Dairy Industry

Andrew Griffiths Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am absolutely delighted that so many Members have chosen to take part in this debate. I am a new Member—I was elected just two and a half years ago—and during the time that I have been here, I have never seen such a well-attended Westminster Hall debate. It speaks volumes about how important the plight of the dairy industry is to Parliament. The supermarkets and processors must be left in no doubt how seriously we intend to take the issue. The phrase was used at one point that journalists were drinking in the last chance saloon. I suggest that the supermarkets and processors are drinking in the last chance milk bar, because I think that we all recognise how serious the issue is. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) and my hon. Friend the Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish) for securing the debate.

I speak today to represent my farmers in Burton and Uttoxeter, who played a little part in getting us where we are today. Many Members will know that the SOS dairy campaign kicked off with a meeting in Staffordshire. The brainwave for that meeting came around a farmer’s kitchen table in my constituency with Mr David Brookes, Mr Philip Smith and Mr Trevor Beech from the NFU. They came up with the idea of being more vocal and taking the campaign forward. When they rang me with their original idea, I had to tell them that I did not think that it would work. They said that they wanted to milk a cow in Downing street to make their case. I had to dissuade them from doing so, but I think that we all recognise how important the SOS dairy campaign has been in uniting farmers.

[Daniel Kawczynski]

One of the best campaigns over the past few years has been from the Women’s Institute, whose work I acknowledge. WI members came from all over the country, and one of them sat in a bathtub in a bikini and had milk poured all over her. That got a lot of publicity for the campaign.

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank my hon. Friend. I am left with a marvellous image of him up to the navel in milk. I know that he has done his best to support dairy farmers in his constituency.

We got to this point because dairy farmers felt that they had no choice. They were faced with a further 2p cut in their prices, and that was a cut too far. They would not have been able to survive. Dairy farming would not have been sustainable at that level. It is almost unique that having had the 2.5p reinstated in many cases, many dairy farmers are still only meeting the cost of production. In what other industry do we expect producers to sell their product at the cost of production? We do not say to Toyota that we want to buy a Prius at the cost of production or to Apple that we want to buy the iPhone 5 at the cost of production, yet we expect our dairy farmers to survive by selling their product at the cost of production. That is absolutely unsustainable, which is why it is so important that we, as Parliament and as a society, get behind our dairy farmers. If we do not, we will lose the industry for ever.

We need to be aware of why we got ourselves in this situation: it was a case of supermarkets using milk to tempt people in, just as they have with my other beloved product, beer. They have driven down the price, and milk processors, to chase supermarket contracts, have put pressure downwards on our farmers to the point at which the pips are beginning to squeak.

I shall make a few quick points to close. First, we all recognise that more than 90% of the milk for the liquid market is produced here in the UK, but just a third of the butter and half the cheese products on our supermarket shelves are produced from British milk. We must do more to get into that very lucrative market, which could save our dairy industry. Secondly, we have heard a lot about the groceries code adjudicator and the idea that it must have teeth. The industry is setting so much store by what the groceries code adjudicator can deliver in future, and we must make sure that we arm it with the tools that it needs to do its job. Thirdly, some £5 million has been made available to dairy farmers under the rural economy grant. There are rumours and concerns among farmers in my constituency that, although that money would help them to survive, not all of it will reach dairy farmers, so I would be grateful for clarification on how the scheme will operate.

We recognise that the land that we live in is green and pleasant because it is farmed and because our farmers make such a massive contribution. [Interruption.] The phrase “for whom the bell tolls” comes to mind. It tolls now not only for me, but for our dairy industry, and it is imperative that we, as Parliament and as a society, offer a lifeline and support to the great British dairy industry.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

To make sure that everyone can contribute, I will now limit speeches to six minutes absolutely, with no injury time.

