Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville
Main Page: Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Farming Industry: Support
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts
Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Redesdale has set out his case fully. Moving the payment of farmers from a purely land-based formula is the right way forward. However, some of the Government’s schemes and initiatives for future farming funding lack detail and are being trickled out slowly. This is not providing the necessary reassurance that farmers need to secure their businesses into the future.
This, coupled with the New Zealand and Australian trade deals, is causing anxiety and stress to our farming businesses. My noble friend Lady Harris of Richmond already indicated that Australian meat imports will have an effect on UK producers. The Government have negotiated a shoddy deal that could see our markets flooded with cheaper, lower-quality imports. Ministers now need to come clean about the impact of this deal on local farmers, with particular reference to labour shortages, seasonal workers and supply chains, as raised by several noble Lords.
New Zealand controls 30% of the global dairy market and its farmers can produce lamb and beef at a cost 63% lower than UK farmers can. Australian farmers are similarly advantaged by the sheer scale of the country and their ability to mass-produce. Fears are growing that family farmers are being sold down the river, after the Government’s own impact assessment found that the Australian deal will cost £94 million to the farming industry. The noble Lord, Lord Harlech, referred to this. Is this really what the Government intended when they negotiated Brexit and wanted to engage in trade deals with the world outside the EU? Was it to undercut our own farmers and to import an inferior product that is not produced to the same high standards we enjoy here and whose animal welfare policies fall a long way short of our own?
Many Peers have asked critical questions, including the noble Earl, Lord Leicester, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Boycott and Lady Bennett of Manor Castle. I look forward to the Minister’s response.