Agriculture in Sussex

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Tuesday 25th October 2022 Westminster Hall

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Nokes. I thank my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Caroline Ansell), for securing this debate. As luck would have it, on Friday morning I and some of my farmers met the NFU over bacon sandwiches and tea, and we discussed many of the issues that she has raised.

I want to raise four key areas with the Minister. The first is the cost of food production. As a farmer, he will know only too well the particular cost of fertilisers. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board estimates that there has been a 152% increase in the cost of fertiliser since May 2021, and farmers are struggling to afford it. That has a knock-on effect on the cost of the food that they produce, the costs in our supermarkets, and the overall cost of inflation, which is affecting each and every one of us.

If farmers can afford fertiliser, the struggle to get it seems even greater. We produce only 40% of our own fertiliser, and one of the two plants that we had has closed, again, due to running costs and the cost of energy. There is real concern because some countries that were exporting to us have capped exports in order to bring costs down in their own country and because of the global availability. Access to fertiliser is therefore a huge problem.

I know that the Government have brought in the BPS payments in several chunks to improve cash flow and that they have reduced restrictions around the use of manure. That has helped, but it only scratches the surface of the problem.

Farmers have two key asks. The first is to grow our domestic supply of fertiliser. What discussions have there been with Ministers in other Departments on supporting the fertiliser sector and increasing production so that we are more self-sufficient as a country? The second ask is about the storage of slurry. It is difficult and expensive for farmers, and some of the regulations on slurry covers mean that it is also impractical. They are keen to be able to store it, but improvements to the rules and regulations, and support to increase storage, would help them greatly.

The second key area is ELMS. I echo what my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne has said. An NFU survey found that 84% of farmers are keen to take part in ELMS, but only two parts of the scheme are open. The NFU also mentioned access to SFI, which is difficult. Of course, we want to protect and promote the environment, but we must increase food production and be as self-sufficient as possible in this country. The two do not need to be mutually exclusive. Farmers are very keen to get involved, but there are no timelines and no details. As the Minister knows, they need certainty before investing in equipment and staff. They need the forward-thinking plans one or two years in advance, and time is running out.

The third area that was raised with me was labour. I met dairy farmers, poultry farmers and arable farmers who all said the same thing: they need an all-year-round supply of staff, not just seasonal workers. Their two key asks are to expand the temporary worker visa to two years and to look at whether agricultural workers could be on the shortage occupations list. What discussions have there been with the Home Office on that? Particularly in the south-east, where the cost of living is high, it is difficult for farmers to find workers to do quite low-paid but difficult jobs.

My fourth and final ask is around avian flu, which is a huge problem for us in Sussex. It is starting to emerge—thanks to West Sussex—and it might affect my East Sussex poultry farmers fairly soon. The sheer scale is something that has never been seen before by poultry farmers in this country—they are used to seasonal avian flu. They are locking up their free-range chickens and using the measures that are in place, but inspectors are overworked. The compensation scheme is based on the number of birds a farmer has left when the inspector comes to call. The inspectors used to be able to visit 48 hours or 72 hours after a call, but they are now turning up two or three weeks later, when all the birds are dead. We are not talking about a few dozen birds, but hundreds of thousands, and farmers are going out of business.

The clean-up scheme is costing in the millions—not the hundreds of thousands. With all that is going on in the world, avian flu does not seem to be high on the agenda, but it is wiping out the egg industry in my patch. My poultry farmers who are left could sell their eggs hundreds of times over because there is such a shortage, but if their birds get infected, those farmers will be wiped out, and there is no coming back because of the cost. Can we therefore look at the compensation scheme or at least at supporting the assessors so that they can get out to farmers as quickly as possible? Can we support farmers across their whole flock, rather than looking at the number of birds that are still alive by the time the assessor sees them? Can I also ask about a vaccine roll-out? I am not an expert, but apparently there is a vaccine available. Farmers are keen to get involved, even if there are pilot studies to be done, because they are so worried about avian flu hitting their farms.

