Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Eustice and Jeff Smith

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Last year, we made some funding available to a range of consultants and advisers across the country to help support all farmers with the transition. That advice is available, and I can write to her to make sure that she can relay it to her constituents.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the adequacy of flood risk management in inner cities.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)]

I regularly meet the chair of the Environment Agency to discuss flood risk management, and indeed I spoke to its board yesterday. We have doubled our investment in flood and coastal erosion defence to £5.2 billion, to better protect 336,000 properties across the country by 2027. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome investment, for instance, in the new flood storage areas on the River Mersey, which were vital to reducing the risk to vulnerable communities during Storm Christoph earlier this year.

[Jeff Smith]

That is welcome, because in my constituency we found out that this is a growing problem this time last year, when we narrowly—by 2 cm—averted a disastrous flooding incident in Chorlton and Didsbury when the Mersey flooded. What is the Department’s assessment of the state of readiness in general of flood defences and flood response services as we go into the peak winter storm season?

[George Eustice]

I discussed this issue with the Environment Agency board yesterday. It is that time of year when being alert to flood risk is absolutely at the top of our priorities, and I visited the flood response centre at Horizon House in Bristol earlier in the autumn. So we stand ready; sadly, we have got quite used to flood response, but we have a good team responding to this now and they are ready for anything the winter might throw at them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Eustice and Jeff Smith

Tuesday 19th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

The new UK global tariff that has been announced today does retain tariffs for most key agricultural products, including those sensitive agricultural products that are often discussed in this House. The answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that we would seek to grant tariff-free access to EU trading partners in future through a free trade agreement, and we have set out clearly the legal text of an acceptable free trade agreement should our partners wish to enter into such an agreement. Maintaining those agricultural tariffs also ensures that we do not expose our market in the short term to lower-standard products from other countries.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of the effect on air quality of the reduction in the use of motor vehicles during the covid-19 lockdown.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Eustice and Jeff Smith

Thursday 8th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

When we looked at the evidence, we found that a lot of it concerned particularly vulnerable sectors, such as dairy and some of the other livestock sectors, which often end up becoming price takers because they do not have sufficient strength to deal with large processors. It was less an issue of the supermarkets and more an issue of the processors. We have decided that a better way to take this forward is to introduce other statutory codes that target the problem, rather than trying to change the GCA’s remit.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

4. If he will implement a deposit return scheme for bottles.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Eustice and Jeff Smith

Thursday 7th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (George Eustice)]

I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning Rodda’s, which is obviously a world-leading food company. It has been very successful in exporting its cream to the far east and other markets. We are in regular discussions with the Department for International Trade and, as I said earlier, there are export opportunities for our great food producers.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

T5. At DEFRA questions on 20 July, the Secretary of State was asked to confirm that article 13 of the Lisbon treaty, which, as we have heard, categorises animals as sentient beings, would be part of the repeal Bill. He replied: “Absolutely”. Given that he then voted against the inclusion of article 13, what caused him to disagree with himself?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Eustice and Jeff Smith

Thursday 17th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. As he pointed out, there are robust regulations in place at both a European and a UK level, which specify, for instance, minimum journey times and rest times, and set-down requirements for the lorries carrying out that transport. It is not always possible to co-locate factories close to where poultry are because often the investment requires a large number of poultry farms supplying one abattoir.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to meet EU recycling targets.