Water Management

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)]

After a summer of drought in England, including in my constituency, we are bracing ourselves for flooding and storm overflows, and then more drought and more flooding, and then more storm overflows, and then more drought, more flooding and more storm overflows. On the levels around Stathe, Helland, Burrowbridge, Stoke St Mary and North Curry, my constituents must get used to the risk of their land being underwater almost every year, sewage being surcharged into the River Tone, and hosepipe bans and drought, if not at the same time, then in very quick succession.

We are looking at a future of water scarcity—too little water—and too much water. The proposed solutions sound familiar: more reservoirs, more underground stormwater tanks, thicker concrete, bigger pipes, more pumping, more energy and more chemicals. Yes, we are going to need some of that, but that alone would amount to one of the most carbon-intensive infrastructure investment programmes this country has ever seen. In treating the symptoms, not the causes, those measures risk failure. Instead, it is time to tackle the problem where it begins: in the way that our homes, streets and buildings have been designed for decades and in the way that they will be designed in the future.

The truth is that England does not lack water. I will be able to point to an awful lot of it this autumn across my constituency. Rather, it lacks the ability or perhaps the political will to manage it sustainably where it lands.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman on introducing the debate. Is it not time to ensure that developers with a number of projects—many of them building hundreds of houses—start paying towards the upgrading of waste and water management? They often have big profit margins on their houses and such a policy would take the onus off Government and off the Minister.

[Gideon Amos]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right that developers should pay their way. There is much to do, as I will come to.

On average, each house roof in England receives enough free rainwater to meet all its household’s non-potable—non-drinking—water needs, including flushing toilets, washing clothes and watering gardens. Instead of that, we send it, often at high speed, into the sewerage network where it discharges into our rivers. At the same time, we spend millions of pounds making pure drinking water, pumping it into our homes and flushing that down the toilet.

Around a quarter to a third of drinking water in our homes gets nowhere near being drunk. In fact, it is all flushed down the drain without a single drop quenching anybody’s thirst. It is an appalling and pointless waste of drinking water and energy. It means that we respond by investing tens of billions of pounds in reservoirs to hold a bit more rain, so we can treat more of it, pump more of it into our homes and—yes—flush more of it down the toilet unnecessarily. That is not environmental progress; that is a high-carbon and highly expensive way of papering over the cracks in our water system.

The water from our homes and highways—vast volumes of rainwater—continue to go straight down the drain as well, mixing with sewage, pointlessly being pumped and treated and pumped and treated, and far too often creating a backwash that sends sewage tumbling into the River Tone in my constituency and into rivers and beaches across the country.

Our waste water treatment plants can cope with the sewage that is produced. What they cannot cope with is the millions of litres of rainwater we add to the sewage before we send it to the waste water treatment plants. Too often we respond by investing huge amounts into storage tanks to hold stormwater, so we can pump and treat more of it. that is a high-carbon and highly expensive way of papering over the cracks in our water system.

The climate is making the problems worse and, ironically, our addition of rainwater into the mix is making the climate worse—a classic doom loop. As the atmosphere warms, England’s winters become wetter and our summers drier with more intensive thunderstorms. Meanwhile, housing delivery continues at scale, covering land with more impermeable surfaces while we continue to legally entitle developers to collect new rainwater and add that to the sewerage systems as well, which cannot cope. We are building the problem into existence before our eyes.

Contrast this with how we look and deal with energy. We no longer assume that all power has to be generated centrally. Instead, we actively encourage decentralised generation, such as solar panels on roofs which, thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson), will now be required on every roof of every new home. We have batteries in homes and heat pumps replacing distant combustion, and we offer grants to make it happen. On water, we remain stubbornly stuck in—well, I was going to say the 20th century, but it feels like the 19th century.

Other countries have progressed. In parts of Belgium, new homes must capture rainwater for beneficial use. No wonder it has achieved the lowest per capita water consumption in Europe, and no doubt the lowest water bills with it. Australia, Germany and Singapore have embedded rainwater harvesting and source-controlled drainage into mainstream development. In England, by contrast, we continue to ignore rainwater’s massive asset value. Even the amendment I proposed to the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 that new homes should capture rainwater to use it and lower residents’ bills was rejected, I am sorry to say, by the Government.