I have outlined my four key areas. I look forward to hearing from the Minister how we can support our farmers, who do an amazing job. Now that we have seen what has happened to Ukraine, which was the breadbasket of Europe, we can appreciate more than ever the hard work of our farmers, who get up early and work into the night. They are dependent on the weather for their living and put in all the hours. If they get a bad season, it hits them really badly. I just want to place on record my thanks to them, and I hope we can support them in all that they do.

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[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mark Spencer)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Nokes. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Caroline Ansell) for calling this debate.

Before I continue, let me refer to some of the comments made by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner). Today is an unusual day. My right hon. Friend the Member for North East Hampshire (Mr Jayawardena) has left his position as Secretary of State, so I think I am currently stood here as the most senior Minister in the Department. I may seize this moment and take the power. I am sure there will be more clarity on some of the shadow Minister’s questions as the reshuffle continues.

My hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne started by giving us a tour of Sussex and talking about how much food Eastbourne consumes. That is an important place to start, because food producers should be thinking about consumers. It is an interesting twist on the whole thing, because consumers are interested in not only how much their food costs but how it is produced and whether that is environmentally friendly, as well as its impact on the environment and the landscape that they see. The view of the beautiful, rolling hills in Sussex, which she and other colleagues described, is there because of the food producers in Sussex who have created that landscape over the 4,000 years for which it has been farmed. It is important for us to remember that when we bring forward new schemes to help food producers and farmers. We should think about the impact that will have on the environment.

My hon. Friend went on to talk about food security. Never in my farming or political lifetime has food security been as important or as high on the political agenda as it is today. That is a huge opportunity for the industry, the sector and the Department to shape and influence the direction of travel. There are lots of opportunities; she referred to the ELM scheme, which is going to be a flagship moment for the Department once we have finished its short review. I hesitate slightly because a new Secretary of State will come in, but I expect that any new Secretary of State or Minister in the Department will have a close eye on the fact that we need to improve our food security. We need to grow the amount of food that we produce in the UK. However, that is not a barrier to improving our biodiversity and environmental benefits; we can do both at the same time. For decades, UK agriculture has demonstrated that it can improve efficiency and increase productivity while protecting the environment, but we need to do better.

We need to do more on biodiversity and on improving our environmental output, but of course that works only if farmers engage in the schemes and get involved. The previous iteration was quite a complicated system—there was a bit of bureaucracy in there. The shadow Minister referred to the number of people who were applying for those schemes, which is not as many as we would like. If we are to have the environmental benefit and biodiversity output, we must engage with all the food producers, ensure that they want to get involved in the schemes, make the schemes simple to apply for and make the first rung on the ladder easy to access. Once the new schemes are released, farmers will have an easy opportunity to get involved and to benefit the landscape as we want them to.

Abattoirs have featured a lot in the debate, and they are a passion of mine. Nottinghamshire, which is my home county, does not now have an abattoir within the county boundary. That is a huge disadvantage to livestock producers in Nottinghamshire. We need to do better than that, but—it is quite a big “but”—we have engaged a lot with the Food Standards Agency to ensure that we get the balance right. If we loosen regulation and make it easier for abattoirs to operate, I emphasise that we must not do so at the price of the credibility of the food sector and meat industry.

The meat industry works only because of consumers’ high level of confidence that the system will ensure that the food they consume is safe. There have been a number of occasions through history when that confidence has been rocked, such as when horse meat entered the food chain, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which happened early in my agricultural life. Confidence was rocked and that had huge implications. We must ensure that our system maintains the safety of our food and gives credibility to the meat industry.

[Maria Caulfield]

On abattoirs, some of my local farmers would like to export their beef, but if they were to export to places such as Singapore, the abattoirs need to meet certain specifications. That takes a lot of investment. Are there are any schemes to help exports of British beef and to enable abattoirs that want to take on that extra specification to do so?

[Mark Spencer]

Certainly. As we expand trade deals and co-operate with people around the world, that will be an important factor. To turn the point around, if we are consuming those products only in the United Kingdom, there may be some tweaks that we can look at that could help smaller abattoirs that produce only for the United Kingdom, so that they may have fewer of the checks and barriers that are necessary for exports. However, I emphasise that that is only what I would like to achieve, and we must reflect on whether it is achievable. We are engaging with the Food Standards Agency regularly to look at what we can achieve together.

My hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne talked about rural crime, which is very important. I join her in paying tribute to the Sussex police and crime commissioner, who has done great work. She referred to dog attacks, which are particularly traumatic for livestock farmers. Attacks can often lead to abortions or worse at a later date. They can be very traumatic not just for the livestock but for the farmers who find the animals after an attack. Farmers are very attached to their animals.

My hon. Friend started by talking about fertilisers—another topic that is close to my heart. We find ourselves in a very challenging position. CF Fertilisers, which currently has the only production facility in the north-east, has limited the amount of fertiliser that it is producing. It has changed to buying in ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate, rather than producing the ammonia on site. That has had a knock-on effect on the amount of available carbon dioxide, which is a very important product for the food sector. The company actually owns another factory in the north-west near the Wirral, and we have been engaging with Ministers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to try to work together to encourage CF to work with other partners who may want to take that factory on. That is a work in progress. My hon. Friend can rest assured that the Department takes the issue seriously and we will try to assist if we can.

We then got on to avian flu, which is a very important topic, as highlighted by the shadow Minister. We have seen hundreds of thousands of birds—not only in the agricultural sector but wild birds—lose their life to avian flu. There is a tragedy taking place in our countryside as we stand here today. It is something the Department takes very seriously. My hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield) made reference to the ministry vets, who are working day and night to try to assist farmers and get insight.

I cannot emphasise enough how important biosecurity is. It is not just about washing boots and hands before entering one of the units; it is about thinking about where the bedding is stored, because introducing bedding into the facilities is often how the flu comes in. Vermin control is very important to stop rodents making holes in sheds that can allow small birds that may be affected into the units.

My hon. Friend the Member for Lewes asked about vaccination. It is possible that vaccination has a role to play, certainly in the laying or turkey sector. In the chicken-meat system, the turnaround of the birds is very rapid, so vaccinating all those birds is often financially not rewarding. Certainly, that is something the Department is looking at and working with the NFU and other sector stakeholders on.

My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) mentioned food security, which is an important topic. He spoke of the no-plough, minimum-tillage and no-tillage systems, which are very important. The opportunity for agritech and new technologies and systems of working is going to be fundamental if we are to increase the amount of food we produce at the same time as improving our environmental credentials and biodiversity.

I am quite excited by the opportunities that agritech will bring, whether it is robots, computers, new systems of working or a twist on some of the practices of the last 4,000 years. There is often nothing new in agriculture. We can learn a lot from the way our ancestors farmed without artificial fertilisers. My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham made reference to the seaweed on the beaches of Sussex, which is also something the Department is looking at closely. In fact, one of my senior civil servants in the Department has just received a Nuffield scholarship to go and look at the benefits of seaweed. I am sure that in getting him into Hansard I have ensured he will buy the cakes for the Department very soon.

We finally got to vineyards, which I thought would be the main topic of the debate because Sussex is enormously proud of its vineyards. I think there are 145 vineyards in Sussex. My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham made reference to the finest wines in the world, which some colleagues may have taken as being flippant, but it is actually factually correct. We should put on the record that the wines of Sussex have won competitions worldwide. I pay enormous tribute to the producers who have succeeded in that way.

Plumpton College is doing a lot of work to educate the next generation of wine producers and vineyard managers. That offers a huge opportunity for people to diversify into different sectors within the industry.

Sewage Discharges

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Westminster Hall

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

May I start by pleading with colleagues about the tone of this debate? We are legislators, not pollsters. When we vote, it is not an opinion poll on whether sewage is good or bad; it is about making good law that we are able to enforce.

I want to place it on record that I was proud to vote for the Environment Act. We know about the scale of the problem because we voted to put monitoring in place for the first time. We are investing £56 billion to change the infrastructure. Of course it could be done quicker, but we are making a start. We are seeing record levels of fines. Southern Water in my patch was fined over £90 million last year. I welcome the maximum possible fine being increased to £250 million—that cannot come soon enough.