--- Later in debate ---

[Huw Irranca-Davies]

Perhaps the Administration Committee will look at the rules and allow us to bring in good UK products. I thank, too, the Select Committee for its recent and long-standing work. The detail and forensic analysis that it has applied to the subject will be of help to us and to the Minister. I welcome the new Minister to his position and tell him that we want to work with the Government to strengthen future policies. I hope that he will be open to some of our suggestions.

This is a welcome opportunity to debate the industry, especially after our dairy farming sector—I apologise to hon. Members for saying this in the Chamber—took on a slightly French flavour. We had protests, blockades and threats of direct action that were not carried through. The hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Roger Williams) said that the former Agriculture Minister fronted up a very heated session in the Methodist hall, which he did. He did what a Farming Minister should do, which is to front up the debate and earn his salary. It was an immensely difficult and confrontational meeting, but he earned his stripes. Although not everything he said was welcome, he really earned his salary that day and, as a Minister, he did the right thing—he did not hide.

We now have a very good chance to examine not only what has been going wrong, but more importantly what can be done to resolve the situation. In fact, I returned this morning from a meeting with farmers just outside Corby. That is no coincidence; people will probably know that we have a tremendous Labour candidate there, Andy Sawford, who was with me today. We were out meeting people, but we discussed in detail some of the issues that arose from the dairy crisis and the long-term solutions that are needed for the future.

I have already welcomed the new Minister to his portfolio, but I also pay tribute to his predecessor, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice). He and I did not agree on everything. If we had, not only would he be a Conservative but I would be a Conservative, or perhaps a Liberal Democrat—I am not sure. I regard him as a very decent man who wanted to do the right thing for agriculture. Reshuffles are a brutal affair, and his successor, the new Minister, will want to strive to avoid any dairy crisis in the future, as we all do, and we will try to work with him to prevent another crisis.

Let me put on the record some of Labour’s bottom lines. We want a fair deal for farmers, food manufacturers and retailers, but we should not forget consumers. We want a fair deal for them, too—a point made by the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh), the Chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, in her contribution to the debate. We want a competitive and equitable supply chain that delivers not only profitability all along that supply chain, but affordability for the shopper. That is not a lot to ask, although sometimes this summer it seemed like a huge task to achieve. To that end, we welcome wholeheartedly the dairy coalition’s 10-point plan. We want the consultation on the EU dairy package to be carried out this autumn without fail, so that producer organisations can gain formal recognition.

It is perhaps not surprising for a party that was born from one parent within the co-operative movement that Labour wants to see more producer-based organisation within the dairy sector. However, that is not simply about strengthening bargaining power—bargaining power has been referred to repeatedly today—or seeing some new imbalance that might be to the detriment of the consumer. It is vital not only that farmers can balance power in the supply chain, which is not in equilibrium, but that dairy producers come together, transfer right up the value chain by investing in food production, as well as food processing, and develop higher-value products for both the domestic and export markets. We should not forget the export market, although it has not had much attention today.

[Andrew Griffiths]

The hon. Gentleman speaks about the proud tradition of his party and its relationship with the co-operative movement. Will he today speak out and condemn the Co-op supermarket’s inability to pay a fair price to their farmers?

[Huw Irranca-Davies]

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is trying to make this debate party political; I am trying not to do so. Let me again put on record something that I have already said publicly and to the media repeatedly: I condemn all those retailers and milk processors that are squeezing the price down. I condemned them, and I have named them to shame them.

The retail sector and the milk processors have taken a heck of a kicking this summer, and they have taken a heck of a kicking today. The hon. Gentleman will have noted that I have already made the point—I am sure that the Minister will make the same one—that we do not want to turn this situation around completely, whereby the consumer loses out because we have strengthened another part of the supply chain and its bargaining power so much that the poor old shopper walks into shops and is fleeced for a different reason entirely. What we want is a fair and equitable supply chain. So, yes—in answer to the hon. Gentleman—I will speak out against anybody that is abusing the supply chain, because what we want is a healthy, thriving and open supply chain that is competitive but that has some form of co-operation, because it is in the interests of UK plc that we have a strong supply chain and not an imbalanced one, whereby somebody is badly hurt. At present, the farmers and producers are being hurt very badly.

department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Andrew Griffiths Excerpts

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Glyn Davies]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. It is undoubtedly true that it is the average-sized businesses that are likely to survive and that can carry a period of loss, while the traditional farmers are likely to go out of business unless there is change.

