King’s Speech

Lord Colgrain Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Colgrain (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my farming interests in Kent as set out in the register. I will speak in the context of passages in the gracious Speech that refer to the environment, agriculture and net zero. However, before I do, I add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock. They were always well informed, passionate and reasonable when speaking in opposition, and I am sure that will continue now in government.

Prior to the calling of the general election, I was to have had the privilege of introducing to your Lordships’ House the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill as brought from the other place. This Private Member’s Bill would have included provisions to deliver a number of amendments to the 1953 Act to improve enforcement in response to incidents of livestock worrying by dogs. It would have had three effective clauses, all very much welcomed by the police. The first related to the seizure and detention of dogs, the second to the collection of samples and impressions, and the third to wider powers of entry. Given that that Bill had cross- party support in the Commons, may I urge the Minister to endeavour to support its reintroduction so that powers may be available to the police to obtain further evidence of an offence under Section 1 of the Act? This would also be broadly welcomed by the agricultural and rural community as a whole.

The second issue to which I wish to refer relates to championing British farming. As a previous member of your Lordships’ Horticultural Sector Committee and, prior to that, the Rural Economy Committee, I have heard evidence aplenty that government promises of support to the sector have fallen short of expectations and even commitments. Now, the Government are talking about a target for half of all food production purchased across the public sector being produced locally. The recommendation from the horticulture Committee that there should be a dedicated appointment at Cabinet level for horticulture should be revived if there is any hope that this pledge will be fulfilled.

I also suggest that the Government should consider resurrecting farms at prisons. There used to be many of them, which, when they were present, were beneficial to inmates’ mental and physical well-being, as testified by many prison governors, as well as helping to produce foodstuffs for the prison community itself and for local outlets. Perhaps the new Prisons Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, could address this excellent opportunity.

On the question of ELMS, its very slow introduction and rollout have tested the patience and the investment resolve of farmers, and it is just beginning to gain both credibility and support. This point has already been most eloquently made by the noble Lord, Lord Curry of Kirkharle, and the noble Earl, Lord Devon. The last thing the rural community needs now is further change or tinkering of any sort with ELMS. The Minister herself is no doubt well aware of that and I am sure she would endorse it. So can she please encourage the Government not to fiddle?

My noble friend Lord Roborough referred to the Government’s determination to halt the badger cull programme, which I know is an extremely emotive subject. This will dismay many farmers, who have seen its value at first hand in their TB-positive reactors numbers falling. It will also dismay those like me who see the incidents of positive TB reactors getting ever closer to their own livestock. While giving further thought to the whole TB question, can the Government say whether they have given any thought to the transmission of bovine TB through deer, given that the national deer herd is at its highest in living memory and deer are TB carriers?

On planning, as many noble Lords have mentioned there has always been disagreement between government of all hues and local residents, and it is not clear whether the Government’s introduction of the term “grey belt” will be helpful in defining eligible property, and thus where planning authorisation may be forthcoming in the greenbelt. The current situation is even less clear for anyone living in a national park or in an area of outstanding natural beauty—I am concerned that no noble Lords have mentioned either of those in the debate so far today—where recent relaxation of planning regulations do not apply. So do the references to planning in the gracious Speech mean that the outstanding post-war achievement of maintaining virgin tracts of undeveloped land next to urban conurbations will now be jeopardised? How do the Government plan to reconcile their aims with the environmental lobbies, and how will the Prime Minister reconcile his mission-driven government ideology with the sharp rocks of nimbyism?

The third and last issue to which I refer borders on next Monday’s debate on infrastructure and relates to the deadline set by the then Minister of State for Transport, issuing a ministerial Statement for the determination of the lower Thames crossing DCO application for 4 October. I will be bringing this to your Lordships’ House as an Oral Question on Monday. As your Lordships will know, 90% of freight in the UK is moved by road. This project is key to unlocking UK economic growth by linking the UK’s major ports in the south with those in the Midlands and the north.

The current Dartford Tunnel, the main north access on the M25 at present, is costing the UK £200 million in delays for repairs each year, and this will only get worse year on year. The whole project started in 2009, with consultations initiated in 2012, of which there have been eight to date with over 100,000 respondents. A final agreed route was announced in 2017. This project will generate a range of social and economic benefits for the local area and is forecast to add up to £40 billion to the UK economy. It is also a carbon pathfinder project for building infrastructure in a net-zero future and could help to build the net-zero skills and expertise that will allow the UK to become a world leader in low-carbon construction. Can the Minister work with her colleagues in the Department for Transport to ensure that this application is approved as scheduled in October?