Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

May I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that it is slightly more complex than he suggests? Some of those who are opposed to women bishops are themselves women. They are conservatives and evangelicals who have theological objections because they believe in male headship. I do not think that we can necessarily castigate people who are against women bishops as being against women. The good news is that we now have a way forward that will enable us to have women bishops—I hope by the end of this Parliament.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The congregation of the Church of England has been in headlong decline for a long time, and that is continuing. How likely is it that that trend would be reversed were the Church of England by some chance to pursue its existing policy of barring women from being bishops, which most people think is redolent of a past era?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I am glad to say that a large number of parishes are growing. The Archbishop of Canterbury has made it clear that his primary mission is growth. We want to see the Church of England grow. Hopefully, now that we have resolved the issue of women bishops, everyone in the Church of England and everyone who supports it can focus their intention on that growth.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 25th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I am sure that that message will be heard by the General Synod.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

I wish to associate myself with the comments about Stuart Bell, who is very badly missed.

The Church has spent many years avoiding this issue, so if the Synod fails to do the right thing, what does the hon. Gentleman think the consequences will be for the future of the Church of England?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I think that the consequences for the Church of England will be very grim indeed. I hope that the General Synod, and those who might be tempted to vote against this Measure in it, will reflect on that point.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

My hon. Friend wrote an interesting article about CAP reform where he expressed the idea—which he calls “common objectives”—of introducing greater flexibility through the creation of a market in tradable biodiversity obligations. He is ahead of his time with this thinking. He has heard Ministers talk about the future importance of supporting ecosystem management through agriculture, although we are dealing with reform proposals as they stand. At this stage of reform, I am sure he would share with me the view that it is important that the CAP should be greened and that taxpayers should see other public goods for the support they provide.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Will there be any benefits from CAP reform for developing countries? The dire consequences for developing countries that flow from the operation of this dreadful policy—including, of course, from dumping—have been known for a long time.

[Mrs Spelman]

I can give the hon. Gentleman the absolute assurance that the Government are keen to see the reduction in tariff barriers that would allow developing countries to send more of their produce to this country. We believe in trade liberalisation; we believe it is good for both the developed and the developing world.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tony Baldry]

As became clear in our recent debate on metal theft, there is a general desire across the House for the courts seriously to consider deterrent sentences for what is a despicable crime.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

This crime is a threat to some of the greatest buildings and monuments across Britain. Is there any possibility of grants being made available to churches so that security can be improved to protect against it?

[Tony Baldry]

As may come up later, those churches that use SmartWater or that install roof alarms have found that the incidence of metal theft has been substantially reduced. SmartWater and roof alarms are not necessarily that expensive and I hope that all churches will look at how they can improve security to deter metal theft.

Fisheries Council

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

I am delighted that fishermen have been telling me at great length, not just in the south-west, but certainly in the south-west, that they are seeing more cod now than they have seen for a great many years. That has been backed up by the science and we were able to secure an increase of 150%. That was a good result. Haddock is also up 25% and whiting up 15%. The package is worth £1.3 million in total to the fleet in the south-west. The managing director of one producer organisation told me in the small hours of Saturday morning that at the start of last week he was looking at a £250,000 cut to his members, which would have been devastating, but by the end of it we had secured a £250,000 increase. I will certainly look at my hon. Friend’s proposal for the under-10-metre fleet as well.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

At the beginning of the statement the Minister mentioned that the agreement was supported by France, Germany and Spain, among others. I bet they supported it; they saw him coming. If the number of days at sea is reduced, the number of boats going out and the number of people working in the industry will be reduced. The reality is that we will end up with a smaller industry, and that will not be reversed until the Minister obtains some sort of reversal during the review of the doctrine of common resource. That is the root of all the problems in the common fisheries policy, which is one of the most loony ideas ever to fly out of Brussels, and that is saying something. Until he does something about the doctrine of common resource, we will not reverse the situation.

