Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

First, we are putting additional funding into maintenance—an additional £35 million this year and next year for those types of activity. We are also running pilot projects so that local landowners and farmers can be involved in that work, as well as the Environment Agency. In addition, local environment agencies are spending more time now on issues such as dredging to make sure that that work happens.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

The residents of Morpeth in my constituency are delighted with the actions of the Environment Agency and the near completion of the flood alleviation scheme, but they are really concerned about flood risk insurance. What stage are we at in the discussions and negotiations on Flood Re and other affordable insurance schemes?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are on track for Flood Re to be established this summer—we are currently working on that. In the interim, we have the 2008 statement of principles, which will make sure that people in those areas do have flood insurance.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dan Rogerson]

Ministers, including my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, have regular meetings throughout the year with Ministers from other Departments, and of course, at official level, we engage very strongly across Departments on such issues. Planning guidance on the need to protect our environment is absolutely clear.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

The Minister will be aware of the current price war in the supermarkets with regard to the price of a loaf of bread. Sainsbury’s is selling Hovis at 75p a loaf. What can Ministers do to ensure that that does not adversely impact people working in the baking industry?

[George Eustice]

The supermarket adjudicator requires retailers to stick to the terms of contracts, not retrospectively to hit suppliers or unreasonably request them to take part in promotions. Through the groceries code and the adjudicator, we have measures in place to deal with the problems that the hon. Gentleman cites.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I am a huge fan of the bramley apple and I eat them on a regular basis. As well as exporting more bramleys abroad, I would like more to be sold here in Britain. Currently, we import two thirds of our apples, so there is a huge opportunity here in the UK. I completely agree with my hon. Friend on branding, which is why we are working with the GREAT Britain campaign to ensure we have clear British branding on our products, and that all our small and other suppliers across the UK have access to those opportunities.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

T5. Super- markets are putting huge financial pressures on suppliers in the food industry. That is not benefiting the consumer, and it is driving wages and terms and conditions down for people who work in the industry. Is it not high time the Government considered regulating supermarkets?

[Elizabeth Truss]

As I mentioned earlier, last night we laid regulations to enable the Groceries Code Adjudicator to have the power to fine supermarkets. I have regular meetings with supermarkets. [Interruption.] It will be able to fine up to 1%, which is a significant sum.

Greyhound Welfare

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) on securing this timely debate. As ever, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Dorries.

I am a greyhound owner. I love greyhounds, and I take great exception to people who know little about this wonderful sport classifying me as a “terrorist in sport” because I want to raise those wonderful animals. I co-chair the all-party group on greyhounds, and I have had lots of e-mails from people across Europe telling me that I am a bad individual for supporting this great sport.

Greyhound racing is widely watched and loved by millions of people—not just here in the UK, but across the globe. I really take exception to anybody who suggests that I do not look after my dogs. I have had hundreds of greyhounds: fast ones, slow ones, ones that have never made the track and ones that have reached five years of age. I have looked after every one of the animals I have had or been associated with from the day they came into my ownership to they day they sadly passed on.

The vast majority of owners do the responsible thing, but of course I accept that some people out there do not. Greyhound racing is a great sport, but it is tarnished by a secret few and a murky past. My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn mentioned the event in Seaham a few years ago, when up to 10,000 dogs—most, but not all, were greyhounds—were found to have been killed by an individual. It brought tears to not only my eyes, but the eyes of anybody who has anything to do with the sport. It took the sport back 30 or 40 years—it was an outrage.

We have moved on since then. We have all heard the great tales of people stopping dogs running with pork pies and by putting elastic bands around their feet, and of people painting greyhounds to look like different dogs. If only a few of those tales were true, it would be half-amusing. People who try to besmirch this brilliant sport continue to perpetuate those myths because they are great tales to tell.

In the past, there were many instances of greyhounds, lurchers and other dogs of that type of breed being found on hillsides, like the dog that my hon. Friend spoke about. It is an outrage and brings tears to everybody’s eyes. Every time a single greyhound is left like that, it takes the sport back 10 years. We need to move forward.

