Fish and Chip Sector

Debate between Angela Eagle and Melanie Onn

Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

We agree about the revival of pollock fishing. Obviously, I hope Hansard is listening extremely carefully—otherwise, we are all going to get into serious trouble.

The sector was left to cope with rising costs and global shocks on its own for years, but this Government are taking a different approach. We understand that if we want these businesses to survive and thrive, we have to get involved. We need to support the fishers who land the catch, the farmers who grow the potatoes, and the high street traders who keep their doors open and deliver the final product millions upon millions of times every year, so maintaining a secure and affordable supply of fish is of key importance.

[Melanie Onn]

The supply of fish is an international business, and it is really complicated. One issue that has been problematic is that, post Brexit, some of our supertrawlers, such as the Kirkella, are no longer able to supply to the UK, which has elevated the cost of this food.

[Dame Angela Eagle]

My hon. Friend is unique in England because she has the Kirkella deep sea trawler, which she has just mentioned. It can be out trawling and processing for months, and it brings back absolutely processed products. There are some issues with where the Kirkella can fish, given what is happening with fish supplies. I am happy to talk to her about this matter, and I hope to visit her constituency at some stage so that I can have a look at that incredible vessel.

We are supporting the UK fleet to ensure that it has access to opportunities to catch cod and haddock. They are migrating north, which is one of the problems, as is the fact that they have been overfished. In 2026, the Government secured approximately £115 million-worth of fishing opportunities for these stocks. We are also taking steps to restore stocks to sustainable levels, so that we can continue harvesting them over the long term. For example, we have recently agreed measures such as seasonal closures with the EU and Norway to protect Northern Shelf cod, which is in a particularly parlous state.

However, fish and chip shops are particularly reliant on imports of fish, as the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway said. Maintaining sustainable stocks of white fish in UK waters means that we have to import large volumes of white fish to meet demand. Relationships with trading partners such as Norway and Iceland, where these stocks can be fished, are therefore critical. Industries used to depend heavily on Russian frozen-at-sea fillets, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned, but costs have risen sharply following the war in Ukraine, because businesses have had to find alternative supplies to stay competitive. We are supporting the sector to seek alternative species and sources of fish in order to move away from any remaining Russian-caught fish in the supply chain, and we are working with the National Federation of Fish Friers and the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation to reintroduce British-caught rock salmon to the menu.

Of course, I do not need to tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that you cannot have a fish and chip supper without potatoes. From our seed and ware potato farms to our fresh and processing sectors, potatoes continue to play an important role in UK farming and food production. I was pleased to see that the Scottish planted area rose for the second year in a row, despite the challenges of the weather and the global disruptions faced by the whole arable community this year. The Government remain committed to working with the farming sector to deliver stability, confidence and growth. The Secretary of State set out at the Oxford farming conference that the new sustainable farming incentive offer for 2026 will be more focused, more transparent and fairer so that more people can benefit.

We continue to invest in our farming sectors. The farming collaboration fund will provide up to £30 million over the next three years, delivering a new approach to farm collaboration and advice, and will back existing and new farmer groups, link them with expert support and help to create strong partnerships that drive growth and deliver environmental outcomes. We are putting partnership with the sector on a firmer footing. Farmers and food businesses will have a stronger voice at the heart of government.

A new farming and food partnership board, chaired by the Secretary of State and me, will drive growth, productivity and long-term profitability. It will remove barriers to investment and improve how the supply chain works, complementing our work to develop a 25-year farming road map—a single long-term plan to bring together regulation, innovation, skills investment and environmental recovery. I certainly hope that we can make our farming sector as profitable and nimble as possible.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned cooking oil, another important aspect of the production of fish and chip suppers. The price and supply of cooking oil is important. As he pointed out, Ukraine is a major supplier of sunflower oil, but supply chains were severely disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the UK suspended tariffs on sunflower oil imports from 1 January 2023. Last year, we extended the tariff suspension until 31 December 2026, so that importers will continue to have tariff-free access to sunflower oil. We are currently seeking views on whether the suspension should be extended for another two years. Clearly, anyone listening to the debate, be they in the fish and chip sector or elsewhere, should get in touch with us if they have a view about that important issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Angela Eagle and Melanie Onn

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

By March this year, 15% fewer people were in hotel accommodation than at the end of 2024. We are saving money on the chaos that we inherited from the Conservatives, and we have announced that we will end the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

Are private rented family homes in socially and economically deprived areas the right place for asylum seekers to be housed? Are community impacts of those placements being monitored, ready to inform policy if necessary?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

I can assure my hon. Friend that we keep all these issues under close monitoring, and we are doing our best to ensure that individual areas take their fair share of the burden when it comes to looking after people in our asylum system. Just to reassure her, we have sped up asylum decision making. The system that we inherited was paralysed, and we are getting it going again so that we can deal with this issue as quickly as possible.

Small Boat Crossings

Debate between Angela Eagle and Melanie Onn

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dame Angela Eagle]

No. We have just had a Budget, which we are in the middle of debating and will be voting on, and I expect that that will be the way we go forwards.

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

The 23% increase in returns of people who have no right to be here is a really positive step in giving the public confidence in our systems. What measures are in place to continue to ensure that our processes remain robust and that the trajectory of returns continues?

[Dame Angela Eagle]

We are ensuring that the enforcement part of the Home Office that deals with returns is given the resources it needs to do that job, but to make it even more successful, we have to engage with those countries to which we wish to return people so that we can have papers issued. Again, the significant shift in international co-operation is what will deliver that.