United Kingdom market would have to carry a certificate indicating that they were pre-1947. The hon. Gentleman said a moment ago that radiocarbon dating is very expensive. I am not an expert. Can he give an indication of how much it would cost per piece?

[Luke Hall]

I cannot give an exact indication, but the point I was trying to make is that radiocarbon dating every piece of ivory would be hugely time-consuming and cumbersome. I will say what more I think the Government can do on this important matter later.

The Government’s response to the online petition stated that the consultation would be a

“step towards a total ban.”

That is welcome, but I urge them to take a bigger step by widening the remit of their forthcoming consultation to cover all possible scenarios, including a total ban on the domestic trade in ivory, while considering international examples that include tightly-defined exemptions for items such as musical instruments and items with very small amounts of ivory. That would allow the ban to be practical and enforceable. Parallel measures can also be taken, such as supporting foreign Governments to protect elephants and supporting education around the world.

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Petitions Committee on picking this topic for debate. The hon. Gentleman talks about what we can do in foreign countries. It is very important that when we give aid to countries, specific conditions should be attached, including on animal welfare. The massacre of the elephant population is the core and root of the problem.

[Luke Hall]

I completely agree and I am sure the Minister heard the hon. Gentleman’s point. As I said, practical measures can be taken, such as supporting education around the world to ensure that the scale of the problem is understood.

During the course of the debate, somewhere between seven and 10 elephants will be killed. They will most likely be shot and then dismembered to extract the maximum value for poachers. The Secretary of State’s announcement in September was extremely welcome, but I urge the Government to honour our commitment, ensuring we play our part in protecting one of the world’s most iconic species.

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Hall]

Thank you for chairing the debate, Mrs Main. I will keep these remarks extremely brief. The attendance here today reflects the strength of feeling in the House and in the country about this issue. There were many contributions today. I will just thank specifically my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham), the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) and my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson) for their passion in this Chamber and their work outside it. I thank the Minister for her update on the Government’s work and her words that the initial proposals will be among the toughest in the world, although I am disappointed that we could not come forward today with a date for the consultation. Most importantly, I thank the 107,000 people who signed the petition to ensure that we were able to hold a second debate on this issue today.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered e-petition 165905 relating to the domestic ivory market in the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Hall Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady is exactly right that this is a very important area. I reiterate that over the past three years the big energy saving network has reached about 350,000 vulnerable consumers, helping them to reduce their bills by switching. Last year we ran a successful national TV and press advertising campaign, Power to Switch, and more than £38 million was saved by 130,000 households switching energy supplier. We continue to support good organisations such as Citizens Advice, which often hosts such initiatives and works face to face with vulnerable consumers to help them with the process of switching. I urge people who are struggling with fuel bills to give it a try; it really is not too difficult.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

11. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Government’s decision on the level of the fifth carbon budget on investment in the low-carbon economy.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

13. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Government’s decision on the level of the fifth carbon budget on investment in the low-carbon economy.

[Luke Hall]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Will she update the House on what steps the Government will take to involve investors and businesses in the preparation of their emissions reduction plan?

[Andrea Leadsom]

As my hon. Friend would expect, we are already busy working on that plan with other Departments, businesses, consumers and civil society. For example, we are already in discussion with the CBI, the Aldersgate Group and Energy UK among others to arrange specific stakeholder events, ensuring that our emissions reduction plan is built from the ground up, with input from a range of stakeholders.

Oral Answers to Questions

Luke Hall Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

1. What assistance the Government have given farming businesses to increase their resilience.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

We have put in place a range of measures to support our farmers and help build their resilience. Government investment in flood defence improvements will provide better protection for 1 million acres of agricultural land. We are investing in innovation, skills and capital items to boost the sector’s resilience, and we are working to introduce a dairy futures market to help farmers manage price volatility.

[Luke Hall]

Volatility in global markets and weather conditions often dramatically affects farmers’ incomes year on year, sometimes by up to 30%. What steps are the Government taking to help farmers manage that risk?

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend makes an important point and we have acted to deal with that problem. From April this year the Government extended tax averaging for farmers to five years, up from the previous two years, so that they can better offset good years against bad years. In addition, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has a number of schemes, such as the time to pay scheme, which means that it shows forbearance to farmers who are suffering cash-flow difficulties.

--- Later in debate ---

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. It shows why we are turbo-charging the work of the Great British Food Unit, to make sure that we open up new markets and get more of our products out into the world, as well as into the European Union. I am clear that agriculture and food has major export growth potential, which is why I am having a meeting today with the Business Secretary to talk about our trade negotiations and making sure that food is a key part of those.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

T3. Our farms have some of the highest livestock welfare standards in the world, so how will that be recognised in upcoming trade negotiations? We will be doing our farmers a disservice if cheap imported food produced with very little regard for livestock welfare comes into the UK.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. He will be aware that we have a manifesto commitment to recognise animal welfare standards in our trade negotiations. That is particularly important in sectors such as poultry meat during Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership discussions, and I can assure him that we make these representations to the European Commission.

