Biosecurity

Luke Charters Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) on securing today’s debate on biosecurity. It is great that he is continuing the fine tradition of Members for South Norfolk advocating for pork markets. I am proud to chair the APPG on UK food security—I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his warm words about that. As colleagues will be getting to know, I am a proud Yorkshireman who will always promote at every turn our region, and the rural communities I represent. However, nothing is more critical than biosecurity, because, as Members have said, biosecurity is national security.

Let me take you on a journey this morning, Dame Siobhain, from DEFRA laboratories and the port of Dover to farms in York Outer. Along that journey, I have heard about everything, including the threat posed by certain midges around bluetongue, illegal raw meat creating the risk of African swine fever, and poultry in ports creating a risk of avian influenza. We have seen that two of those diseases are present in the UK. Thankfully, bluetongue controls are working, and there has been only one very isolated case of an avian influenza outbreak in East Yorkshire.

However, I digress, so let me return to the biosecurity journey I have been on in the past few months. I recently visited the Animal and Plant Health Agency in Weybridge and saw its critical work to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy. I saw laboratories undertaking thousands of genomic sequencings, the infrastructure to ensure surveillance of new emerging disease, how outbreaks are modelled, and the agency’s work as an international reference laboratory for many animal diseases. But for all its kit, it was the people who stood out, under the steadfast leadership of Jenny Stewart, the APHA interim chief executive. The people who do that work to keep the UK safe and ultimately protect trade and our food production do it out of vocation, so I thank them.

I hugely welcome the Government’s £200 million investment to support the transformation of APHA’s facilities at Weybridge. That will enhance its ability to respond to the threat that disease outbreaks pose to health, farming, food security, trade and the economy. However, in my typical Yorkshire style, may I be direct? We must continually keep APHA’s resources under review. From what I saw on the ground. if there were a black swan event, or multiple complex disease outbreaks simultaneously, APHA may need additional support. I suppose it is not that dissimilar to what we experienced during the pandemic.

I recently had a meeting with the Dover Port Health Authority. I commend Bev Edmonson, the port health and public protection manager, whose dedication and commitment to public health really stood out. The amount of meat seized by Border Force officials has doubled in a year. The APPG was briefed on cases of illegal meat entering the UK—a risk to human and public health because of Trichinella, for example. There is also a significant biosecurity risk of African swine fever coming into the UK via that point of entry and entering into commercial pig production. To underline the point, I am not one for scaremongering, but the National Audit Office estimated that the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak cost the UK economy £8 billion, which is equivalent to almost double that amount today.

As such, I urge Ministers to consider granting the DPHA a multi-year funding settlement, much like our approach to local government, to support its work on an ongoing basis. As I heard from the DPHA, the intensity, complexity and volume of its work is increasing, and a multi-year settlement, rather than the current periodic rolling arrangement, would give it the opportunity to plan for the future. DEFRA should provide an update on the medium-term implementation and status of the border target operating model. Ensuring that the system is effective is critical to trade and health. I am sure we could have an even more specific and niche Westminster Hall debate on that topic, but I will leave BTOM there and invite the Government to provide further updates in due course.

Finally, I will take us back to the meetings I have had with farmers in my constituency of York Outer—be they the Hobsons or the Wilsons. They depend on a biosecure economy to trade—it is their livelihood. They depend on us getting biosecurity right. From my meetings with APHA, DPHA, the APPG and the NFU, and producer groups such as the BPC and the NPA—the British Poultry Council and the National Pig Association—we have quite the alphabet soup. However, I warmly offer Ministers the opportunity to talk about what I have set out in much more detail. I look forward to meeting Baroness Hayman, the Lords Minister responsible for biosecurity, soon. The recent announcement of funding to the Weybridge lab shows that the Government take biosecurity extremely seriously. I look forward to supporting the Government in that critical work. A good biosecurity system is a bit like a well-built Yorkshire dry stone wall: solid, reliable and it keeps the wrong things out.