Of course, there is a massive problem with welfare. The statistics show that. But we should not be looking to ban the sport, because it is a fantastic sport that is enjoyed by many people across the globe, from owners to spectators. We have 30 tracks or more in the UK. We have got to address the welfare problem, because every time there is a positive story about greyhound racing, such as the Towcester track, which opened two weeks ago—its official opening was on Saturday night, and it was a great event—it is tarnished by the welfare issue. We can take massive positive steps, but they are always tarnished by welfare. We should not turn our backs on the welfare issue because it is extremely important.

We need more transparency in the sport, as my hon. Friend suggested. Today, if somebody buys a greyhound, they get a passport with it. Every time the greyhound runs, its passport is marked. Since the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 and the Donoughue review, every greyhound is now microchipped, so there is a complete trail of ownership and the details of the individual greyhound are stored. Dogs are no longer allowed to run unless they are microchipped. That shining example of protecting welfare can be applied to all types of animal, but greyhound racing has been a leading light. Every track is now required to have a vet present during racing time.

[Nadine Dorries (in the Chair)]

Order. Mr Lavery, you have had more than six minutes. Another Member wishes to speak and the Minister must respond. Could you wind up?

[Ian Lavery]

Thank you very much, Ms Dorries. I thank the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn for allowing me to speak.

We must work with the trainers, the owners, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, the Greyhound Trainers Association, the Dogs Trust and the Retired Greyhound Trust. Everybody must pull together to tackle the welfare issue and put greyhound racing on a firm footing for the future.

--- Later in debate ---

[George Eustice]

I was going to come on to say that the original legislation envisaged a review in 2015. Work towards that review has already begun with officials, and the intention—as I was going to say later on—is that we shall shortly have a discussion with stakeholders and those involved in greyhound racing, before going to a wider public consultation. I myself have had the opportunity to talk to Lord De Mauley, who leads on this particular issue in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I know that he has visited greyhound racetracks and has already met many stakeholders to discuss these particular issues.

I shall first set out the current legislative framework covering the welfare of greyhounds in England. This matter is, of course, a devolved one. However, it is a reality that the majority of greyhound tracks in Britain—some 30 out of 34 tracks—are in England. There are a further three tracks in Scotland and one in Wales. The majority of those 30 tracks in England—24 in total—are currently affiliated to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Following the 2007 report on greyhound racing that was led by Lord Donoughue, the GBGB has been the main governing body of the sport since January 2009. However, there are a further six tracks that are currently not affiliated to the GBGB: these are the so-called independent tracks, which tend to be smaller. They race independently of the GBGB.

[Ian Lavery]

Just to clarify that point, does the Minister mean that those independent tracks are not licensed by the GBGB, rather than “not affiliated to” it?

[George Eustice]

That is right. My understanding is that if tracks are affiliated to the GBGB, they are licensed by it. The independent tracks, which tend to be the smaller ones, are directly licensed by the relevant local authority.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that welfare standards for all racing greyhounds in England are covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. The 2006 Act is wide ranging, but it allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or of a failure to provide for an animal’s welfare needs. This includes, for instance, when greyhounds are kept away from the track, such as at a trainer’s kennels, which is often flagged as a point of concern by some animal welfare groups.

Further to the general provisions under the 2006 Act, which apply everywhere, the welfare standards at all greyhound racing tracks in England are specifically covered by the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Introduced in April 2010, these regulations require that all tracks must do the following: first, they must have a vet present at all races, race trials and sales trials, with all greyhounds inspected by the vet before they are allowed to run; secondly, the tracks must provide suitable kennelling; thirdly, all greyhounds be microchipped and earmarked before they can race or trial; and finally, each track must keep records of all dogs that are raced or trialled at that track, and of any dogs injured during a race, trial or sales trial.

These standards are regulated either by the track’s local authority—that is the case for independent tracks, as I have pointed out—or, as in the majority of cases, by the GBGB, which regulates 24 tracks. However, the GBGB is only allowed to regulate these standards on the basis that it is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service for the audit of greyhound tracks against the standards required by the 2010 regulations.

At this point, it might help the House if I briefly discussed what we mean by the term “self-regulation”. The hon. Member for Islwyn said that this is still very much self-regulated. However, I do not think it is quite as simple as that, because the position is firmer than simply having a voluntary code.