I violently agree with my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman), that we also need to look at our highways, house building, the concreting of driveways, and the impact that they all have on water. I would like to see the expansion of reservoirs so that they can cope with rainfall. Finally, fixing the leaks is not just about saving water, but about making sure that water is not adding to the rainfall and adding to the problem. Given the number of Conservative Members present, I hope the Minister acknowledges the importance of this issue. We want to see enforcement action taking place.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jayawardena]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for these issues, and I welcome what he said earlier. Although I do not know what is in my diary tomorrow, I would be delighted to visit at the earliest opportunity, and for other Ministers to do the same.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

The Liberal Democrats seem obsessed with my constituency, whether that is the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) this morning, or the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) yesterday. Does the Secretary of State agree that they need to be honest with people in my town of Seaford that their plan, when heavy rainfall occurs, would result in sewage backing up into people’s homes, gardens and roads, and that the Government’s £56 billion investment is the only sustainable solution?

[Mr Jayawardena]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for her constituents and constituency, and she is right to say that although storm overflows should not be used, they are a safety valve. They stop the flooding of raw sewage back into people’s homes—that is what the Liberal Democrats are promising.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Julia Lopez (Hornchurch and Upminster) (Con)]

5. What plans she has to increase tree planting rates.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

11. What plans she has to increase tree planting rates.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (David Rutley)]

To encourage more planting, we have modified our main grant schemes and announced additional funding of £10 million for urban trees and £50 million for the woodland carbon guarantee scheme. We have invested £5.7 million in the northern forest. We have also reappointed our tree champion to develop our tree strategy so that we can plan to consult on this later in the year. That demonstrates our commitment to achieving our goal of planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, and our wider aspirations.

[David Rutley]

I know how hard my hon. Friend works for her constituency. We have committed to mandating biodiversity net gain through the forthcoming environment Bill. That policy will deliver measurable improvements to biodiversity through development including housing and local infrastructure, thereby making sure that development has a positive environmental impact through habitat creation or enhancement. The Government are also exploring the best approaches to net gain for nationally significant infrastructure, including the lower Thames crossing.

[Maria Caulfield]

Trees are a vital tool in combating carbon emissions, but in Seaford and Alfriston in my constituency, trees are having to be cut down because of elm disease. What support can the Minister give my local council to ensure not just that those trees are replaced but that even more are planted?

[David Rutley]

As my hon. Friend knows, I am very aware of Seaford and Alfriston, and while no specific grants are currently available to replace elm in urban settings, there are opportunities for funding new planting in and around our towns and cities under the recently launched £10 million urban tree challenge fund. That fund will support the planting of at least 130,000 trees across towns and cities in England and contribute towards our manifesto commitment of planting 1 million urban trees by 2022.

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[Theresa Villiers]

I do not know whose voting record the hon. Lady has been looking at, but it does not sound like mine. The Government are doing more on climate change than ever before, and we are one of the first developed countries in the world to commit to the net zero target—not something that our Labour predecessors were prepared to do. I have backed, with enthusiasm, a succession of vital measures taken by the Government—for example, to ensure that more of our electricity is generated by renewables than ever before.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Theresa Villiers)]

I am delighted to have been asked to take up the outstanding work previously begun by my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and the team of dedicated public servants at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and its agencies. I look forward to working to deliver the Government’s historic commitment to hand on the natural environment in a better state than we found it, by driving up animal welfare, championing and supporting our country’s fantastic food, farming and fisheries, and ensuring that we seize the opportunities offered by Brexit.

[Maria Caulfield]

I warmly welcome the Secretary of State to her role. My constituency has some of the best vineyards in the country, and places such as Breaky Bottom, Ridgeview and Rathfinny produce award-winning English sparkling wine. What steps will the Secretary of State take to promote English sparkling wine at home and abroad, and may I invite her to visit one of those vineyards to taste that wine for herself?

