Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

11. What progress she has made in reducing regulatory burdens on farmers.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

12. What progress she has made in reducing regulatory burdens on farmers.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice)]

We published the Government’s full response to the farming regulation taskforce on 21 February. There were more than 200 recommendations, and our response sets out clear commitments to take action and to address most of the recommendations. We are already working to implement those commitments in partnership with the farming industry, and an implementation group chaired by Richard Macdonald himself will ensure that we deliver on them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Paice]

My hon. Friend is entirely right—the seasonal agricultural workers scheme is an essential source of labour, particularly for the fresh produce sector. We fully recognise its importance, and my Department is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that the industry’s labour requirements will be met after 2013.

[Mark Menzies]

Farmers in Fylde will welcome the Minister’s response, but can he assure me that he will resist any further measures from Brussels that seek to undermine the Government’s good work on deregulation?

[Mr Paice]

I am glad that my hon. Friend added the last bit, because to say that we would not implement any further regulations might be counter-productive. I can assure him that we will fight very hard against anything that we believe is against the interests of the British agriculture and food sector or the British economy. That has always been the case, and we will continue to do our very best to oppose such measures.