Prior to the introduction of the regulations in 2010, the industry was self-regulated in the way that most people would understand the term. There were no specific statutory requirements for greyhound racing tracks, the industry set its own welfare rules of racing and there was no independent external scrutiny of how the National Greyhound Racing Club, which was the main industry regulator at the time, enforced its own rules. However, following the 2007 Donoughue report and the subsequent introduction of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, the minimum conditions required for all greyhound tracks in England are now set down by Parliament. Apart from local authorities, if any organisation wishes to regulate the standards themselves, it must have UKAS accreditation to do so. The GBGB is currently the only body certified in this way by UKAS and ensures that there is now external independent oversight of the enforcement work that the GBGB carries out.

While the current situation is often described as self-regulation, clearly 2010 marked a break with what had gone before. What we have is a statutory form of regulation that is enforced by an industry body that is then itself audited by an independent body established within Government.

It might be worth while my saying a little more about UKAS accreditation. UKAS is recognised by the Government as the sole UK organisation for the accreditation of certification, testing and inspection bodies to internationally agreed standards. UKAS accreditation provides an assurance of the competence, impartiality and integrity of assessment bodies. As UKAS accredits the GBGB as a certification body, I think that the Government can have confidence that the GBGB is effectively monitoring and verifying welfare standards as defined within the rules of racing and within the 2010 regulations.

UKAS’s accreditation process determines the technical competence and integrity of organisations acting as assessment bodies. Before UKAS accredits any organisation, the organisation will be subject to intensive audit to ensure compliance with the international standard for certification bodies, including witnessing the organisation’s own assessment activities. Accredited organisations are subject to annual surveillance visits and full reassessment after four years.

Organisations found not to be acting in accordance with their accreditation can have that suspended or even withdrawn. Should the GBGB ever lose its accreditation, the 2010 regulations would automatically remove its powers to regulate the standards set out in those regulations, and all GBGB tracks in England would then require a licence from their local authority.

If anyone has any concerns about how the GBGB is applying welfare standards as defined within the rules of the 2010 regulations, they can report them to UKAS. UKAS has powers to investigate any such concerns reported to it. The GBGB was accredited by UKAS in March 2010 and DEFRA officials have been told that since then UKAS has received no complaints about the efficacy with which the GBGB has approached its duties.

I want to say a little about the five-year review, which was touched on in an intervention. When the regulations were introduced in 2010, Ministers in the last Government committed to reviewing them after they had been in force for five years. As the House is aware, all new regulations now come with statutory five-year review clauses anyway, but it was always the intention—even under the previous Government, and even before the statutory requirement to review regulations every five years was in place—to review these particular regulations after five years.

The review is due in April 2015, but work on it has already begun. We aim to go out to key stakeholders early in the new year, to collect the evidence that we need to assess the effectiveness of the regulations. Once we have independently collected and considered that evidence, DEFRA will go out to a wider public consultation, which will most likely commence after the election, given that we will quickly be at the end of March and into a purdah period.

Given the strength of views on these issues, it is important that we do not have a quick consultation that gets lost in the run-up to the general election. This is an important issue, and we do not need to rush it. Provided we have started the engagement with stakeholders before the general election, we should allow plenty of time for people to respond to a public consultation after it.

That review will consider how effective the regulations have been. It can look at the self-regulatory elements of the regulations and how the current approach adopted by the GBGB is working and at the requirement to collect injury statistics and how those can be used. It can also look at the traceability of greyhounds after they have left the sport, because one of the biggest concerns that is often raised about the current situation—the hon. Member for Islwyn highlighted this—is that nobody is sure where between 2,000 and 4,000 greyhounds a year, by some estimates, end up. We know that many excellent charities help to re-home greyhounds that have left racing, but there is concern about some of the others.

The hon. Member for Islwyn mentioned a number of issues that he would like to be addressed in that review, and I think that all of them could indeed be covered. For instance, he highlighted the importance of independent welfare oversight and asked whether other welfare charities could be involved, and I see no reason why that could not be explored through the review. It is exactly the kind of thing that we should do.

The hon. Gentleman also mentioned the importance of transparency on statistics. We know that the regulations now require the GBGB to require all its tracks to record instances of injuries. Many say that those injuries should be submitted to the GBGB and perhaps published, so that there is transparency in that regard. Again, these are all valid points that can be addressed through the review.