Storm Bert

Luke Charters Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

I echo the right hon. Gentleman’s comments about Philip Duffy at the Environment Agency and all his colleagues, who are doing an incredible job—they always do, every time storms hit. The right hon. Gentleman makes a very important and interesting point about how we can better tie up different approaches to funding. I will take that back and discuss it with the EA. I will ensure that he receives a full written response.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

My constituency is home to a wonderful retirement community at Hartrigg Oaks. However, residents living there have told me that they worry, every single time there is a storm, about how the River Foss may overflow on to their property. There is a fix: a water pump to alleviate flooding, but that was removed, shamefully, by Yorkshire Water three years ago. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that Yorkshire Water should fix that urgently, following Storm Bert?

[Steve Reed]

It is important that we look at all possible ways we can protect communities from flooding. I do not know the detail of the particular instance my hon. Friend is speaking about, but I am happy to look at it. My hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), the Minister with responsibility for water, and I will be happy to meet him to discuss what we can do to support him in what he is calling for.

Rural Affairs

Luke Charters Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

I will never get tired of saying how proud I am to represent rural communities in York Outer, especially when it comes to food production. From carrots to chicken, or parsnips to pigs, if there is a perfect place in the country to see your dinner go from farm to fork, look no further than York.

Now then, on the topic of Yorkshire folk, we are a hard-working bunch. I am a prime example, trying to squeeze my Yorkshire dialect into Hansard. In all seriousness, there are few harder workers than our farmers, famed for hard graft, which is why I have been spending so much time engaging with them across York Outer. I have been to several farms in my constituency, and I have met my local NFU, but I know that supporting rural communities means focusing on the longer term, not just the here and now. That is why I will focus my comments on flooding, biosecurity and mental health—three vital cross-party issues that we can tackle together.

It is well known that we suffer from flooding in York, with two rivers—the Foss and the Ouse—in our city. When they overflow, they devastate communities and crops. The use of agricultural land is a hot topic in the House, but in York persistent flooding is a big driver of the loss of land. I will depart from party politics for a second, because I know that my predecessors in York from all parties have done a good job locally on flooding, and I intend to do the same. That is why I have already had some positive chats with the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy).

Our Government are doing good work on flooding. I welcome the £60 million that the Secretary of State rapidly released for communities last month, and the investment of more than £2.4 billion over two years in flood resilience. The issue with flooding in the past is that we have needed a quicker release of funds, and I hope that will be a priority for the Government.

The biggest issue for me nationally is biosecurity. This week, I will visit the Animal and Plant Health Agency in my capacity as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for food security. Whether it is the new H5N5 variant of avian influenza—which is incredibly contagious —the recent outbreak of bluetongue or African swine fever, these are all real risks that our farmers tell me they are worrying about. That matters to me too, not least with recent avian influenza cases reported in Yorkshire.

I had a wonderful bacon sarnie at Wilson’s farm. From the butter to the bap to the bacon, it was all locally produced, and that sent me an important message. The Government must buy local when it comes to procurement. School dinners must be local. We must promote British farming, including in this place where we could purchase more British farming products.

We also need to do more to end farmwashing. Some of the farmers in my patch were telling me about quite deceptive food packaging, with red, white and blue, and tractor logos that narrowly get through advertising regulations, only for customers to turn the back of the packet and see that the product came from a farm in Spain, Ireland or elsewhere. We have to sort that.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing tonight’s Adjournment debate on farmers’ mental health. When considering the future of the NHS, it is so important that we not only fix the waiting lists and implement the reforms needed but always think of our cherished rural communities. Food security is national security, and mental health is just as important as physical health. That is why I am always willing, as all of us in this place are, to talk to farmers about what they are going through.

Rural communities voted for change earlier this year. That is why there are many Labour MPs who are hard-working advocates for their rural communities—as passionate as I am. Thankfully, the Government have had a strong start. These topics have a big impact on my constituents. My hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) invited the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs to Cumbria; I invite him to stop at York along the way to discuss some of these hugely important topics. I will always be a champion for our rural communities, and I will work cross-party on many of the issues that I have mentioned.

