Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Spelman Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

Innovation is essential to enhancing the competitiveness and resilience of UK agriculture, and we welcome the emphasis in the new common agricultural policy reform proposals on stimulating innovation. In March, in partnership with the Technology Strategy Board we are holding an innovation for growth summit with the agri-food sector. The summit will raise awareness of the potential for growth, and it includes a competition with £500,000 in prizes for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop their innovative ideas. As we speak, the invitations are going out.

[George Freeman]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. Does she agree that, as we as a nation look for ways to develop a sustainable recovery and to support sustainable development throughout the world, British agriculture, science and technology have a key role to play as exports, not least through centres such as the Norwich research park in my own county of Norfolk? Does she also agree that we need somehow to create a web that links up our centres of excellence, currently fragmented throughout the UK, to create a portal for global industry to interact with our science?

[Mrs Spelman]

I completely agree, and I esteem highly the research capacity in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The Government’s investment of £400 million per annum is co-ordinated throughout the Government, under the UK cross-Government food research and innovation strategy, which is published by the Government Office for Science. The cross-Government and research councils’ programme on global food security will also be a key vehicle for driving that agenda forward.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that one of the best ways to enhance competitiveness is to encourage the export of our product beyond the borders of the European Community? Will she outline to the House the Department’s policies, practices and strategy to encourage the export of our food product to Asia, Russia and China?

[Mrs Spelman]

When we took office, we made it a priority from the outset to encourage the food and farming industry to produce more food sustainably and to think in terms of opportunities in emerging markets. Later this month, we will publish in an export action plan the results of our work with the agri-food industry in the intervening months, but there is absolutely no doubt that the emerging markets of Brazil, China, India and Russia, many of which Ministers have now visited, offer our food and drink industry the huge potential to grow its business.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

The UK is already a successful exporter of meat and meat products, and that is a fantastic way of increasing employment in farming and food processing. I have recently returned from Kazakhstan, where there is a huge and unmet demand for meat and meat products. What is DEFRA doing to ensure that all potential exporters are supported, and that we promote the quality of British meat throughout the world?

[Mrs Spelman]

As I said in my previous answer, we have made that issue a priority since the very beginning. The important point is that the “Made in Britain” label on our food and drink sends to consumers throughout the world a very strong signal of high-quality food produced to very high standards of animal welfare, which our consumers expect and we promote, and of food safety, as the systems that we have built are very strong. Indeed, we should consider exporting not just our food but our systems to emerging economies.

[Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)]

3. What progress her Department has made on payments to farmers under the single farm payment scheme.

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[Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

4. What steps she is taking to tackle littering and fly-tipping.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

Changing behaviour is the key on such environmental issues. That is why the Government support the national fly-tipping prevention group and initiatives such as Keep Britain Tidy’s “Love Where You Live” campaign, which I launched with Kirstie Allsopp last autumn. We are cracking down on fly-tippers by introducing powers to seize the vehicles of suspected offenders and are working with the court authorities on increased sentencing.

[Annette Brooke]

I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. I congratulate all those involved in community litter picks, including those at Canford Heath in my constituency. Litter alongside the busy roads that link our communities is a blot on the landscape. What more will she do to empower local councils to take effective action against people in vehicles who are responsible for such littering?

[Mrs Spelman]

I freely acknowledge that that is a problem. When I jog around the lanes where I live in the countryside, it appals me to see what has been dropped casually out of car windows. It is systematically cleared by the council, but within a very short period it is back. This is about changing behaviour. We have to start in schools by educating children and taking them with us on litter picks, because it then dawns on them what a nuisance this is. In addition, an interesting opportunity is presented by a private Bill that is going through Parliament, which will enable London borough councils to tackle the problem of littering from vehicles by making it a civil offence. We should look at the efficacy of that measure to see what wider lessons we can learn.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has mentioned her support for Keep Britain Tidy, yet her Department has cut its grant to that organisation, causing it to lose 50% of its staff. What impact does she believe that will have on littering campaigns?