Waste Recycling: South Gloucestershire

Luke Hall Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

I am grateful to be called to speak in a debate that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) has said, the record books may not show to be as animated as others held this week. Nevertheless, the issue is still important to people in South Gloucestershire. I thank my hon. Friend both for securing this debate and for his tireless work and commitment on the issue over the years I have known him.

Before being elected to this place, I made the case as strongly as possible, alongside local Conservative councillors and my hon. Friend, that recycling services should be enhanced and protected, so the issue is close to my heart. In that vein, I want to comment on South Gloucestershire’s draft waste strategy.

I welcome the council’s proposed additional measures to provide the means for local people to reuse, repair and refurbish items from their homes, as well as the council’s affirmation of its confidence in the success of the Thornbury Revive shop and its commitment to consider avenues to expand that service.

The draft waste strategy document produced by South Gloucestershire Council suggests that bulky waste is a significant contributor to waste going from our area to landfill. It states that the reuse strategy

“aims to reduce landfill to below ten percent by addressing large bulky waste material.”

Given that bulky waste is an identified significant contributor to landfill, I welcome the potential savings to South Gloucestershire that would result from a reduction in such waste going to landfill. That will help the council significantly in its aim to reduce the amount spent on landfill tax. In fact, the Thornbury Revive shop’s success in reusing more than 160 tonnes of material itself represents a reduction in that liability of more than £13,500. It is clear, therefore, that that approach has real potential to achieve an important part of the 5% reduction target for the total waste going to landfill.

I also welcome the council’s proposed introduction of a weekly food waste recycling scheme. On recycling rates, it is clear that the majority of the best performing authorities provide a weekly food or compostable collection service. The proposed weekly collection of residents’ household recyclable waste is also welcome, because it will simplify the current service of three bags and one container.

My hon. Friend and I anticipate that the proposed changes in recycling services will help to reduce the amount of money South Gloucestershire spends on sending waste to landfill. They will reduce the burden of paying £80 per tonne of waste sent to landfill while at the same time increase income through increased recycling revenue. I urge South Gloucestershire Council, as we have done in our letter, to use the total amounts of money generated under the proposals to continue to phase out the green bin tax. I join my hon. Friend in welcoming the £6 reduction in the green bin charge as a first step to the council’s fulfilling its manifesto pledge, and I urge the council to use the extra funding generated by the changes to deliver that pledge fully.

Although I welcome the proposed changes to recycling services, the proposal to reduce residents’ standard black bin, or landfill bin, capacity from 240 litres to 140 litres is of considerable concern. The dramatic reduction in capacity could put real pressure on families across South Gloucestershire, leaving some families unable to adapt. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs compiled waste statistics from our 16 nearest neighbour authorities. Of those, the nine authorities with a higher recycling rate than ours—from 48% to more than 60%—have a black bin capacity larger than the 140 litres proposed by South Gloucestershire Council. The only exception is Bath and North East Somerset Council, which provides reusable bags.

Among the authorities with higher rates of recycling, there is an almost even split between those that offer a reduced bin size of 180 litres and those that offer a 240-litre bin. The only authority with a 140-litre bin, Northumberland, has a shown rate of below 40%, which is 7.9% lower than that in South Gloucestershire. In short, reducing the size of the black bin to 140 litres does not result in a directly proportionate increase in recycling. The widespread replacement of bins, in addition to the new recycling bins, would prove costly to local taxpayers with little absolute evidence that it would help families or the council achieve the stated aims of the strategy.

The proposed changes will affect residents across the area. I hope that the suggestions that my hon. Friend and I have made will help to inform the best possible service for local people across South Gloucestershire.

Climate Change and Flooding

Luke Hall Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con)]

I am speaking today, first, because we have to praise the historic agreement that was made in Paris. I commend not only my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, but the whole team and Labour Members for all the work they did in the past. We also have to send commiserations to all those poor people suffering from flooding. We are dealing with both those things in today’s motion.

I felt I had to speak, coming as I do from Somerset, like my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (James Heappey). Taunton Deane was, sadly, at the heart of the terrible flooding of 11,500 hectares of land from December 2012 right up, really, until January 2014. So I really can sympathise with the poor folk of Cumbria.

In Somerset the impact was enormous. The cost for businesses, with all the knock-on effects, was estimated at £147 million, and it affected half of all the businesses in Somerset, even the ones that were not flooded, because of the road closures and things like that.

It was a once-in-a-hundred-year event, so it was not exactly expected, and it was not just a result of not dredging rivers, although that was one of the things that made a difference. The rivers Parrett and Tone had not been dredged during the 1990s—and I am afraid I level that at our friends in the Labour party because it was under their Government that the dredging stopped.

The flooding was also caused by a combination of many other things, including increased run-off from the urban areas around Taunton. But whether this extreme flooding was to do with climate change—that is still debateable—we clearly do have to be prepared for these events. In Somerset I am very pleased at the programme that has been put in place to set up the Somerset Rivers Authority. This has come with general agreement and much debate. A precept is to be set on everyone in Somerset and legislation will be passed to introduce it. That will then deal with the wider programme of tackling flooding in the future.