Budget: Implications for Farming Communities

Luke Charters Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Daniel Zeichner]

I thank my fellow East Anglian MP for his contribution. Am I surprised? No, I am not entirely surprised, because people are very fed up and depressed, and they have been depressed for a long time. I understand why it is difficult, but my job is to reassure and talk calmly to people, and that is what I shall continue to do.

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

I am proud to represent many wonderful farming communities. The young farmers I meet tell me that one of their biggest challenges is accessing rural mental health services. Does my hon. Friend welcome the record £22 billion extra going into the NHS, which will support access to rural mental health services?

[Daniel Zeichner]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The core message of the Budget is to get our finances stable and on track, which will allow us to invest in the public services that everyone needs, and particularly those in rural areas who are struggling with those issues.

Independent Water Commission

Luke Charters Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

Toothless water regulators have been left up the creek. Can the Secretary of State confirm that Sir Jon Cunliffe will look at scrapping and replacing Ofwat?

[Steve Reed]

It will be for the commission to look at how we get to an effective and appropriate model of regulation, including the roles of the regulators.

Water Companies: Regulation and Financial Stability

Luke Charters Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship today, Mr Pritchard.

I genuinely thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) for securing this debate. The previous Conservative Government weakened water regulation, let our rivers fill with toxic pollution and allowed companies to pay themselves with huge bonuses while household bills soared, which was shameful.

Many constituents in York Outer are disgusted by that situation. We have the beautiful Rivers Foss and Ouse flowing through our constituency. To watch both of those rivers being degraded is not only unforgivable but bewildering. The mismanagement and lack of regulation by the previous Conservative Government have created a plethora of issues.

I have had constituents writing to me since I was elected about the stench of sewage seeping into Rawcliffe, water pump failures near Haxby and concerns about flood alleviation in Fulford. Although the Tories are no longer in power, those issues are not water under a bridge; they still need to be fixed.

That is why today’s statement by the Secretary of State on the independent water commission is a great first step, and I am also delighted that my hon. Friend the Minister is tackling these issues at pace. At this early stage, my main suggestion is that we must take lessons from other regulated industries and regulatory failures within them when designing the future water regulation system.

When I was at the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe was highly regarded, so I warmly encourage him to look at the areas where there has been disjoin in the financial services regulator, and we should move to a centralised, smart regulator. For me, that involves looking at scrapping and replacing Ofwat. Perhaps Sir Jon could publish an interim view on that suggestion.

Although it is great to see so many people engaged in today’s debate, it is still frustrating to see that we are here. It is clear to me that the Government are turning the tide against chronic underinvestment in our water industries. Water companies must be regulated properly and the regulators must have the power to regulate the sector adequately, which must be the goal. If we can make that happen after 14 years of Tory failure, we will soon be sailing in smooth waters.

--- Later in debate ---

[Olly Glover (Didcot and Wantage) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) on securing this critically important debate. In my Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage, over 90% of water infrastructure is managed by Thames Water—a de facto monopoly. The constituency impacts of the current arrangements are stark. In south Oxfordshire, sewage from storm overflows into water bodies exceeded 11,000 hours in 2023 during 810 spills. Recently, in East Hanney and Didcot, overwhelmed sewage pumps have led to flooding, including with contaminated water.

Thames Water was the worst performer in the country for leaks, leaking 570.4 megalitres a day last year, or more than 200 billion litres in total, equivalent to just under a quarter of its entire water supply. Analysts estimate that Thames Water’s current debt amounts to about 80% of the value of its business, making it the most heavily indebted of the water companies in England and Wales. At the same time, Thames Water has said that its bills need to rise by 59% between 2025 and 2030 or it will not be able to recover from its financial crisis.