My hon. Friend the Member for Romford highlighted the issue of doping and the use of drugs. This is a good point. We should recognise that the use of doping and drugs in this context would already be a breach of the Gambling Act 2005, which, as my hon. Friend will know, given his background in this, sets out many provisions in this regard. We should also recognise that the GBGB has done some good work in this area. It has taken it quite seriously, spending more than £640,000 a year on drug sampling and research to ensure that it is able to detect substances, as my hon. Friend said.

Finally, the hon. Member for Islwyn mentioned over-breeding. This is an issue with many breeds—the greyhound is not the only example—and the Kennel Club has started to become alert to this problem and to do work on it, including the dangers and welfare impacts. I am sure that when we have that review, organisations like the Kennel Club and other animal welfare organisations, which have themselves done good work in this connection, may want to contribute to it.

In conclusion, we have had a good, well-informed debate with hon. Members who have a lot of experience of this issue. I am sure that many of the points that have been raised will be pertinent to the review that we are about to commence, first with stakeholders and then with the wider public during the next six months. I again congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and hon. Members on their important contributions.

Question put and agreed to.

Winter Flooding (Preparation)

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2014 Westminster Hall

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

As ever, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) on securing this important debate. We all share the view that flooding, wherever it may happen, is devastating for communities, individuals, families and elderly people. As the hon. Gentleman said so eloquently, water gets everywhere, and we should never underestimate the damage that it can do.

In my constituency, places such as Morpeth, Mitford and Hepscott have suffered the horrendous consequences of flooding over several years. There is now a reservoir and a new flooding system. Some call it a Rolls-Royce system, but others say that we need more. Thanks to the hard work of everyone concerned, finances were made available under the previous Labour Government to ensure that Morpeth—a market town, and apparently one of the best towns in the country to reside in—was secured from future flooding. That does not mean that all the problems are resolved. Other MPs and I speak regularly to people who live in areas where there is potential risk. Every time there is a drop of rain, they look out from behind their curtains and worry that there will be another flood in the next hour or so. A lot more work must be done to ensure that we can deal with the problems as politicians.

I place on the record my thanks to the Environment Agency, which has been under a lot of pressure and has done a lot of good work with regard to the flooding up and down the country. It has certainly done a good job in Morpeth. There are other problems besides the flooding, such as surface water and drainage capacity. The situation must be looked at in its entirety, and the necessary finances must be readily available. Residents are concerned about insurance. Houses have been blighted in beautiful places. Traditionally, places next to rivers are beautiful, but they are subject to risk, and people are worried about what will happen in the winter months. There is also a problem with drainage capacity. Water levels rise beneath the roads and the gutters burst, which creates surface water. We are working together with the Environment Agency in the hope of overcoming that problem.

We must do everything we can, and we must look at every possible way of securing the safety and the best interests of people in flood risk areas.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman is talking about looking at every possible avenue of assistance, and I am sure that he will develop that theme. Does he agree that we need to think strategically and look logistically decades ahead, because of climate change? Forty years ago, previous Governments did not anticipate the situation that we face now. We need to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes.

[Ian Lavery]

That is essential. Whether people are climate change sceptics or not, there is a general belief and understanding that we are getting more rain that we have ever had before. It is essential that we have a strategic plan not just for next year or the next five years, but for 10, 20 or 30 years into the future. We need joined-together thinking with all the services that will be required to ensure that we address the problem adequately.

One major issue is the role of fire and rescue services. In my community, I witnessed horrific levels of flooding that posed a danger to life, particularly to an elderly community that was stranded because of the floods and the water levels, and the fire and rescue service did a fantastic job on that occasion. My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris) mentioned the work of fire and rescue services. Is it not strange that despite the fact that they get called out to such areas and face danger when they try to rescue people—such as the elderly people I have just mentioned—they have no statutory obligation to respond to flooding in England and Wales? Is it not even stranger that there is such a statutory obligation on fire and rescue services in Scotland and Northern Ireland? Is it not about time that that was the case in England and Wales? I cannot see why anyone would disagree with that. Fire and rescue services, carrying out the fantastic service that they do, should be under a statutory duty to respond to flooding.