This issue will not go away, and the alternative approach is really not that radical. It is all remarkably simple. The simple principle is what is called source control: capture rain where it falls, use it wisely and return the excess rain to the ground where it fell. Why use it to top up our sewage? Do we love sewage so much that we actually want to make more of it by adding more water and creating an even greater volume? For all those homes built in earlier centuries where rainwater is directed into the sewer already, why not offer grants to retro-split two drains from the one drain they have at the moment? It would mean lower costs for the consumer, lower water bills, less sewerage for water companies, less sewage going into our rivers and lower costs for the Government, the public and the agencies to cope with.

It could cut water bills by roughly a third, meaning £225 off the average household bill. A household in Taunton and Wellington that catches its own rainwater and takes it out of the sewer would cut its water bill by a quarter to a third. That is around £225 a year off a £695 bill. Nationally, that is 28% to 35% of the total bill. If we gross that up, that is £6.5 billion off bills across 29 million households. Imagine what that could do if it was freed up to be spent in the economy in other ways.

Bluetongue Virus in Livestock

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

As I have mentioned, DEFRA is considering a whole range of options to support the farming community, including supporting vaccination availability and expanding testing capacity. We will continue to evaluate measures including the possibility of financial support. We do recognise that this is an incredibly challenging time for those in the livestock community, and we will do what we can to support them.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his positive answers, which I think we should be encouraged by. Although Northern Ireland thankfully has no reported cases of bluetongue, the Ulster Farmers’ Union—I declare an interest as a member—has issued an urgent warning that vaccine supplies are under severe pressure in GB, with some major manufacturers completely out of stock. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland has rightly moved to a general licence to allow our farmers to vaccinate, but they cannot protect their herds if they cannot access the physical vaccine vials. Will the Minister assure this House that the Government are working directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers to guarantee security of supply, and will he commit to working closely with the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that our family farms are not left at the back of the queue for those vital BTV-3 vaccine supplies, as the midges’ active season continues and gets even worse.

[Stephen Morgan]

Yes and yes.

Global Biodiversity and Ecosystems: National Security

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) for setting the scene.

We must not overlook the fact that nature security is national security. As a person of faith—as you are, Sir Desmond—I am guided by the profound principle of stewardship. We have a God-given responsibility to tend this Earth, protect creation and hand it down to our children—and, in my case, to my grandchildren.

The global statistics are eye-opening. We have seen a decline in monitored wildlife populations over the last 50 years. This is not just an issue for conservationists, but an existential threat to global stability that is unravelling the complex biological safety net that regulates our climate, purifies our water and pollinates our crops. Biodiversity loss accelerates climate breakdown, destroys agricultural land and creates resource scarcity. When water runs dry, crops fail in vulnerable regions and conflict inevitably follows.

In my constituency of Strangford, the hard-working farmers, fishing sector and conservationists support our rich biodiversity, which supports local economies and resilience. Right across Strangford we are seeing superb frontline stewardship work being done on the ground. We are adopting nature-friendly farming practices, and local conservation projects are working tirelessly to protect native species and restore vital peatlands, which act as crucial carbon sinks. We cannot allow environmental protections to become an unaffordable luxury or an undue tax burden on the very people keeping our communities afloat. 

I have one question for the Minister, who I wish well, by the way—she has quite an endurance test today. I urge her to outline how the Government are integrating nature risk into our strategic defence frameworks. We need a comprehensive national nature security assessment that backs the brilliant stewardship we see in Strangford while strictly safeguarding the financial resilience of our hard-pressed farmers.

Local Authorities: Aluminium Recycling

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) for setting the scene. The hon. Lady has done the House a favour in highlighting an issue that maybe not many of us were totally aware of—I know that I was not, until I did some research in Northern Ireland.

I will have a specific request for the Minister, as I always do. The hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills spoke directly about our environmental responsibilities, our industrial potential and the unique challenges faced by local authorities, and I wish to speak about the situation in Northern Ireland. I thank the hon. Lady for securing this debate, because when we talk about a circular economy, as she did, we must ensure that no part of this United Kingdom is left spinning its wheels in isolation.