It is in that context that proposals for a reservoir in my constituency are causing concern to local residents. Even putting to one side the fact that many are sceptical of the case for the reservoir, there is concern about whether Thames Water can be trusted to competently programme, manage and deliver what would be the second largest reservoir in the country and one of the largest civil engineering projects in the land.

[Mr Charters]

Since 2020, £41 million in executive bonuses has been paid out by companies such as Thames Water. That is a disgrace that the Conservatives allowed to happen. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that change is needed to stop companies such as Thames Water paying such ridiculous bonuses when their house is clearly not in order?

[Olly Glover]

The hon. Member has anticipated the next line of my remarks: that it is time for change on bonuses and many other aspects of the current workings of the water industry.

I am pleased to see the Government initiating today an independent review of the water sector, including the question of regulation, but I hope that they will also consider some bold Liberal Democrat ideas, such as setting legally binding targets to prevent sewage dumping in bathing waters and highly sensitive nature sites by 2030, giving local environmental groups a place on water company boards, and introducing a single social tariff for water bills to help to eliminate water poverty in the course of this and future Parliaments.

Thank you, Mr Pritchard, for the opportunity to speak. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robbie Moore]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for joining the debate; I see that he came in right at the last minute just to make that contribution.

My answer is no. When we were in Government, we absolutely wanted to embolden the regulators with as much power as they required, which is why we specifically linked dividends to environmental performance so that Ofwat had more power to hold water companies to account. Not only that: we increased the amount of funding allocated to the Environment Agency and empowered the whistleblowing portal so that employees within water companies, or indeed within the EA or any of the other regulators, could make their concerns known. In that way, we as the Government—and now the incoming Government—could make proper progress and ensure that proper, positive change was implemented to improve water quality.

The financial stability of the water companies is, of course, a serious issue, and that affects our constituents through not only potential price increases, but performance-related issues. Sensibly, Ofwat expects water companies to maintain a level of financial headroom to manage short-term volatility and shocks to their financial structures, and to meet their obligations and commitments, which are set both by Government and internally by the regulator. Above all else, however, consumers must be protected so I welcome the fact that Ofwat strengthened its powers to improve financial resilience. That includes stopping water companies from paying dividends when financial resilience is also at risk.

The new Government have said that cleaning up England’s rivers, lakes and seas is a priority and to achieve that the Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced through the House of Lords into Parliament. Perhaps I should not have been so surprised that that is effectively a reworked version of the policies introduced under the last Government. In the Bill, the Government pledge to introduce new powers to block bonuses for executives of water companies that pollute our waterways —something announced by the last Conservative Government. However, the powers are not quite the promises constantly regurgitated by the Labour party when they were out on the doorstep— they were telling many of their voters that water company bosses would end up “in the dock” if their water company had been falling foul of environmental permitting obligations. The Water (Special Measures) Bill simply does not achieve that. By introducing the Bill, the new Government have frustrated not only campaigners but investors who want to invest in the sector.

Opposition Members spent many a day out on the doorstep also promising that they would take swift and bold action, but as we have seen from today’s announcement of a new commission, a new review and a new taskforce, the Government are just throwing the hard decisions into the long grass and simply kicking the can down the road.

[Mr Charters]

Does the hon. Member not welcome the Government’s appointment of former deputy governor of the Bank of England Jon Cunliffe? He had that expertise as deputy governor in financial stability. Does the hon. Gentleman not think that we need to look again at the whole system when it comes to the financial instability of water companies that he and his colleagues left behind?

[Robbie Moore]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I absolutely welcome anything that will improve the water sector. When I was a Minister in the Department, many issues needed to be addressed. I noticed that the hon. Gentleman commented in his speech that the Minister was working at pace, but the review will take at least a year to implement. I want to ask the Minister, as I did the Secretary of State in the House earlier: when will the positive recommendations from the review be implemented? We know that we are entering price review 2024, which exists from 2025 to 2030, but when is the industry likely to see any positive implications of the results of the commission that has been instigated today?