As the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) has just said, we must look back to see what happened not only in 2013-14, but 10 or 15 years ago, and learn lessons from it. The winter of 2013-14 was the wettest on record. The fire and rescue services have said that 7,800 homes and nearly 3,000 commercial properties were flooded, and 28 fire and rescue services supplied crews, high-volume pumps, flood rescue tactical advisers and pumping appliances. A large number of incidents were attended by the fire and rescue service, and across the UK over the entire three months nearly 7,000 incidents were recorded. The vast majority of those were in England, with more than a third in London, Surrey and Kent. Firefighters in Wales dealt with 457 incidents during the three months, the Scottish fire and rescue service dealt with 356 incidents and there were 27 incidents in Northern Ireland.

[Grahame M. Morris]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. He has mentioned an important aspect of our preparedness and the lessons we should learn from the flooding to help us create more resilient plans. Does he agree that the Minister should have discussions with colleagues from other Departments, such as the Department for Communities and Local Government, about putting in place plans on a regional or area-by-area basis to facilitate such an intervention, where firefighters have been involved not just in rescues but in safeguarding critical infrastructure, leafleting, issuing warnings and so on?

[Ian Lavery]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and I will ask that question when I wind up my short contribution.

In 2013-14 most fire and rescue services recorded a large number of rescues—there were almost 2,000 rescues across the UK during those three months. Most of the rescues were in Surrey, Kent, Devon and Somerset, with Surrey alone recording more than 1,000 rescues during the three months. The figure is generally believed to be an underestimate. We must learn lessons from 2014 and beyond. It is time to acknowledge the main recommendations of the 2007 Pitt review, which the hon. Member for Winchester mentioned. The review, which was commissioned by the Labour party, had six key components: knowing where and when flooding will occur; reducing the risk of flooding and its impact; rescues; maintaining power and water supplies during an emergency; better advice and help to protect families and homes; and recovery. I do not understand—I hope the Minister will explain—why there should be a statutory duty in Northern Ireland and Scotland but not in Wales and England. Hopefully we can put that right.

The fire and rescue services have done a tremendous job, and they have been there when others are running away. I am talking about not only fires but flooding—I have seen that with my own eyes. As MPs, I am sure we all have experience of flooding monitors, who are unpaid volunteers from local communities who do their best. They check the flooding and alert other people. Those unpaid volunteers do a fantastic job. The Morpeth flood action group in my constituency does a great job, and not only in that type of work. It brought the funding and the partners together, and consequently we have what I would class as a success story.

The fire and rescue services do not just turn up and pump water; they rescue people and save lives, too. They were there in boats and other appliances to clear furniture and carry people on their shoulders. They did everything. They did a fantastic job. They also monitored for carbon monoxide and other gases once the water started to subside. I have emphasised the need for the Government to acknowledge that we must act now to ensure that the fire and rescue services have a statutory duty and the correct funding for flood training. They need the right appliances and funding for everything else that comes with a statutory duty. It is essential that those services are funded because, frankly, there has been a huge slash-and-burn exercise within local government that has had a huge impact on the fire and rescue services. Responding to flooding, which is an additional responsibility, is unfunded.

This debate is due, as we need to discuss how we can ensure that we do the best for the communities that we represent through flood defence schemes and ensuring that finances are available. We must also ensure that, when floods unfortunately occur, the fire and rescue services have a statutory duty and are in place to carry out the fantastic job they do anyway.

Dairy Industry

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Wednesday 5th November 2014 Westminster Hall

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath). I pay tribute to him for the work that he did as a Minister, and in a previous Parliament when he worked with me on these issues. I congratulate the hon. Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart) on obtaining the debate. I assure him that I have not prepared a press release, or even written a speech, but I feel passionate about the subject. My first job and my brothers’ first jobs were working on dairy farms. The herds were small in those days, but it was great experience. Sadly, those farms have gone, for many different reasons, and the fields where they were are now full of horses. I love horses, but would prefer to see dairy cows there.

The farming industry has suffered for many years from external factors, which we have heard about today. More recently, high fuel and energy prices and expensive food stock have been added to by the Russian sanctions on the EU. I want to deal specifically with the price war in the supermarkets. I have long campaigned for a supermarket ombudsman, which was brought in as the groceries code adjudicator, but the current arrangement is lacking and needs to be strengthened. That is not a criticism. When we bring in legislation, we always find out later that it needs to be strengthened in response to issues such as the one we are considering.