I must remind the House of a fundamental structural difference. The 11 councils in Northern Ireland, including my own superb Ards and North Down council, are different animals compared with local authorities across Great Britain. They do not control schools or roads; their responsibilities are different. Instead, waste management and environmental health sits at the absolute pinnacle of their frontline responsibilities. It is one of the largest items on their balance sheets. When waste policy fluctuates, our local councils feel the shockwaves immediately.

Our councils have worked hard. According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, our municipal recycling rates sit proudly at some 50%, but they are hitting a brick wall—a wall that is built out of unique geographical and market restrictions that I want to ask the Minister about. The Minister is always helpful in answering my questions. I appreciate that very much, and I know that she will come back to me with some indication of a way forward.

Unlike a council in the English midlands, which can simply chuck its baled aluminium on to a lorry and drive it down a motorway to a domestic smelting plant, a council in Northern Ireland faces severe market isolation. We have a smaller domestic market, fewer local reprocessors and a distinct lack of heavy infrastructure for secondary metal refining. The hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills referred to Novelis, and the indication was that it would be able to recycle all aluminium here in the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland needs a methodology for getting into that process. We do not have that at the moment.

To get our high-value aluminium to the main UK or European markets, our authorities must contend with the tyranny—I use this word on purpose—of distance and the shipping costs. Every single tonne of recycled metal must cross the Irish sea. That means that our local authorities are at the mercy of volatile sea freight charges, supply chain disruptions and—let us not mince words—the lingering regulatory frictions of the Windsor framework.

If a local council faces bloated logistical costs just to export its aluminium scrap to a mainland smelter, the economic incentive to invest in advanced sorting facilities begins to collapse. For us in Northern Ireland, this is chaos. It just does not work at all. I thank the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills again for highlighting this issue. We cannot expect Northern Ireland’s ratepayers to foot the bill for structural market disadvantages. Respectfully, I say to the Minister that if the Government are serious about a UK-wide green transition, there also has to be targeted support. We need the Government to work with the Northern Ireland Executive to invest in local reprocessing infrastructure. It is time to focus on this issue.

Let us be clear: the people of my constituency of Strangford and across Northern Ireland want to do their bit for the planet, and our local government stands ready to deliver, but they cannot do it if they are economically stranded by a lack of market access. Let us give Northern Ireland’s councils the tools, freight backing and infrastructure support to ensure that a can thrown into a recycling bin in Newtownards in my constituency has the exact same value and future as a can thrown away in London, the midlands or across this great United Kingdom.

Waste Management Sites

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. We owe a big thank you to the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) for setting the scene and addressing a matter that has been an overwhelming source of anxiety and frustration for my constituents—the physical, environmental and social effects of waste management sites on our local communities. I welcome the Minister to her place. We are very fortunate to have her here, and I am sure that she will have all the answers that we seek. I hope she will give us some encouragement.

I wish to give a Northern Ireland perspective. Northern Ireland is not the Minister’s responsibility, but I would like her help, and my request to her would be to enter discussions with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir at the Northern Ireland Assembly, to ensure that we can work together on such things. In this House, in debates on waste management strategy, we often get bogged down in talking about percentages, targets and EU-aligned frameworks. I will bring something from ground level to this Chamber, however, from the Ards and North Down borough council, in my beautiful constituency of Strangford.

Let it be known that the people of Ards and North Down are not against recycling. For example, recycling rates of nearly 56% have been reached through the commitment of nearly every house—indeed, of every house—in Ards and North Down. Households separate their glass, they compost and they wash their plastics, but there is a tipping point, and that is what we are talking about today. The hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood has brought forward the question of what happens when, literally and metaphorically, the burden placed on local communities by waste management sites becomes entirely unsustainable.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has submitted clearly that Northern Ireland simply does not have enough waste infrastructure to handle what we throw away. I know that the Minister is always amenable to my requests, and everyone’s, but will she have some discussion with the relevant Minister to see how the actions, methods, experience and knowledge gained here can be used for us back home?