[Mrs Spelman]

Such questions from the Opposition always skirt the reality that we are dealing with a deficit we inherited from the previous Government. As shadow Ministers have said, they would have to make cuts too. This is not easy. As I said at the outset, I applaud Keep Britain Tidy’s initiatives. The point is that we need to tackle this together. This is a classic area where the big society can make a difference. I have put my money where my mouth is by helping to launch the “Love Where You Live” campaign. I suggest to hon. Members that that is a campaign we can all get involved in.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

5. What assessment she has made of the benefits to rural areas of rural tourism; and what support she is providing to rural communities to help them secure such benefits.

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[Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

7. What steps she is taking to promote jobs and growth in the food production and environmental industries.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

In the rural strand of the growth review that we published alongside the autumn statement, we announced an export action plan which, as I indicated earlier, will be out later this month, and an innovation summit to support the agri-food industry. We also announced a new £15 million loan fund for community renewables, a £15 million fund for rural growth networks and support for mid-sized businesses to access £6 billion a year of savings available from resource efficiency.

[Mr Harris]

I think the whole House has a perfect right to know what I had for breakfast this morning. I started with sausages, bacon and egg—only one, of course, because I am on a health kick. In tucking in, I was reassured by the fact that 90% of all the food purchased by the House is sourced in the United Kingdom, encouraging British growth and British jobs. Will the Secretary of State tell the House not what she had for breakfast—too much information already—but what proportion of food purchased by her own Department is sourced in the United Kingdom?

[Mrs Spelman]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman understands that World Trade Organisation rules mean that we can require purchasing to British standards in Government procurement, but we cannot require produce to be British. We adhere to those rules, and we actively promote Government buying standards involving all Departments sourcing food that is produced to British standards in order to promote those standards. In my own Department, the figure is 18%.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Many people are employed in rural areas, particularly the uplands, in livestock production. Does the Secretary of State share my concern about the conflicting messages from her Department and the Department of Health about the eating of meat, which could potentially have very damaging consequences for jobs and growth in rural areas?

[Mrs Spelman]

Clearly nutrition is a lead for the Department of Health, but it is quite clear that meat forms part of a balanced diet. I am very proud of the fact that producers in this country produce meat to the highest standards of animal welfare, food and hygiene anywhere in the world. As we have just discussed, we actively promote the consumption of food that is produced to those very high standards within Government and among the wider public.

[Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)]

Labour believes that public procurement should be reformed to play its part in our economic recovery and to support jobs, skills and apprenticeships here in the UK. The Government spend £2 billion a year on food and are well placed to support British farmers and food businesses by buying British. I heard what the Secretary of State said and was unclear about the percentage that is sourced from UK producers, but her latest figures show that the Department bought less than a third of its food from UK producers in 2011. Why is that, and what does she intend to do about it?

[Mrs Spelman]

As we have discussed, the situation has not changed since the hon. Lady’s party was in office. The difference is that the Government have placed a requirement on all Departments to procure food to British standards. As a shadow Secretary of State, she cannot encourage the Government of the day to breach WTO rules by calling for British products. That is the distinction. We want to encourage the industry to produce more food to the high standards that we require and to encourage Government Departments and the wider public to consume food that is produced to that very high standard.

[Mary Creagh]

The Secretary of State is confused. DEFRA Ministers are simply failing to deliver jobs and growth in the UK food industry, which is the country’s largest manufacturing sector. We have seen how unfair competition from abroad for egg producers has been allowed—DEFRA is supine. My hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), the shadow food Minister, has asked many questions, yet No. 10 has not revealed how much of its food is sourced from the UK. There is confusion across Government: some Departments reply on what British produce they bought, and some reply on food that is sourced to UK standards. Will she have a word and ensure that the next time guests sit down for dinner with the Prime Minister, the food they enjoy is 100% UK-sourced and that it supports jobs in this country?

[Mrs Spelman]

There is no confusion at all here. Government buying standards are mandatory across all Departments. They require food to be procured to British standards. That is compatible not only with WTO rules but with the rules that cover the operation of the EU internal market—the very basic framework that any Secretary of State or shadow Secretary of State should understand.