Some supermarkets are devaluing a great British product. I want the red tractor on milk produce, but also the red dragon, so that people know about the local involvement, time and effort. Dairy farmers work damn hard. It is a tough job, throughout the year, and they cannot just diversify when the price moves up and down, because theirs is a long-term commitment. Producing the stock needed to produce dairy milk does not happen overnight, and it is not possible to cut back and switch on and off with demand.

We need greater localism and food labelling. The Minister has done some good work on food labelling, but it needs to go much further. In my constituency of Anglesey, for instance, local farmers supply a producer in the area.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that there are also pressures on, for example, the baking industry, in that the prices of cakes and bread are being driven down, to the detriment of suppliers? Their situation is very similar to that of the suppliers in the dairy industry, and we must tackle the supermarkets on this issue.

[Albert Owen]

Absolutely. The example that I was going to give is that of Glanbia Cheese, which produces mozzarella for pizzas across the world. That is produced in my area, yet credit is not given to the superb milk that comes from north-west Wales and from Anglesey. That is an important point—the problem feeds into other food industries. My hon. Friend is right to make the point about cakes and so on.

We need to stand up together for British dairy farming, and today’s debate has been very useful, because we are coming to good conclusions. We want to strengthen the groceries code adjudicator’s remit, so that it can look at this issue. We want to stand up for the farmers, who are working damn hard to produce a product that is increasing in importance. Yes, there are external factors, but we want to be proud to be Welsh and proud to be British when it comes to our milk and dairy industry. I feel that this debate will help to move things forward.

The issue is a recurring one, and there are no party political points to be made here. The dairy industry is a difficult one, and it needs long-term support from across the parties—I know that the Minister is listening carefully to what is being said by Members from all parties—because we want Welsh and British dairy farmers to be able to produce the fine product that our children need and that our children’s children will need in the future.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart) on securing the debate. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen). Most of my prepared speech will be thrown out the window in view of the change in the time limit, but most of the points have already been made, not least by the two Carmarthenshire Members, who have highlighted many of the issues facing the farming industry in Wales. The impact of the decline of the dairy industry is not only on farming communities and rural communities. In my part of north Wales, the fact that the average herd has gone from 40 to 125 cows means that there are fewer family farms, and there has been a direct impact on the Welsh language and Welsh communities as a result, so the issue is not just economic but cultural in our part of Wales.

I want to pick up the point about a price of 99p for 4 pints of milk. I was once asked on the radio what the price of milk was, and I responded by saying that it was possible to buy 4 pints of milk for £1 in a supermarket. I thought that I had done well in answering that question. Most politicians fail to get the answer right on the price of milk, but obviously, as a Member of Parliament for an agricultural area, I was then condemned by the two farming unions for buying my milk in a supermarket.

It is important that we make points such as the fact that milk and bread, for example, have for a long time been loss leaders. The key point is that the loss should be borne by the supermarkets. If they want to have a price war over the price of milk, they should bear the loss.

[Ian Lavery]

Is it not time that we looked at regulating supermarkets to protect the farmers and suppliers?

[Guto Bebb]

That is a fair point, but it should be pointed out that there are some supply chain initiatives that we should see as moves in the right direction. For example, Tesco, which is not a company associated with good practice most of the time, has an interesting supply chain for dairy farmers that takes into account the cost of production and the need to create a profit, but it represents only 5% of UK dairy farmers. However, it is an example of what can be done. I understand that another supermarket is going down that road, but I will not name another supermarket just in case people think that I am in the pocket of the supermarkets.

I want to make some key points in relation to the situation in Wales. We need to look at the long-term opportunities as well. The impact of the sanctions on Russia, for example, shows that we are working in a global market. I would like my hon. Friend the Minister to give me some assurances that the potential for a free trade agreement across the Atlantic will be an opportunity for Welsh farmers and British farmers to exploit. It is important to remember that we have a market in north America that could be identified as a possibility for Welsh farmers, but we need to have some progress on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership. When markets are closed to us, there is a direct impact on our communities.