[Theresa Villiers]

I would be delighted to take up the invitation to do a little tasting of the fantastic wines to which my hon. Friend refers. The GREAT campaign has a strong focus on the brilliant high-quality food we produce in this country. In June, English sparkling wine was promoted at various events in Japan, and the campaign plans to return there in September and October. In August and September we will support Wine GB at events in the United States.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Thursday 21st February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I was going to say that we have recently seen a number of new groups emerging in this Chamber. May I say that I welcome the growing number of Sheermanites in the Chamber? I am tempted to join them myself.

The serious point that the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) made is absolutely correct. The idealism shown by our young people towards the environment is inspirational. In particular, we hope that through the Year of Green Action we can support youth and community groups across the country in taking practical steps to improve the environment around us and to raise awareness of the threat of climate change.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to improve welfare standards for cats.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (David Rutley)]

Cats are cherished members of our families, and it is important that we do all we can to protect their health and welfare. That is why the Government recently updated the welfare code for cats, which highlights the benefits of microchipping, neutering and other aspects of responsible cat ownership. It is also why we are banning third-party sales of kittens in England, which will prevent dealers and pet shops from selling young cats.

[Maria Caulfield]

In the interests of equality between cats and dogs, will the Minister look at introducing mandatory microchipping for cats, as is currently the case for dogs? Cats Protection says that 62% of cats in shelters are not microchipped, and it would make returning wandering cats to their owners much easier.

[David Rutley]

I know my hon. Friend is a strong campaigner on this issue. The Government strongly recommend that cat owners get their cat microchipped and keep their records up to date. I am pleased that the proportion of cats that are microchipped has grown in recent years. Lost and stray cats do not pose the same public safety risks as dogs. As a result, our focus should be on publicising the benefits of microchipping rather than making it compulsory at this particular time.

Fisheries Bill

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons & Money resolution: House of Commons & Ways and Means resolution: House of Commons
Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I have been very clear about how determined we are to fight on fisheries. We have defended our red lines. My hon. Friend mentions what happened in the 1970s. I was a boy then, but the consequences had a profound impact on my family and on my father’s business. There is no way I can ever forget what happened then, and no way that I will be anything other than a resolute champion for the interests of coastal communities such as the one my hon. Friend serves and represents so admirably.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

According to the withdrawal agreement, we will be in the common fisheries policy until December 2020. Who will represent the UK at the annual Fisheries Council meeting in 2019, after we have left the EU?

[Michael Gove]

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice).

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[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Gillian Keegan). I, too, welcome the Bill as it is a clear indication that, after 40 years, we will leave the EU in March, and the UK will once again become an independent coastal state, responsible for managing its own waters. In Newhaven in my constituency, the fishing industry has been in decline for decades. A once thriving fishing port now sees its local fishermen away for long periods, often working for larger fishing fleets and unable to make a living independently. That is the legacy of the CFP.

The Bill provides a ray of hope for the industry, but let us be under no illusion: the changes in the Bill cannot be negotiated away as part of the withdrawal agreement or future trading relationship arrangements. Failure to secure the contents of the Bill will consign the UK fishing industry to the annals of history. I welcome many of the measures in the Bill, but particular highlights for me are the provision revoking the automatic access rights of EU vessels and the new powers for the UK to set catch limits, revoking EU powers to set EU quotas for our waters.

I have some concerns, however, that I wish to raise with the Minister. While the Bill will restore control of our waters, many people are concerned that the withdrawal agreement and, in particular, the future trading relationship paper could override the Bill and that countries such as France and Spain could demand access in future negotiations. In the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, we heard evidence during our fishing inquiry that the UK will remain in the CFP until 31 December 2020, but we will leave the EU before that. I made the point to the Secretary of State that we have concerns that although the Minister may attend the annual fisheries negotiation in December 2019, he will not have a say to ensure that our fishing rights are not overruled in the transition period. It is really important to have clarity on that point. I would welcome being wrong about it, but we are nervous.