Whether this is a waste transfer station, a commercial heavy-recycling depot or a landfill site boundary straight up against residential lines, the community pays the price. My concern is that areas such as ours, Comber and parts of the Ards peninsula are dealing with the harsh reality of those limits every day: excessive heavy goods, with vehicle traffic pounding down narrow rural roads that were never built to handle 30-tonne waste trucks; persistent issues with odour; airborne litter; and the psychological strain of living next to the expanding footprint of regional refuse.

The Arc21 waste management plan has faced years of delay in delivering modern infrastructure. Local sites have been pushed to their absolute limits to manage the waste. Many of our local facilities are hydrologically linked to the uniquely sensitive ecosystem of Strangford lough; I live on the edge of that, so I understand what it means: an immediate ecological threat to a globally recognised marine conservation zone.

In an effort to curb waste tourism and management costs, the council has had to introduce rigid online booking systems. It has taken many steps to try to address the issue, including residency identity checks at our nine household recycling centres. When councils make local centres too complicated to use and restrict their hours, it becomes a knock-on crisis, resulting in fly-tipping in the rural countryside and agricultural fields with farmers left holding the bill.

Environmental protection and planning policy is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, so we need a planning framework that respects the proximity principle—the very thing that the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood mentioned. What discussions will the Minister have with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland to help local councils like Ards and North Down when it comes to moving towards hyper-local, lower-carbon circular economies that do not require massive, sprawling, intrusive regional depots. If we can work hand in hand, we can find a solution that perhaps helps us all.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Countryside Alliance. The Countryside Alliance is, of course, a country sports organisation, but it is a very credible and influential organisation that highlights things such as rural crime and waste sites as well. Does he recognise that it has an important role to play in the countryside and that should be commended for doing so?

[Dr Hudson]

It is always a huge pleasure to be intervened on by the hon. Gentleman. He has been very kind to me over the years. After my maiden speech, he came across the Chamber to speak to me and was very kind, so I will always take an intervention from him, as I am sure everyone else will.

I totally agree. The Countryside Alliance is a powerful organisation. The report that I cited earlier shows that it is a powerful voice and that it does its research. The rural voice does need to be listened to in this debate; the report highlighted some of the key issues across the country such as waste crime and fly-tipping, including in the constituency of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme. The issue affects the whole country—urban, suburban and rural—and we need to recognise that.

Finally, the Government should look hard at what can be done before waste ever reaches these sites. Above all, they should listen to local residents and take seriously the effect that these sites have on people’s mental and physical health. The Government must, through all their authorities, keep monitoring health data closely and act to help people in their daily lives.

Support for Pig Farmers

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) for setting the scene incredibly well.

It is a pleasure to champion a sector that is not only vital to my constituency, but a cornerstone of the entire economy of Northern Ireland: our fantastic, resilient yet deeply struggling pig industry. When we talk about agriculture in Northern Ireland, we are talking about the lifeblood of our rural communities. There are some 27,000 family farms across the province and our intensive sectors, particularly pork and poultry, punch vastly above their weight. Northern Ireland holds the highest density of pigs and poultry anywhere in the United Kingdom, and for a nation of some 1.9 million, we produce more chickens and pigs than Scotland and Wales combined—that is not to boast, but it is a fact of life and a statistic I want to put on record. We feed millions of people across the United Kingdom and the globe with world-class, top-quality, traceable pork products. As I stand here today, however our independent pig farmers are facing an existential crisis.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

As the hon. Member knows, small abattoirs are at breaking point in almost every imaginable way. One big issue is contradicting and inconsistent inspections. Does he agree that the Government urgently need to set out a clearer plan to streamline the regulation system?

[Jim Shannon]

I certainly do. That is one of the things that the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan and others have asked for, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

Sadly, pig farming cannot simply be switched on and off like a tap. It requires immense long-term investment, precision and dedication, but it has been squeezed to the absolute limit. Our farmers have battled skyrocketing input costs: feed, energy and fertiliser prices have gone through the roof. I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers Union, which has been forced to hold emergency meetings with major processors such as Sofina Foods at its Cookstown site, because of severe contract reductions and reductions in weekly slaughter volumes. Our independent family farms are being left adrift in a sea of commercial uncertainty and Ulster Farmers Union has had to take those concerns directly to major retailers.