Another issue that I want to touch on is the movement of funding from pillar one to pillar two. The situation in England is that 12% of the money from pillar one is moved to pillar two; in Wales, it is a more draconian 15%. What is key, if that money is moved to pillar two, is what can be done with that funding to encourage diversification and new opportunities for Welsh food producers. I am following the speech from the hon. Member for Ynys Môn, and Ynys Môn has done a fantastic job of promoting local produce. That example could be followed and, indeed, is being followed in other parts of Wales.

I will give one small example from my constituency. By utilising European money in a creative manner, we have created in my constituency the Welsh food centre in Bodnant. Among other things, it has bought the entire milk production of Gerallt Jones, of Tal-y-Cafn Uchaf farm, and created new markets by creating high-premium cheese, butter and cream products. We could take such opportunities with the money going to pillar two.

I will end my speech at this point in order to ensure that someone else can speak.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dan Rogerson]

I thank the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee for her question, raising issues to do with transport recovery, which have been well supported by the Department for Transport. I encourage my hon. Friend and other colleagues from Yorkshire to continue to discuss that with Ministers from that Department. On the distribution of the maintenance, revenue and capital money that we have invested in flood defences and coastal risk management—a record amount of money—we continue to discuss with the Treasury whether flexibilities might be helpful in this regard. The Select Committee’s work has been of great help.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

My constituents in Morpeth and Hepscott remain extremely concerned about the future of flood risk insurance. Will the Minister update us on where the Government are in discussions with the insurance companies?

[Dan Rogerson]

The hon. Gentleman’s part of the world has seen investment in flood schemes to help protect communities and keep them safe, and I understand that that work is coming to a conclusion. On flood insurance, we continue to make progress, along with the Association of British Insurers, to set up Flood Re, a new organisation that will provide affordable flood insurance to those not provided for in the market. We are on track to implement that next year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

The advice we have received is that it would be better to introduce such regulation at European level. A number of other countries have considered it, including Spain and France, and have run into difficulties. However, my hon. Friend makes a good point—if one were to introduce compulsory method of slaughter labelling, I think one would go not for labelling as halal or kosher, for the reasons I gave earlier, but for labelling as stunned or unstunned.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

2. What recent steps he has taken to implement the Government’s strategy on dangerous dogs; and if he will make a statement.

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

On 13 May, new amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 came into force, including higher sentences for dog attacks, an extension of the offence of a dog being dangerously out of control to all places, including private places, and a specific offence for a dog attack on an assistance dog.

[Ian Lavery]

In my constituency there has been a spate of vicious dangerous dog attacks, the latest on an eight-year-old girl named Grace Lucas, who suffered horrible injuries to her face. The real problems are a lack of education and, of course, irresponsible dog ownership. What are the Government doing to tackle those important issues?

[George Eustice]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Before I became a Minister, I followed the issue closely from the Back Benches. We are doing two things. Later this year we will introduce community protection notices, which will introduce new powers, for instance to issue orders to require an owner to keep their dog on a lead, muzzle their dog or put postbox guards on their door. In extreme cases, there will be powers to insist on a dog being neutered. I also agree with the hon. Gentleman about responsible dog ownership. That is why we are clear that anybody who is breeding dogs for sale should have a licence.

Flooding

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Pickles]

The hon. Gentleman must forgive me because I have had this conversation with him before. We were rather short of money when we arrived because of the poor way—[Interruption.] Let us be fair. The hon. Gentleman might have missed the point as he was probably getting ready for the intervention, but as I said in response to the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), who has sadly left her customary place, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government made it absolutely clear that they would have reduced the capital programme by half. The Opposition are not even in a position to match the funding that we are offering now. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman speaks to the shadow Chancellor and urges him to reverse the position of refusing to offer help to flood victims.

Since the east coast surge in early December, more than 1.3 million properties have been protected by flood defences. The substantial flooding in the Somerset levels and elsewhere will take time to subside, and while immediate action is needed, we also need to look to the future. Fifty-five schemes starting this year will protect more than 43,000 households, and we are providing £130 million of assistance for the repair of sea and flood defences, including £10 million specifically set aside for Somerset. In total, the Government are spending £2.4 billion over four years, versus £2.2 billion over the last four years of the previous Government.