As my hon. Friends the Members for South East Cornwall (Mrs Murray) and for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid) have said, we would also like the reassurance of the Bill including the date when we will actually leave. We want to see the date of 31 December 2020 written into the Bill. We would also like to see the insertion of an economic link into the Bill so that we are clear what we mean by “British”. Fishing for Leave has suggested that any British vessel should be 60% UK crewed and 60% UK-owned, retaining 60% of the catch landed. It is vital to ensure compliance with the term “British” if we are to deliver economic benefits to the communities we have heard so much about today. It is essential that we avoid multinationals buying up our entitlement.

Clauses 9 and 10 will grant powers to the devolved Administrations, but Northern Ireland does not have a devolved Administration, and it could be a while before one is restored. We would like reassurance that while Northern Ireland does not have an Assembly, civil servants will be given powers to prepare for the implementation of the Bill while an Executive is restored.

Following on from the points made by the hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) about the voisinage agreement, the historical reciprocal arrangements are not in place and fishermen in Northern Ireland are suffering as a result. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said to the Select Committee this morning that that was a matter for DEFRA, so I am putting it back to DEFRA Ministers now. Either we need to challenge the Republic of Ireland Government to open up those fishing waters to fishermen in Northern Ireland, or in this Bill we can take back control and say that the Republic of Ireland cannot access UK waters until that dispute is resolved. I would very much appreciate it if the Secretary of State or the Minister were to comment on that. I will be grateful if these issues can be addressed either in Committee or on Report so that we do not have to table our own amendments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Thursday 12th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

4. What plans he has to reform agriculture and fisheries management when the UK leaves the EU.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

8. What plans he has to reform agriculture and fisheries management when the UK leaves the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Michael Gove)]

Mr Speaker, thank you for your indulgence on the line call earlier in saying that the ball was in.

The Government’s consultation setting out the policy framework for agriculture in England after the UK leaves the EU closed on 8 May. All responses have been analysed and will be used to inform future policy. A report of the findings will be published in due course. Plans for the reform of fisheries management when the UK leaves the EU were set out in the “Sustainable fisheries for future generations” White Paper, which was published on 4 July.

[Michael Gove]

The hon. Lady raises some very important points. The first thing to say is that the Factortame case was a case that relied on the supremacy of the European Court of Justice. The supremacy of the European Court of Justice will end under the Government’s proposals for leaving the European Union; that is quite clear. The second thing is that the common rulebook on agri-food applies only to those sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that allow us frictionless access to the EU. That means that we will be outside the common agricultural policy and outside the common fisheries policy. It is also the case that economic link conditions can be reformed in such a way to meet the needs that she points out.

[Maria Caulfield]

What consideration has been given to changing the fishing-quota-based system post Brexit to either a percentage-based system or a days-at-sea-based system, which would significantly help my fishermen in Newhaven?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend stands up very well for the fisher people of Newhaven. One thing we can do outside the common fisheries policy, as the fisheries White Paper spells out, is reallocate additional quota and we can also—and we propose to do this—pilot days-at-sea or effort-based methods of fisheries control. We hope to work with inshore fishermen such as those whom she represents so well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Thursday 7th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

I disagree with the right hon. Gentleman. We have already published our consultation on future agriculture policy—we are analysing the 44,000 responses —and we are looking at this closely. On the issue of trade, the UK is also a very important market for the European Union, notably for Irish beef, poultry from the Netherlands and pork from Denmark, so it is also in the EU’s interests to have a comprehensive free trade agreement.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

Farmers in my constituency are concerned about a lack of focus on food production in agriculture policy post Brexit. Farmers are the biggest guardians of our environment, and they can protect the environment and produce food at the same time. What support will the Minister give farmers to enable them to produce food post Brexit?

[George Eustice]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point, and a number of farmers have also raised the issue with me. I would simply say that the consultation had sections on safeguarding a profitable future for farming, on fairness in the supply chain, on risk and resilience, and on investment in research and development, so there was lots on food production. I simply say that we want to change the way we farm so that it is more sustainable; not stop farming, or do work on the environment instead of farming.