I ask the Minister in his speech to take up the issue of cost, and specifically what farmers are getting for their products and what Tesco—I name it—and other large supermarket chains are getting. The supply chain is simply broken, and we need intervention. The Northern Ireland Executive have to deal with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs back home, but macroeconomic stability, supply chain legislation and national food security are firmly the responsibility of this Government.

Our family farms need protection from immediate financial ruin and the Government must engage with the major supermarket giants to ensure that they are paying fair and reasonable prices. If we do not support our pig farmers right now, we will see generational family businesses shut their gates forever. Let us remember this one thing: if there are no farmers, there is no food.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) for securing this important debate.

The British pig sector is in crisis, and our pig farmers need our help. My hon. Friends the Members for Gordon and Buchan and for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) rightly spoke the challenges north of the border. My right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) rightly called on the Minister to ensure that no independent farmer is unable to have their pigs processed. That is absolutely the crux of the issue.

Let us be clear about what is at stake. The British pig sector contributes about £14 billion to our economy—£2 billion at the farm gate, £7 billion in retail sales, and exports to 88 counties worth almost £500 million. It is a major part of our farming industry, and we cannot afford to let the current financial challenges go any further.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman is right to outline the exports from the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland, we export almost 80% of our product, so it is even more critical for us.

[Robbie Moore]

Absolutely. There must be a UK-wide approach.

The warning signs have been there for months. Since last autumn, the sector has been hit by oversupply, stagnant demand, falling European prices, factory disruptions and rising costs all at once. At one point earlier this year, around 100,000 pigs were backed up on British farms. That backlog has largely cleared now, but not without cost. The standard pig price has fallen by around 30p a kilogram, from roughly 208p to 178p.

That is only part of the picture, because the vast majority of independent farmers will be receiving much less than that, as was noted by my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan. No market can survive on those terms. Without urgent action, the sector faces being pushed towards collapse. It is our independent producers who are bearing the brunt of the pressures faced by the sector, with thousands now seeing their contracts terminated early by major processors. Somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 pigs a week are affected by notices being served on producers.

The Government simply cannot stand on the sidelines and hope that the market corrects itself, because by autumn, the industry fears that up to 10,000 to 15,000 pigs a week could have no market at all. If nothing changes, we know what follows—more farm closures, more herds reduced and more businesses walking away from the industry altogether.

The fair dealing obligations for pig contracts were brought in to fix the problem exposed by the last crisis—unequal bargaining power, poor contracts and a lack of fairness between producers and processors. We can all agree that those were worthwhile aims but if, during the implementation period, producers are still seeing contracts terminated early in record numbers and our farmers are still losing money on every pig they sell, the Government have to ask whether the regulations are doing what Parliament originally intended. Will the Minister commit today to an urgent assessment of whether the regulations are fit for purpose?

As my hon. Friend the Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) noted, there are also longer-term challenges. The threat from African swine fever and foot and mouth disease is real and ongoing. Protecting our borders from illegal meat imports and strengthening our disease defences must be a priority. What are the Government doing to work across Departments, including with the Home Office, to make sure that these live issues are addressed?

The industry also needs a sensible workforce strategy. Like much of agriculture, pig farming is struggling with labour shortages. It needs a strategy that builds a workforce based on domestic skills and apprenticeships.

We must also address the issue of transparency. Customers want to buy British and retail labelling has come a long way, but food services still rely heavily on imported pork, often with far less clarity about where that pork comes from. British producers deserve a level playing field and British consumers deserve to know what is on their plate.

That is why the Conservative party has proposed closing the loophole that lets imported food, once merely processed or packaged in the UK, carry branding that many shoppers reasonably mistake as British. What progress has been made since the Government’s response on the food labelling consultation? Do the Government intend to strengthen country of origin rules?