A few weeks ago, the processors reduced the price by 2p a litre—just like that: a 6% to 7% reduction. Now they have told farmers that on 1 August there will be another 6% or 7% cut, which reduces the price they are paying to the farmers to way below the cost of production. Last week, unsurprisingly, there was a huge reaction: 2,500 dairy farmers came to a dairy summit here in Westminster and many of my hon. Friends attended. The purpose was to highlight this unacceptable position, and to demand that these cuts do not go ahead in August and that those that took place in July and July be reversed.

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue, which is dear to both our hearts. Does he agree that this crisis enveloping the dairy industry, whereby on 1 August dairy farmers will face going bust, means that if we cannot find a voluntary code between the producers and the supermarkets, we should look to impose some sort of mandatory regulatory regime to save our dairy industry?

[Glyn Davies]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, as he makes a point that I was intending to deal with. I was going to raise it with the Minister to seek his opinion and perhaps his assurance on that very matter.

Processors in this deregulated, unbalanced market are behaving as though they are a cartel; they are imposing across-the-board cuts and there seems to be some agreement between them. That is outrageous behaviour. We know that across the world dairying is a volatile market—prices fluctuate. We all understand that; it is why there must be some order, which is why we have contracts. However, the current order is for the processors and the retailers, with catastrophic chaos for the producers. I shall now deal with the point that my hon. Friend raised. We need a code, preferably a voluntary one, and more balanced contracts. We had hoped that there would have been an announcement of a voluntary code already, and I know that the Minister had, too. Unless we can have an agreement on a voluntary code, the Government and the Minister have to consider going forward with a statutory code. Only with that hanging over people’s heads are we likely to achieve the voluntary code we want.

In the longer term, the Government need to encourage progress on lots of other issues. We need to encourage farmers to come together to form producer organisations. The big problem we have with individual farm businesses and micro-businesses is that they are incredibly small and do not carry any power. We know that there is now an agreement from the European Union in the dairy package that we can encourage up to 30% of farm producers to deliver producer organisations. I am hoping that the Minister will reassure us that he wants to do that.

We also need to move forward on the grocery adjudicator, although that might well have a limited impact on this particular problem, as for markets to operate we have to have a degree of fairness. When there is bullying and unfairness, the Government have to deal with it. That is why we have a Competition Commission, the Office of Fair Trading and other such organisations. The Government have to step in when the market is not working, and all of us know that this market is currently simply not working. It is working in favour of big bullying retailers and processors, and it is causing huge damage and driving into bankruptcy the dairy farmers that have sustained our countryside for so long.

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

I support the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) in his request to the Minister today. The hon. Gentleman represents mid Wales and I represent north Wales, and a number of my constituents from the National Farmers Union and from the Farmers Union of Wales have echoed very much the concerns that he has raised. They simply cannot plan their businesses on the basis of a 2p cut in the price of milk already, with the potential for further cuts before 1 August. As he has mentioned, dairies such as Robert Wiseman Dairies are squeezing the dairy farmers of north Wales hard on the price of milk. A number of farmers in my constituency have raised the concern that they have potentially lost, because of the cut to their businesses, between £40,000 and £60,000 per business. No business could take a mid-year hit of that proportion with so little notice without it potentially having an impact on their viability. Farmers in my constituency came to London last week to raise the issue and are seeking the solution proposed by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire.