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[Michael Gove]

Without going into all the conversations that we have had—and we have had a series of them with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government—the inference that many have drawn from the way in which the consultation has taken place is not one that we considered to be warranted. That is why I provide the reassurance that I have at this Dispatch Box, and I know that colleagues in the MHCLG will do so as well thanks to the hon. Lady’s question.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

T3. Small UK independent under-10 metre fishermen have historically been the big losers in the common fisheries policy. My fishermen in Newhaven are disappointed to learn that, post Brexit, fishing policy meetings are being held with big quota holders. Will the Minister commit to including the small independent under-10 metre fishermen in post-Brexit fishing policy discussions?

[The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (George Eustice)]

I can reassure my hon. Friend that I regularly meet members of the under-10 metre sector. Their trade body, the New Under Ten Fishermens Association, meets regularly and is actively engaged in discussions about future policy.

Livestock Worrying: Sussex

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Tuesday 17th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

Again, I entirely agree. We need to educate, and we need to be able to enforce the requirement for dogs to be on leashes when livestock are in fields. When people do not abide by that requirement, there needs to be punishment to deter others from doing the same.

Overall, farming contributes more than £140 million to Sussex’s economy and employs 8,500 people permanently, as well as thousands of seasonal workers. Of course we want to preserve Sussex’s natural beauty, but its proximity to the tourism hubs in London and Brighton provides easy access for dog walkers as well as others who are enjoying our countryside. Farmers look after more than 62% of the Sussex countryside, and manage public footpaths that go through their land. It is vital for us to introduce measures to ensure that both livestock and dogs are safe. The end result of an attack can be the shooting of a dog if it is found in mid-attack, and we want to protect dogs in those circumstances. Owners have a responsibility to ensure that their dogs are kept safe, which is why this debate should cover dog-owners as well.

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman kindly mentioned me. I should declare an interest, as an urban shepherd in Brighton and Hove.

Many dog owners are not aware of the damage that their dogs can do. They think that the dogs will not attack sheep. However, a dog does not have to attack a sheep physically to worry it. Chasing sheep can be enough to cause miscarriage or even death, because they are very likely to have heart attacks as well.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle]

I totally agree with the hon. Lady. The difficulty is that, although most dog owners whom I speak to say, “My dog is perfect: he is a saint” —or “She is a beauty”—“who will do nothing to harm anyone”, the fact is that dogs are animals too. They have urges to play with other animals, and they often think that the sheep are enjoying being chased around. Their motivation is not necessarily malicious, although it may be sometimes. Dog owners need to understand the effect of letting dogs off leashes when there are livestock around.

Livestock worrying must be treated as a recordable crime. Dog owners must be given consistent information and act accordingly; farmers must report all instances, and the police must take them seriously. Livestock worrying is one of the greatest problems affecting farmers in Sussex. As we have heard, there are more than 130 cases a year, more than the number in Scotland.

Badger Culling/Bovine TB

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Westminster Hall

[Maria Caulfield (Lewes) (Con)]

I am not going to go over the pros and cons of the debate about culling; I want to be quite parochial in the couple of minutes that I have just to highlight the issue in East Sussex, which is not only a high-risk area, but an edge area along the A27. We have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) about the devastation that TB can cause for farmers and their families. Even so, East Sussex is quite low down the list of priorities for DEFRA. We have talked to the Minister about being a trial area for a vaccination programme and he has been very supportive of farmers in East Sussex. We would be ideal because we are an edge area and have support from our farmers, the National Farmers Union and our residents. We also have a trained and licensed group of volunteers ready to go, and the support of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Evidence from a vaccination programme from 2005 to 2009 in Gloucestershire showed that vaccinating can reduce the number of badgers testing positive by 54% to 76%. That would make a significant difference to my local farmers. I acknowledge that there is a shortage of vaccine and I take the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) that the badgers would need vaccinating yearly for a period of five years and need 10 times the amount of vaccine that a human would need. However, we need to do something. We would also be keen to look at the Northern Ireland programme of TVR—test and vaccinate or remove. We think there would be some merit in that vaccination programme for East Sussex, but we await the results of that programme.

Farmers in East Sussex, given that it is on the edge, are worried that it will stop being an edge area and become a completely high-risk area, so I would welcome further discussions with the Minister, who has been so supportive of the farmers in East Sussex.