British pig farmers are not asking the Government to solve every single commercial challenge, but they are asking for regulations that genuinely protect producers rather than leave them exposed. Above all, they are asking the Government to recognise the strategic importance of British food production before more independent producers simply disappear for good.

We cannot lose more of this vital industry. For the sake of our farmers, our rural communities and our country’s long-term food security, the Government must engage with key stakeholders. It is disappointing to hear that the last bilateral meeting between Ministers and the National Pig Association was back in September 2025. I call on the Minister to have an urgent meeting—I understand there may be one tomorrow. If that is the case, will the Minister guarantee that those meetings will continue at pace and at regular intervals with the British Pig Association, so that we can make sure that this vital industry is protected long into the future?

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call John West—sorry, Jim Shannon.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I do not know how to respond to that, Mr Speaker, but I will take it that it was meant in a good way.

I echo what the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) said and I ask the Minister to focus on Northern Ireland. Why are Northern Ireland’s sustainable rod and reel fishers being treated as second-class citizens? Will he commit to sitting down with the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation to rewrite these unfair rules, so that our fishermen can access a fair geographical equal share of this quota? If there is something for Northern Ireland fishermen, I will be fighting—

[Mr Speaker]

I think you have had your quota. [Laughter.]

Air Pollution

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I say a big thank you to the hon. Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) for raising this issue and, as always, for his passion for it—well done. As the Democratic Unionist party’s health spokesperson, I am most interested in it, due to the serious and too often fatal effects that air pollution has on public health. It is great to see the Minister in his place. He was here last night in the fishing debate, and he is here again today, so well done. We thank him for his perseverance and his energetic commitment.

Air pollution is associated with 30,000 deaths a year across the UK. The question that we are all asking, and that the hon. Member for Brent West asked when he set the focus for the debate, is, what are we doing to prevent those deaths? The United Kingdom Government and the World Health Organisation have acknowledged that air pollution is the largest environmental threat to our health. Of course, its effects do not just stop at the lungs; the pollutants go on to be absorbed into the bloodstream and have the potential to harm every organ in the body. The harm is greater than just the breath we breathe; it can manifest itself as heart disease, cancer, dementia, stroke or diabetes—I declare an interest as a diabetic—and has even been linked to mental health conditions. In addition to the devastating human cost, treating the effects of air pollution is likely costing the NHS billions. The Royal College of Physicians estimates the cost at as much as an eye-watering £27 billion annually.

Cars and vans remain among the largest sources of harmful air pollution, but we must also recognise the impact of indoor air pollution. Poor ventilation, damp, mould and emissions from domestic heating all contribute to poor health and can be particularly damaging for children, older people and those with existing and complex health conditions.

Alongside efforts to reduce emissions, targeted support should be provided to the most affected communities. It is often those living in the most deprived areas who experience the highest levels of air pollution, as the hon. Member for Brent West said. They are more likely to live close to busy roads or industrial sites, and, as a result, they face a greater risk of ill health. Clean air is not just an environmental issue; it is also one of health inequality. Quite clearly, across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, there is much inequality.

As the Member of Parliament for Strangford, a largely rural constituency, I must raise concerns about the effects of ammonia, a major emission from agricultural production. Although we can reduce emissions, we must accept that they are often a by-product of farming and food production. It is essential that the farming community works with the Department to reduce emissions in a sustainable way. I ask the Minister whether there have been discussions with the farming community on reducing ammonia emissions in some way so that everyone in this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can reap the benefits.

Evidence demonstrates that taking action can make a difference. In London, deaths linked to air pollution fell by an estimated 40% over five years from 2019. I put on record my thanks to the Government and the Mayor of London for that massive reduction over those five years—or seven years as it is now—which correlates with the introduction of the ultra low emission zone.

There is no safe level of air pollution, of course, but every improvement in air quality has the potential to reduce illness, relieve pressure on our health service and save lives. The hon. Member for Brent West set that out very clearly. The objective is to save lives; we are all greatly perturbed by the loss of life each and every year.