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way and agree with much of his speech. Does he share my concern that the contracts that dairy farmers have to put up with mean that they have to live with cuts of 2p, then another 2p, then further erosion, but if they want to get out of them they have to give six months’ notice? Does he not agree that that is unacceptable?

[Mr Hanson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue and the key is to have a code of conduct for the contracts. I know that the Minister had discussions last week about a potential voluntary code and look forward to his updating the House today on his progress. If a definitive decision has not yet been made, I would welcome hearing from the Minister what plans he has to ensure that during the period between now and when the House returns in September he will be able to update Members who have an interest in the dairy industry, as well as Members in general, on this matter. I share the wish of the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire to see a voluntary code at first, but I know that my colleagues on the Labour Front Bench would certainly support regulation through a statutory version of that code if the voluntary form was not successful.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Griffiths Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

How can I have lit a fuse underneath this problem when I am not a Labour politician and it was the Labour Government who agreed with the Association of British Insurers that they would not renew the statement of principles? That is when the fuse was lit. They placed a smoking bomb in the same container that said, “Sorry, there’s no money left.” We have found a way forward that will provide for the affordability and universality of flood insurance.

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

6. What steps she is taking to support the dairy industry.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice)]

This week’s announcement of further price cuts for many dairy farmers, especially those who are not aligned to supermarkets, is a heavy blow, especially when global commodity prices seem to be rising again. I will be meeting industry representatives next week to hear their concerns. In the meantime, I remain committed to persuading the industry to develop its own code of practice regarding contracts and, as the House will be aware, the Bill to introduce a groceries code adjudicator is in the other place.

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but he will know that the dairy industry is in crisis. Dairy farmers in my constituency faced a 2p cut in June and face a further 2p cut in August. That is unsustainable. Is it not time that he intervened to impose a code of conduct, so that our dairy farmers get a fair price?

Dangerous Dogs

Andrew Griffiths Excerpts

Wednesday 6th July 2011 Westminster Hall

[Angela Smith]

I will come on to that later, because it is a very important point.

After the attack I mentioned, the Communication Workers Union—the postal workers’ union—launched its bite-back campaign, which has been incredibly successful in raising the profile of the issue. I think that the Minister acknowledges that. I place on the record today the importance of the work done by the CWU in partnership with the RSPCA. They have played a critical role in bringing us to where we are today. About three years ago, I introduced a ten-minute rule Bill based on the bite-back campaign to try to get the law changed. However, before I could get the Bill on the Floor of the House, there was another serious attack involving a postal worker in Cambridge, who nearly lost his arm as a result of a dog escaping from inside the gates of a property. Two Rottweilers dragged him to the ground and, as I say, he nearly lost his arm.

In that case, there was an attempt at prosecution on the grounds that the dog attacked on public property. However, the case was thrown out because the attack happened in an unadopted cul-de-sac. That judgment effectively means that there is very little protection not just on private property, but beyond the boundaries of what most of us would understand to be private property. That case alone highlights and underlines the need not only to consolidate, but to strengthen the law, as the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr McCrea) mentioned a moment ago.

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

I would like to mention a case in my constituency, where a young child was attacked by a dog on private property. After the child had been taken to hospital and things had calmed down, the parents understandably rang the police and said, “Can you do something?”. They were told, “We can’t act because it’s on private property and therefore it’s a civil matter.” Surely we must do something about such cases.

[Angela Smith]

We must absolutely do something about that. Every single time a child is seriously attacked or killed on private property, usually in the home of a grandmother or a relative, it makes it incumbent on legislators to strengthen the law, so that we can reduce and possibly eliminate such attacks. It is absolutely critical that we act. I am fed up of being asked to go on radio or television to comment on yet another attack on a child on private property, or another attack on a postal worker, a midwife, a health visitor and so on. It goes on and on.