The hon. Lady also completely overlooks the importance of our drive on exports. I remind her that in the last year alone, there has been an 11.4% increase in food and drink exports from this country to the wider world.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of State, but questions and answers are, frankly, too long. I am sure we will have a short—that is, single sentence—question from the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George).

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

I shall do my best, Mr Speaker.

If British farmers are to compete on the world market, support systems must not simply allow British farmers to avoid creating the ranch-and-prairie environmental deserts that we clearly do not want. Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State believe that the common agricultural policy reforms are currently moving things in the right direction?

[Mrs Spelman]

Within the CAP proposals, there is an endeavour to balance the need to promote animal welfare and protection of the environment in parallel with producing food sustainably, but the important thing in concluding trade deals with non-EU countries—2012 ought to the be the year of UK trade deals as emerging markets offer great potential to our industry—is to have the higher standards to which British food is produced recognised in the wider world and at global level.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department has taken to reduce the volume of waste going to landfill.

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[Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

My Department takes responsibility for safeguarding the environment, supporting farmers and strengthening the green economy. Essential to each of those is water supply. In that context, my Ministers and I will focus extensively on water resources over the coming year, seeking to avoid unnecessary supply restrictions. Last month, I issued a drought order to South East Water to protect supplies to customers in Sussex. Next month, we shall hold the next in a series of drought summits, and thereafter the Environment Agency will update the drought prospects report. With luck, holding a drought summit tends to bring on the rain. I saw that it rained this morning; we need a lot more of that.

[Gavin Barwell]

Three months ago, my local authority, Croydon, introduced a food waste recycling service, which is on course to divert nearly 12,000 tonnes of household waste from landfill. Will the Secretary of State congratulate Croydon on its work, and will she tell us what the Government can do further to develop the market for other recyclables?

[Mrs Spelman]

I congratulate Croydon council on that new development. We certainly see the opportunity for local authorities up and down the land to introduce a waste food collection scheme that feeds into anaerobic digestion and, in turn, produces a renewable source of energy. Croydon council predicts that it will help the borough to increase its recycling rate from 32% to 46%, which, therefore, has the full support of the Government.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. In November 2010, I was one of the 5,000 people attacked by a dog since the consultation on dangerous dogs closed in June 2010. For fear of being called to order by you, Mr Speaker, I will not raise my middle finger to the Minister to show him the 1-inch scar left following the attack, but will he bring forward the proposals on dangerous dogs before the February recess?

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[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

T5. Following the Government’s admission that the UK remains in breach of EU pollution legislation, can the Secretary of State tell campaigners such as the Breathe Clean Air Group in my constituency what steps she is taking to address concerns about the impact of biomass emissions on air quality?

[Mrs Spelman]

We have worked hard with the Commission on air quality. We have brought a number of suggestions to the Commission about how we might help to improve air quality, particularly in urban areas, working closely with the Mayor of London, and also with other cities and their local authorities. The question of biomass emissions is part of that, but with technology advancing, it is possible to have a closed loop fermentation process, thereby minimising the impact of any emissions into the atmosphere.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

T4. What is DEFRA doing to ensure that the British horticultural industry is not disadvantaged by the Rural Payments Agency suspending 17 producer organisations from the European fresh fruit and vegetable scheme?

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[Mrs Spelman]

I did indeed come straight back from a ministerial preparatory conference in Delhi, step off the plane and brief two large groups—the business community and the NGO community—at round-tables, the reason being that the Brazilian hosts intend in the days preceding the ministerial segment for business and for civil society to have a specific convention on sustainable development 20 years on from the original summit. We are seeing some early proposals from the Colombians on sustainable goals. In the run-up to Rio, we should reconvene the round-tables when there is something a bit more specific on the table, and work closely with both groups, the important thing being to get a good UK attendance.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T7. The Food Standards Agency recently announced proposals for changes to the meat hygiene charging system, and I would be grateful to hear my hon. Friend’s views on them.