I know that the Minister will agree that more should be done to tackle air pollution, and particular attention paid to communities in the most deprived areas, whose health is at greater risk simply because of where they live—where pollution is particularly high, indoors and outdoors—and the houses they live in. This must be done hand in hand with the farming industry, not with a boot on its neck. There is work to be done, from industry and farming to individuals in their homes. Together, I believe that we must do the best we can to be good stewards of the world we live in.

Fishing Industry: Government Support

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I especially thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for his opening of the debate. It is a real pleasure to work alongside him in addressing the issues of visas, quotas and many other things that he referred to. He and I have had separate meetings with the Immigration Minister, the hon. Member for Dover and Deal (Mike Tapp). The Minister today, the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), may want to engage with him on the visa issue. I think we had quite positive meetings with the Immigration Minister about a way forward, and I thank him for that.

I will speak specifically on the Northern Ireland fishing sector. In 2024, it generated some £50 million in landing values, employed 445 people full time, and supported some 6,500 jobs ashore across Northern Ireland’s rural and coastal communities. The impact of fishing in Northern Ireland is massive, as it is in the constituency of the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East and across all Scotland. Fishing is woven into the very fabric of Northern Ireland’s identity—culturally rich, diverse and shaped by a maritime heritage that stretches back to the 14th century, when Northern Irish vessels supplied fish throughout Ireland, across the British Isles and into European markets.

The importance of the long-term survival of the Northern Ireland fishing industry cannot be overstated. Fishing is at the heart of the cultural identity of coastal communities. Without fishing, these communities lose their soul, identity and pride. I represent the village of Portavogie in Strangford. I do not represent directly the villages of Ardglass and Kilkeel, but they are represented by a Member who does not attend Parliament. On behalf of them, through the Anglo Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation, I represent all three ports.

The Northern Ireland fishing industry is facing an unsustainable decrease in the Irish sea’s available fishing grounds through expanding offshore marine protected areas, proposed bans on bottom-towed gear, rapid offshore renewable development and new restrictions imposed by the Isle of Man authorities. The Northern Ireland fishing industry has lost nearly 9,000 km of fishing grounds in the Irish sea over the last couple of decades, through a combination of marine protected areas, active and consented wind farm developments and other spatial restrictions. That is more than half the land area of Northern Ireland, and it is threatening the sustainability of the remaining fishing grounds through displacement of fishing effort into an ever-decreasing area.

The industry has two greatest spatial concerns. First, there is the ongoing Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs consultation on management measures restricting bottom trawling in marine protected areas in the Northern Ireland offshore region, which strengthens a further loss of key fishing grounds for the nephrops fleet.

Secondly, there is the issue of UK skilled visas, which the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East referred to. The Northern Ireland offshore area is crucial to the fleet, particularly to those vessels with crew employed via the transit visa mechanism, who can only fish outside territorial waters. That refers specifically to the loss of access to the Isle of Man waters for all Northern Ireland vessels with any crew on transit or UK skilled worker visas.

I am very pleased to see the Minister. He always gives us helpful responses, and we will test him again today. I ask him again to engage with the hon. Member for Dover and Deal, who came up with some ideas that I think the industry is sympathetic to. As you will know, Sir Alec, life as an MP is about solutions. The hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East and I believe that there is a solution, so we would be very keen to see the hon. Member for Dover and Deal’s suggestions taken up as a way forward.

I urge the Government to support a balanced planning system that protects fishing and our fishermen as a legitimate food-producing industry vital for the UK’s fishing industry. Access to Isle of Man waters for Northern Ireland vessels with any crew on transit or UK skilled worker visas has disadvantaged us greatly, so we are deeply concerned about that.

The Northern Ireland industry wants to work with the Home Office to co-design a visa system that is fit for purpose, that meets the needs of Government and industry and that delivers a sustainable seafood supply chain for the future. The hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East and I, along with others in the Chamber today, wish to work with the Home Office to co-design a visa system that is fit for purpose. To do nothing puts at risk an industry that is at the heart of Northern Ireland’s coastal communities, which provides jobs, delivers economic growth and is core to the cultural pride and identity of local fishing villages.