I commend the Government. They have spent £15.5 million on flood defences in Somerset, protecting thousands of properties, and have made an overall commitment of £35 million until 2021. They are taking flooding extremely seriously.

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

I take my hon. Friend’s point about preparations. Will she join me in welcoming the doubling of investment for innovation in low-carbon technology as one of the less talked about outcomes from Paris?

[Rebecca Pow]

I thank my hon. Friend, and I know he was at Paris. I was going to mention that at the end of my speech, but I will mention it now. Nobody has so far mentioned one of the crucial aspects of this debate: the investment in science and technology to enable us to meet all these commitments so that we can get to our zero rating. With our brains and our scientists, I am absolutely sure we can do it.

The investment in flooding is money well spent, because every £1 spent on flood defences gives between £4 and £9 of benefit to the economy. So it is well worth doing.

With my environmental-agricultural hat on, and as the new chairman of the all-party group on ancient woodland and veteran trees, I want to highlight a few areas, and here I have some agreement with the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy). There are many other things we can do to mitigate the effects of climate change and extreme weather in our environment. There is the wider catchment approach. There is working with farmers and landowners to slow the flow of water into the river basins, and I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mrs Trevelyan) will agree with me on that. There is more tree planting; I applaud the Government’s commitment to plant 11 million trees—that is one for every five people. Perhaps we could plant a few more. Those trees will also help to slow the flow of water. Re-wilding is another area we could be looking at, as well as silt traps, ponds, and storage areas higher up in the valley to stop the water coming down quite so quickly.

All of those things can be, and ought to be, included, and I will put in my usual call for more grass. Grass and mixed farming economies are the way forward. Grass holds in the water as well, and sequesters the carbon. I hope that the forestry Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), will look more closely at including grass in our policies. [Interruption.] We may laugh at that, but this is a serious way forward and it is great for the management of the countryside.

On climate change, I commend the Government on everything they are doing. We have taken immense steps forward in securing this ambitious global deal, and we are moving in the right direction, but there is much still to do. Zero carbon emissions is a testing ambition.

--- Later in debate ---

[Luke Hall (Thornbury and Yate) (Con)]

May I associate myself with those who have expressed their condolences to the victims of the floods? I congratulate the hon. Member for Workington (Sue Hayman) on such a powerful speech on behalf of her constituents: I can certainly picture myself at the bottom of my high street in such a situation.

I am one of many MPs across the House who regard climate change as one of the most serious long-term economic and environmental threats that this country and our world face, although I had not quite appreciated the threat it posed to haggis, which was mentioned earlier.

Earlier this month, I, along with other Members, attended the GLOBE conference in Paris, where legislators, leading members of the judiciary, policymakers, the scientific and academic community, and business and civil society gathered to discuss the challenges in Paris and the post-2015 agenda.

We heard contributions from Deputy Jean-Paul Chanteguet, president of GLOBE France, Jacqueline McGlade, chief scientist on the United Nations environment programme, Helen Clark, former President of New Zealand, Senator Ed Markey, and legislators from around the world. A cross-party delegation of MPs from the UK included members of the Energy and Climate Change Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee. We were ably led by the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies). When the Secretary of State sums up, perhaps he will mention the contribution of the GLOBE conference to the debate.

The feeling that I gauged during the conference was one of cross-party consensus and support for the ambitious deal in Paris. The presence of such a strong delegation from the UK was vital. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), who chaired the conference so ably.

The commitment by 195 nations to attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will limit the global average temperature is truly historic. Inaction on climate change would cost us a great deal more than shifting to a decarbonised, climate-friendly way of life. I particularly welcome the legally binding, regular reviews and submissions of emission reduction targets. It is important that those countries will now have to come together regularly to review their climate plans and collectively ensure that the necessary action is taken to tackle climate change.

Countries being legally obliged to make new post-2030 commitments to reduce emissions every five years from 2025 is a welcome step forward. I also welcome the $100 billion fund from developed economies to help emerging and developing nations decarbonise their energy mix, which will provide welcome support to aid the transition from burning fossil fuels to clean energy sources.

Decarbonisation will have to be a key part of the UK’s fiscal policies—lip service will not be enough. I am confident that the Secretary of State agrees with me on that point.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making some powerful points about the importance of the climate change deal in Paris. Bringing it down to a local level, where he and I both live, does he agree that it is incredibly important that, this month, the snappily named “Severn River Basin District: flood risk management plan” is published, which will be on top of local flood resilience plans, because he and I both know the devastating impact that climate change has had on the River Severn and on our local areas?

[Luke Hall]

I thank my hon. Friend for that point. I completely agree with him about the importance of that plan. I will do everything I can to help him work on it in the future.

I also thank the Secretary of State for her assurances during that conference that she would do everything possible to secure an ambitious deal. I commend her for playing such an important role in the successful negotiation. The deal sets out a clear long-term goal of near net zero emissions by the end of the century, and it represents a huge step forward in securing the future of our planet.