The Government have also confirmed that they will work with farmers to reduce agricultural pollution. I understand that Ministers have said that that will be through a series of

“proportionate and effective regulations, advice and incentives to deliver improvements”.

Can the Minister clarify how that will roll out? What new regulations does the Department anticipate bringing in? The farming budget is rumoured to be slashed by at least £100 million, so how will the Government incentivise farmers through public money to do the right thing in reducing run-off from fields and from their agricultural activities?

Will the Minister also outline whether any regulatory easement will be applied to water companies going forward? Many Members have raised concerns to do with Thames Water and the like, but I would like to specifically understand whether the Minister, her colleagues or the Secretary of State are looking at implementing a regulatory easement, as the Opposition would not want to see lower standards, the relaxation of environmental permits or a reduction in agreed levels of investment by any water company, irrespective of their financial circumstances.

Sound management of water companies is vital if customers are to receive the high level of service that they expect, and better environmental performance must be driven forward.

Farming and Food Security

Luke Charters Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Luke Charters (York Outer) (Lab)]

As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for food security, I have been working across the House to ensure that we work towards affordable food that is available and accessible to everyone. Yet from some of the contributions I have heard from Conservative Members, it is clear that over the past 14 years they have not reflected on how they have failed rural communities. We would not be here today if they had held the mantle on food security. Our farmers already have low confidence because the Conservatives eroded their trust, but our rural communities are not a political football. They deserve respect. They want action, not words. If the Opposition think that rural affairs is tricky ground for those on the Labour Benches, they can well and truly think again. Just look at our new crop of Labour MPs. We won seats right across the country, from Scarborough to south Pembrokeshire. The farming community has firm friends on the Labour Benches.

Let me turn to work that the Government are doing, from unlocking precision breeding to launching a new deal for farmers. The Government’s work on food security transcends the work of a single Department, from seeking to secure a new veterinary agreement to launching GB Energy, which will lower production costs. We are also paving the way on flood resilience. If I may, I will draw on some local context in York. I visited a fantastic carrot farm in York Outer, but I was gobsmacked to hear that in a bad year of flooding it can lose a quarter of its crop. I dread to think about the impacts if we do not turn the tide of climate change. That is why I urge the continuation of critical resilience funds to support farmers like the one I met.

Water scarcity is a critical issue. There are real pressures, despite the wettest 18 months on record. It must be 30 years since we last built a reservoir, and farmers struggle from drought, too.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend said, many Labour Members are supportive of farmers. I am a proud farmer’s daughter and I am delighted to speak in this debate. The previous Government sold farmers down the river. We had disastrous trade deals and they suffer from terrible weather—we can, at least, say that that was not the Tories’ fault. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we are to support Welsh farmers, they need a strong financial package?

[Mr Charters]

I thank my hon. Friend, who is a fantastic advocate for her constituents. The agriculture budget is hugely important to protect food security.

Another critical issue is biosecurity, so I was disappointed to see that the Opposition left it out of their motion. At present, the UK has a number of confirmed cases of bluetongue. I was briefed by the deputy chief veterinary officer earlier today. I welcome the Secretary of State’s action on bluetongue serotype 3 vaccines. That, coupled with the exclusion zones policy, is a welcome first response to what is a complex crisis fuelled by climate change—I will not get into the intricacies of midges and the wind from the continent. That is a clear signal that the Government are taking biosecurity seriously.

I want to touch on my recent engagement with Sainsbury’s. I hope colleagues from across the House will join me in welcoming food retailers that put food security at the heart of their business model. I am encouraged by what Sainsbury’s is doing.

I am conscious of time, but I just stress that food is one of the 13 critical national infrastructure sectors in the UK. Food security is national security, so I respectfully say to the Opposition: stop the politics and work constructively with us on food security. It is great to see the Government making progress. I look forward to working with them to safeguard Britain’s national food security.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call Dr Roz Savage to make her maiden speech.