[Richard Benyon]

I think we are coming from the same direction, but I am not sure we are reaching the same conclusion. The hon. Gentleman is just wrong to say that our relationship with other countries was somehow to their advantage and not to ours. There was a collective view across major fishing countries in Europe that the cod recovery plan was not working and the Commission had to understand why. We were absolutely on the same page with major fishing countries that fish in areas such as the North sea and around our coast. Not only did we achieve a good result last week, but in terms of reform of the common fisheries policy, we will continue to work on those relationships, whoever is in government in those countries, to make sure that we have the result that we need for our fishermen.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paice]

I can assure my hon. Friend that I have had such discussions and will continue to have them. I can assure the House that overall, the supermarkets, and indeed much of the processing sector, are determined to comply with the spirit of the legislation and procure egg and egg product only from compliant cages. As I said, I may well make a further statement shortly.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

T7. The Minister has consistently said that the review of the common fisheries policy is a golden opportunity, and he has said the same again today. Will he therefore make a promise to the House that the British fishing fleet will be larger at the next election than it was at the beginning of this Parliament?

[Richard Benyon]

That would depend on there being more fish to catch. What we seek to achieve through a proper reform is conservation measures that we can manage much closer to home, which can lead to a recovery in fish stocks and therefore an increased opportunity for our fishing fleet. I want to see a reform of common fisheries policy that means that the sons and grandsons of fishermen can see a future, because they cannot at the moment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

The Fishing for the Market project, which is being carried out by DEFRA, analyses the 54% of discards that are created because there is no market for those fish. Some of them are perfectly edible delicious fish, such as dab. We must also ensure that the public ask for Marine Stewardship Council accredited fish, which can be bought at the fishmonger and the supermarket. Supermarkets are the key to driving forward this agenda.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The common fisheries policy is probably the most unmitigated disaster in EU history—and that is up against some pretty stiff competition. The doctrine of common resource has been a disaster from the beginning. The Minister says that the common fisheries policy is broken, so why is he talking in terms of reform. Why does he not just abolish it?

[Richard Benyon]

I could spend all my energy trying to unpick the common fisheries policy from various treaties, probably going back to the treaty of Rome. However, I am dealing with an industry in crisis, and with people’s jobs. They want me to push at a door that is open. I urge the hon. Gentleman to read the Commission’s paper and position statement, because for the first time there is an opportunity to decentralise this matter and to get back more local control. That is what the industry wants, and what we all want.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paice]

I am very much aware of the belief in many parts of the British farming industry that regulations are not applied elsewhere in Europe. I am going to be completely honest, as the House would expect, and say that I think some of those stories are slightly exaggerated. I have many friends and contacts in the farming industry elsewhere in Europe, and they complain just as vigorously about this. Nevertheless, my hon. Friend’s fundamental point is absolutely right. When a regulation is passed by Europe, it should be implemented and enforced equally across the whole of the Community, if we believe in fair trade and a single market.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Does the Minister think that the Agricultural Wages Board constitutes a burden or protection for vulnerable workers?

[Mr Paice]

We have already announced our intention to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board, which has gone unchanged for the past 50-plus years. It is entirely inflexible and unable to face up to modern needs. For example, a farmer is not even allowed to pay a worker a salary under the Agricultural Wages Order, which is nonsensical. We now have the minimum wage legislation, and it is only right that we should bring agricultural legislation into line with the rest.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cryer Excerpts

Thursday 24th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

My hon. Friend, whose constituency is not far from mine, will perhaps have observed that our local authorities find that the increasing cost of the landfill tax is a strong incentive to try to reduce the amount of material that goes into recycling. There are opportunities for organic waste not to go to recycling at all; it is often composted by people who live in a rural or suburban locations. As regards anaerobic digestion, it is possible to consider collection from places where large quantities are produced, such as hospitals, catering outlets and schools.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The plan to privatise British Waterways by the back door—that is what the Minister is planning—has been knocking about for decades. What makes him think it will work this time?