Last year, Labour Members persuaded the then Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), to initiate the consultation that we are discussing. I place on the record my appreciation of the work of my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson), who was then Home Secretary, and my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Jim Fitzpatrick), who was at that time a Minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They were both absolutely instrumental in persuading the then Prime Minister of the need for change. The consultation finished more than a year ago, and since then the case for updating the law has not changed. The health costs of dealing with dog-related injuries have not reduced. In fact, if anything, the case since June last year has strengthened.

What needs to be done? The hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North laid out the case for change very well indeed. We need to prevent. We need dog prevention notices, or dog ASBOs, as they are often called. That may require a range of measures on the part of a dog owner to restrain and control a dog properly, including muzzling in public and keeping a dog on a lead at all times. There are all sorts of measures that could be included in a dog penalty notice to encourage more responsible ownership. I agree with the hon. Lady that we need to repeal section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. It is deed, not breed, and it is the owner, not the dog, that we need to focus on in legislation.

We need to enforce, which is a point that was raised earlier. We need the law to apply to private property, so that enforcement can be initiated. At the moment, it is impossible to do anything at all. We need a range of penalties for irresponsible dog ownership, including disqualification if necessary and/or deprivation of ownership. We need more severe penalties, especially at the extreme end of irresponsible dog control, involving dogs as weapons. We need more consistent and effective enforcement of dog control measures, including, if necessary, more dog wardens and police dog legislation officers. That is the point about the microchip and the reintroduction of a licensing system. That system not only helps with enforcement, but means that we can raise the funds necessary to enforce more consistently across the country; that is the key point. Local authorities will lose 28% of their budgets in the next four years. They need the funds to enforce properly, as do the police.

We need education. We need dedicated budgets for local authorities and trained officers to be made available, not just to enforce new legislation, but to ensure that owners are educated about responsible dog ownership. I met a woman a couple of years ago whose dog attacked her own child on her own property. She was in the house doing a bit of hoovering. The dog attacked her boy in the garden, and she has never reconciled herself to what happened that day. She is now passionate about the need to educate owners about responsible dog ownership.

I think it seems obvious to everyone in the Chamber that nobody should ever leave a dog alone with a child, but people out there do need to be educated on these points—they need that. Education is critical to the success of any legislation. There is public support for updating the legislation: 78% of the public want the law updated and consolidated. I call on the Minister to put on the record today that he will inform the House, before the recess, of his response to the consultation, and that he will recommend that we update and consolidate the legislation.

Finally, the Prime Minister sent a letter to the Communication Workers Union on 30 April 2010, in which he stated that his party’s manifesto pledged support for

“updating the Act in such a way that it provides adequate protection for all and ensures that dog owners are fully responsible for their dogs.”

He went on:

“We support extending dangerous dogs law to cover all places including private property”.

I therefore call on the Minister to fulfil the manifesto commitment, and the commitment made by the Prime Minister last year.

Single Payment Scheme

Andrew Griffiths Excerpts

Wednesday 8th June 2011 Westminster Hall

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I agree that livestock farmers have been going through a difficult time for many years. Arable farmers, particularly on the eastern side of the country, are seeing better incomes, but that is not so for all farmers. I will address my hon. Friend’ comment in a moment.

We must ensure that markets work more efficiently, so that there is less need for support. Increasing demand from Britain and around the world will do much of the heavy lifting in the long term, as it raises prices.

[Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)]

As my hon. Friend’s neighbour, I know that Staffordshire farmers appreciate his work to raise their profile and their issues. We have heard about the problems for arable farmers and livestock farmers, but we have not yet mentioned the terrible situation of dairy farmers, which has been an ongoing problem for many years, driven particularly by the supermarkets forcing down the price of milk as a loss leader to tempt people. Does my hon. Friend agree that we desperately need to do something to support our dairy farmers if we are to have a sustainable industry going forward?

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. That is why the Bill that proposes a supermarket ombudsman is welcome, but we need that as soon as possible, because in some parts of the dairy industry, despite recent small improvements in prices, there is a crisis, with people going out of business every week.