Queen’s Speech

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, it has been suggested adversely that the Queen’s Speech was light in its number of Bills. I take a contrary view. Over the years, Parliament has legislated too often and too much; yet I am persuaded that the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill has now become necessary so that suppliers and primary producers are treated fairly and the long-term interests of consumers are safeguarded. It cannot be in the public interest for our dairy farming sector to decline in the way that it has. In saying so, I declare my farming interest, my membership of the National Farmers’ Union and my executive directorship of the Countryside Alliance.

Rural-based businesses cannot compete without fast and reliable broadband and mobile coverage. It would be churlish not to congratulate Her Majesty’s Government on their determination to address this by committing to 90% super-fast broadband coverage of the United Kingdom by 2015. I fear the remaining 10% is likely to be in rural areas. To address this, Defra’s £20 million rural community broadband fund is now open for applications from the most remote communities and is most welcome. Many communities are working together to find solutions.

The reasons given for broadband dissatisfaction in rural areas relate to speed, reliability and value. Many rural towns and villages do not benefit from the level of competition in broadband provision that is common in urban areas. In the most remote parts of the country, therefore, the situation is even more acute. The National Farmers’ Union ran a poll on broadband access in rural areas and the results indicated that about 40% of respondents could not get broadband at all, while 90% of those who could get broadband access did not have a reliable connection. There is much more to do.

I also refer to mobile telephone coverage, which is, to say the least, patchy. My own experience in rural Suffolk is that the best reception that I can obtain is if I climb one of the apple trees, which I do during the pruning and picking time of year. To be serious, this lack of coverage hampers rural business opportunities. The creation of small businesses is crucial to our country’s economic prospects, and effective broadband and mobile telephone connections are essential.

The rural economy turns over £300 billion each year and employs 5.5 million people. Farming remains at its core in producing more than half our food domestically and maintaining the outstanding and diverse countryside that underpins tourism, which itself provides business opportunities. We must value the countryside; we expect a great deal from it.

I was brought up in a family where buying British food was a matter of course. Our food here is produced to some of the highest standards in the world. We have set, via regulations, these higher standards for environmental and welfare reasons, but they come at a cost. The burden of regulation has become more cumulative and demanding on British farmers; the Macdonald review into the farming regulation task force established by this Government was not before time. Regulation has imposed higher costs upon the British farmer. In turn, this should mean that the public sector in particular should give a lead.

Despite government buying standards, public institutions are not buying as much British food as they could or should. Each year, the public sector spends close to £1 billion buying food, yet in local education authorities only about 35% know the country of origin of the food they serve school pupils. When it comes to hospitals, only 14% of NHS trusts in Britain know the origins of the food they are serving to patients. I therefore urge decision-makers to look more favourably towards local producers to fulfil their food needs. They will no doubt respond that this will cost more, but if we include in the equation the potential reduction in food miles and carbon emissions, and most importantly the high quality that we require from British produce, it all makes sense.

Only last week, the Prime Minister said that if we care about eating food produced to the highest standards in the world, we need to buy British. That is something that all of us should do more of. Will my noble friend the Minister therefore confirm the importance and value of the British agricultural sector, ensuring that it is recognised and that we have food security at home as a matter of public policy, and that the Government will foster the climate in which small and large businesses, whether in urban or rural areas, can prosper and grow so that our great nation’s economic stability can be restored?