Looking further forward, we have made an unprecedented long-term six-year commitment to record levels of capital investment in improving defences, including £370 million by the end of this Parliament and the same in real terms each year, rising to £400 million by the end of the decade. These are capital spending plans that the Opposition have declined to match and the Labour party has refused to commit to. Our plans will improve protection for at least 465,000 households by the end of the decade.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

We have all seen what happened in the flood-risk areas, and my sympathy goes to everyone involved. However, will the Secretary of State look at the situation in the north-east and give a cast-iron guarantee that moneys already allocated for coastal erosion and other flood schemes will not be reduced or withdrawn to ensure that finances are made available for other schemes?

[Mr Pickles]

The hon. Gentleman will remember, as I do, that tidal surge before Christmas, which was one of the scariest things I have ever seen. We were remarkably lucky that the flood defences held for the most part. It would be an act of folly to say that one part can flood and another cannot. Who can say? We are just a few days away before the first spring tides start to occur. The weather looks relatively benign, but were spring tides ever to coincide with a tidal surge we would have some real problems. Sadly, the Somerset levels are again at risk of flooding this weekend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dan Rogerson]

The Environment Agency is working with local agencies to look at the best way of managing water in the Aldingbourne Rife. A study is being undertaken of whether dredging and other measures might be appropriate to protect the properties that experience this flooding, and that will report in the summer of this year. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend should he like me to.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

Does the offer of an open cheque book and “money no object” extend to people in Morpeth—flood victims in my area—or is the money solely on offer to people in the south of the country?

[Dan Rogerson]

The clear commitment that the Prime Minister has made is on ensuring that we have the facilities ready to respond to the incidents we are covering at the moment, no matter where they are in the country.

Fly-Grazing of Horses

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Tuesday 26th November 2013 Westminster Hall

[Damian Hinds]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. The Welsh Bill will not make the problem disappear, but it will make dealing with it somewhat easier, which may help to disrupt and discourage sharp practice. The worry, however, is that it may also displace the problem across the border. As I understand it, the Bill cuts the waiting time from 14 days to seven; reverses the burden of proof, so that an owner coming forward must actively prove that they own the horses; and, crucially, increases the options available to those who seize horses. Auction is therefore not the only option. Horses can also be rehomed, as the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards)outlined earlier, or—when necessary in the worst cases, and with sadness—euthanised.

As I said, the Welsh Bill will not make the problem disappear and it is worth reflecting on its root causes. The main reasons seem to be a relatively small number of irresponsible dealers and the excessive breeding of horses. There is an over-supply, with horses changing hands at auction for as little as £5. Following the horsemeat scandal, there is also less abattoir capacity, although given the cost of put-down and disposal, that option is, arguably, unlikely to be high on the list for owners of £5 horses.

All that explains to some extent why horses are abandoned, but it does not explain why dealers come to pick them up again or why they would buy them back at auction. To some extent, dealers perhaps believe that the market will bounce back and that the value of horses will rise again. It also seems that some sections of some communities attach status to the volume ownership of horses.

What, realistically, can be done? Eventually, we need to rebalance the supply of, and demand for, horses. It has been suggested that if there were a market in horsemeat, animals would be better cared for, and there is a great deal of logic in that. However, there is a cultural issue about that in this country, and there is no likelihood any time soon of there being a great appetite for horsemeat.

I do not have the answer, but I suggest to the Minister that we need to find ways to ban irresponsible people who should not own horses from doing so. That is made more difficult because such people may not own the horses directly, but through proxies.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this important subject to the House. Historically, my constituency has had a huge population of horses, but we have seen an explosion in their numbers in the past year or two, with horses on almost every conceivable available blade of grass. However, we need to be careful in dealing with this issue, because there are some extremely good people in my constituency who have owned horses for generations. Just two days ago, the county council, which is leading the way in the country on this issue, lifted more than 20 horses in my constituency, and among them were foals and other horses whose owners had looked after them very well.

[Damian Hinds]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and it is important not to generalise. Many people have owned horses for generations, and they do so responsibly.

I suggest to the Minister that our priority in the immediate term must be to disrupt irresponsible and cruel practice where it appears. Part of that may be about further propagating and encouraging partnership working, based on the best practice that exists in some parts of the country. The National Farmers Union points to south Wales and Durham as examples of places where there is good co-operative working between the police and local authorities.