Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by George Eustice
Farmers currently have access to a range of support measures, including direct payments under the CAP. We have published the Agriculture Bill that sets out how we will support the industry as we leave the EU and this includes rewarding farmers for delivering public goods.
We would expect farmers in Yorkshire and Humber to participate in the scheme and to be able to apply for the wider support we intend to make available to farmers through the Bill.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the farming and agriculture industry in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Haltemprice and Howden constituency.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Farming has a bright future outside the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. The Great Yorkshire Show demonstrated the strengths that British farming has to offer with a record-breaking number of entries for sheep and cattle, and great produce from Wensleydale cheese to North Yorkshire game.
I know very well the importance of supporting these farmers in Yorkshire and Humber, home to my own constituency and farm, as well as my Rt Hon friend’s constituency, Haltemprice and Howden. As we prepare to leave the EU, the UK Government is taking a number of steps to support our farmers and industry in England and across the UK.
For the UK as a whole, the Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this Parliament, expected in 2022; this includes all funding provided for farm support under both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the current Common Agricultural Policy.
The Government has also guaranteed that any projects where funding has been agreed before the end of 2020 will be funded for their full lifetime. This means, in the event the UK leaves the EU with no deal, the UK Government would fund any remaining payments to farmers, land managers and rural businesses due after October 2019. This would ensure continued funding for these projects until they finish. The guarantee also means that Defra and the devolved administrations can continue to sign new projects after the UK leaves the EU during 2019 and 2020.
As agriculture is devolved, each administration will have the flexibility to develop agricultural policy suited to their own unique circumstances, once the UK has left the EU. It is for the Scottish, Welsh and future Northern Ireland Governments to decide upon future agricultural policies for their respective nations.
For farmers in England, the Agriculture Bill marks a decisive shift in our support. We will create an ambitious new system based on paying “public money for public goods”. Public goods will include improving air and water quality, and habitats for wildlife. By paying for things the public value, we can also improve animal welfare and reduce the use of antibiotics in our food chain. Financial support for innovations like precision farming can help farmers become more productive, reduce the use of expensive chemicals and protect the environment.
Critically, our Agriculture Bill also includes a seven year transition period of 2021–2027 for Direct Payments to help farmers in England to plan for the future. In the meantime direct payments for 2019 and 2020 will be made on the same basis as they are now, with simplifications where possible.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons general licences for controlling certain species of bird were revoked before the Government was legally required to do so.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the Rt Hon. Gentleman to the letter sent from the Chairman of Natural England to the Secretary of State www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-licences-for-controlling-wild-birds-letter-from-natural-england-chair-to-environment-secretary
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support farming in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government has pledged to continue to support farmers financially by committing the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of this Parliament, expected in 2022. This includes all funding provided for farm support under both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the current Common Agricultural Policy. We are working across Government to develop future funding arrangements.
Our plans for farming and for supporting farmers as the UK leaves the EU are underpinned by the Agriculture Bill. The Bill is a central part of the Government’s programme of legislation to deliver as smooth a departure as possible and achieve a green withdrawal from the EU. At the heart of our new policy in England will be a system that pays public money for public goods, rewarding farmers such as those in Yorkshire and Humber for creating habitats for wildlife while improving air and water quality.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for fisheries policy after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government’s vision for future fisheries policy, as we leave the EU, is set out in the Fisheries White Paper: Sustainable Fisheries for Future Generations, published in July 2018.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the damage to property and infrastructure that potentially could be prevented by (a) the £80 million flood defences announced for the Humber in the National Infrastructure Plan and (b) the £1.3 billion tidal Humber defence programme currently under review.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The case for investment in flood defence schemes, including those announced for the Humber in the National Infrastructure Plan, is based on the benefits in terms of the economic damages of flooding avoided by the work. The approach follows HM Treasury’s guidance on the appraisal of central government investment options (The Green Book).
The Environment Agency will conduct a review to consider the ambitious £1.3 billion proposal put forward by the Local Enterprise Partnership and local authorities as part of its update of the Flood Risk Management Study. This will take full account of the lessons learned from the tidal surge in December 2013 and use the same nationally consistent approach to valuing the benefits of the proposals.