Oil prices have been a real bugbear for the sector back home. Although oil prices are now starting to come down, the increase in the cost of fuel has had a significant impact on the operating costs of fishing vessels and therefore on profitability. Before the Iranian war, fuel represented between 15% and 30% of operating costs. The price increases during the war meant that fuel prices rose to 50% of operating costs, which is quite unsustainable.

Fishing communities in Northern Ireland that have already faced decades of disruption now face a series of simultaneous pressures that threaten their long-term viability. Fishermen confronted with such changes are left with profound uncertainties that exacerbate financial stress as well as mental health issues for them and their families.

Food security and economic security will depend on the ability to maintain a sustainable fishing industry in Northern Ireland. With the right foresight and with a committed cross-Government policy, we all believe that the industry can sustain itself, remain productive and remain, as it has been for centuries, the cornerstone of the communities that have long lived along our coast. If we ignore the concerns of the Northern Ireland fishing communities, our rich and irreplaceable heritage could be lost.

I know that the Minister will never ignore us, but we will make sure that he does not. I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East for introducing the debate. I look forward to hearing from other Members, including the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Lara Bird), who has become quite a regular in Westminster Hall today. I congratulate her: it is a real pleasure to see that, having made her maiden speech yesterday, she has come to Westminster Hall twice today. I had better watch out.

[Sir Alec Shelbrooke (in the Chair)]

Well, with an introduction like that, I call Lara Bird.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

I commend the hon. Lady, who has brought a matter to my mind and probably to the mind of the Minister and others. We have just seen a record price for a cod supper—I think the paper this week said that it was £11.51. I go back further than most Members, but I can remember when £11.50 would have bought a fish supper for four people or more. It really does put pressure on the hospitality sector.

[Lara Bird]

I thank the hon. Member for that point, which highlights how deeply the issue is being felt across many different industries, not just among those who are going out and catching the fish.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East mentioned in his opening remarks, the pitiful and arguably insulting allocation of funds from the UK Government to support fishermen and women in Scotland not only fails to reflect their contribution to the fishing sector, but fails to hold up other businesses and industries that rely on it. That is just an example—the tax on jobs is another—of the destructive Labour policies that mean that businesses in my constituency are really struggling.

A historic, integral fishing industry on an island nation cannot be allowed to struggle and decline while the UK Government sit back and do nothing. From my experience of speaking to my constituents, it is not about a lack of will or demand for fish in Scotland. As my hon. Friend outlined, the situation we are in is purely about the lack of engagement from the UK Government to experience what is happening to the fishing industry in Scotland and provide adequate policies to support it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Morgan]

I will make some progress.

I strongly believe in working with those in industry who best know the solutions and how to deliver lasting change, so I will be listening to and working with the industry. I look forward to getting out on the quayside, accepting the invitation from the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East to visit his constituency and engaging with fish markets and processing facilities to hear at first hand what fishermen and those working across the supply chain have to say about our world-class fish and seafood.

[Jim Shannon]

Previous Ministers all made a journey to Portavogie, and I extend the same invitation. If he is not going anywhere on holiday during the summer, will he please come to Portavogie? He is very welcome, and he will have the best scampi in the world—I know the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Lara Bird) makes the same claim, but that is by the way. If the Minister has a spare day, he should come to Portavogie. He would be very welcome.

Farming: Financial Sustainability

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith), who set the scene incredibly well. I have four points of 30 seconds each. When we talk about farming in Northern Ireland, we are talking about family farms. Over 27,000 farming families across Northern Ireland work the land day in and day out. Financial sustainability requires three things from this Government: certainty, equity and protection. We need an increased multiannual farm support budget that is fully inflation-proofed. If there are no farmers, there is no food. That cannot be right.

Financial sustainability is impossible if farmers are forced to sell their top-quality, world-leading produce at or below the cost of production. The Government must use their powers to enforce fair dealing and transparency right across the agrifood network, and they must protect the family farm structure from punitive taxation. Recent proposals and changes threatening agricultural property relief and business property relief strike at the very heart of generational sustainability. Forcing a grieving family to sell off parcels of land just to pay an inheritance tax bill destroys the viability of enterprise overnight. It is a tax on food security and the Democratic Unionist party will stand four-square against it.