Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mark Menzies
Main Page: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)Department Debates - View all Mark Menzies's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(14 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Spelman
Obviously, broadband is very important to my hon. Friend’s constituency, which contains many farmers. It is simply assumed that those farmers will have access to broadband in order to complete form-filling online.
As I said earlier, this is a community opportunity. There are some excellent examples of the big society at work in Northumberland and Rutland, where communities have come together to ensure that good broadband access is available to all.
Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)
2. What plans her Department has to reduce the level of regulation on farmers; and if she will make a statement.
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice)
As I announced at the cereals event on 9 June, bureaucratic burdens on the food and farming industry will be scrutinized by a new industry-led taskforce on food and farming regulation. The taskforce will identify ways to reduce regulatory burdens by trusting farmers to deliver the necessary outcomes, rather than telling them how to do so. It will also advise on how best to achieve a risk-based system of inspection in future.
Mark Menzies
I am sure that many farmers in Fylde will take comfort from the work that is being done. To what extent is the Minister’s Department liaising with EU member states regarding further reducing the regulatory burden?
Mr Paice
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, whom I welcome to his first DEFRA questions. He is absolutely right: a huge amount of DEFRA regulations emanate from the European Union. Only yesterday, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I met the Agriculture Commissioner and impressed upon him not only the measures I have announced, but the need for the whole EU to adopt a much more simplified approach to regulation and to concentrate on outcomes. I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that that message went down very well with the Commissioner, who entirely endorsed that approach.