Total Allowable Catches: Fisheries Negotiations

Debate between Mark Spencer and Peter Aldous

Wednesday 18th January 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mark Spencer]

In the UK, we have a respectful democratic process by which we have to bring forward a statutory instrument. That statutory instrument is drafted and we are ready to roll with it, but we are waiting for business managers to find us a slot. We want to do that as quickly as possible to allow people to get out there and start catching spurdog. We have a great democratic process in the United Kingdom that holds people to account and allows people to object if they have a different view.

[Peter Aldous]

Can I come back on spurdog? I am most grateful to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) for raising the matter. Off the East Anglian coast, the inshore fishermen who fish sustainably with long lines and nets cannot catch spurdog at the moment, but EU trawlers can. Does the Minister share my vision that we should have a fisheries management plan that embraces the ICES recommendation on limited-catch fishery for spurdog and enables local East Anglian fishermen, fishing responsibly, to catch it?

[Mark Spencer]

Our motivation is very much to allow this total allowable catch to be used, and we want to get on with that as quickly as possible. It is a new stock with a new quota. We want it to be done sustainably, and we want to get on with it. We will hurry up the democratic process to ensure that people who want to catch that species are allowed to do so.

Annual Fisheries Negotiations with EU and North Atlantic States

Debate between Mark Spencer and Peter Aldous

Tuesday 20th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)(Urgent Question]

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the annual fisheries negotiations with the European Union and other North Atlantic states. Thank you for granting the urgent question, Mr Speaker.

[The Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries (Mark Spencer)]

I am responding on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

As an independent coastal state, we have taken back control of our waters and have the freedom to negotiate on our own terms and push for deals that will deliver for the UK fishing industry, for the marine environment, and for all parts of the United Kingdom. I am delighted to say that this autumn the UK has secured vital deals for 2023 with our coastal state neighbours, including the European Union and Norway. Taken together, these deals have secured more than £750 million-worth of fishing opportunities for the UK fleet in 2023, £34 million more than last year.

The UK has put sustainability at the heart of these negotiations, and an initial estimate suggests that nine more catch levels align with the scientific advice than did so last year. This is an important step forward and will allow our most important stocks to be fished sustainably. That is essential for a thriving fishing industry for the future. The UK will continue to champion sustainability throughout all negotiation forums and push for other coastal states to do so too.

Through the trade and co-operation agreement we will also have the specialised committee on fisheries with our EU counterparts. We use this forum to consider a range of issues, including how to increase the sustainability of certain stocks, which we hope will improve the outcomes of the negotiation in the longer term.

The UK’s fishing opportunities are negotiated in three main forums. First, the UK-EU bilateral. Today the UK reached an agreement with the EU on total allowable catches in 2023 for 69 stocks, as well as arrangements for non-quota stocks. This deal provides fishing opportunities for more than 140,000 tonnes for the UK fleet and is worth around £282 million based on historical landing prices. As part of this deal, we have agreed access arrangements on albacore tuna and spurdog in the North sea for the first time through the UK-EU written record. For non-quota stocks, we have agreed a roll-over of access arrangements for 2023 to ensure continued access to fish non-quota stocks in EU waters, worth around £25 million a year to the UK fleet. The House will also want to note that, as a result of the quota share uplifts agreed in the trade and co-operation agreement, the UK has around 30,000 tonnes more quota from these negotiations than it would have received with its previous shares as a member of the EU.

The second main forum where we negotiate our fishing quotas is the trilateral arrangement that focuses on stocks that we share with the EU and Norway in the North sea. In that negotiation, there were significant increases for North sea whitefish quotas, all set at levels either in line with or below those recommended by scientists. This deal is worth over £202 million to the UK fishing industry in the North sea and a further £11 million in waters around the UK based on historical landing prices. The UK also reached a deal with Norway that ensures stability for the UK whitefish fishing industry through continued access to each other’s waters for 2023. Our arrangements with Norway also mean that our crucially important long-distance fleet has access to fishing opportunities worth over £12 million in the Arctic region at a time when the main quota in that area fell by 20%.

Many Members will know that the UK has a significant interest in pelagic stocks, and these form the third main negotiation each year. This autumn we have agreed quotas with the other coastal states in the north-east Atlantic for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. These quotas were all set at the level advised by scientists and will be worth over £250 million to the UK fleet in 2023.

These deals are crucial to the long-term health of our vital fishing industry, but it is not just about securing financial value for the year ahead, important though that is. These negotiations are a crucial route for the UK to protect our fish stocks, to safeguard the marine environment and, in turn, to ensure that the fishing industry can profit and thrive for future generations. As we head into 2023, I am excited to carry on working with the industry to maximise fishing opportunities and put sustainability at the forefront, and, in short, to continue to support a fantastic sector to profit, modernise and succeed.

[Peter Aldous]

I am most grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. I should point out that I chair a community interest company, REAF—Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries—which has the objective of regenerating the East Anglian fishing industry. Much of our fleet is inshore in nature, pursuing non-quota species, and thus the outcome of these negotiations is only of some relevance with regard to stocks such as sole. That said, the matter is of vital importance to the whole industry, as it provides the foundation stone on which it can be rebuilt all around the four nations of the UK.

It used to be an annual tradition that the Minister would come to this Chamber to make a statement at the conclusion of the negotiations, and thus it is to be regretted that it has been necessary to submit this urgent question, particularly taking into account the enormous interest in fishing generated by Brexit and the role that the industry can play in levelling up coastal communities such as Lowestoft, which I represent.

My right hon. Friend highlighted the fact that the total UK fishing opportunity secured across the three main negotiating forums totals £750 million, an increase of £34 million on the previous year. This 4.7% increase is considerably below the level of inflation, which is currently hitting fishing businesses particularly hard.

I would be most grateful if my right hon. Friend could add to his statement by answering the following questions. Will he advise the House as to the preparatory work that is carried out to ensure that the UK achieves better outcomes from negotiations now that we participate as an independent coastal state and are not part of the EU? What monitoring work is carried out after each annual negotiation?

The negotiations were due to complete by 10 December; I would be most grateful if my right hon. Friend could advise the House as to the reason why they did not. Have the issues that caused the delay been concluded satisfactorily from the UK’s perspective?

To revive the fishing industry post Brexit, it is necessary to enhance trust and for the Government to work in partnership with the devolved nations, industry and conservation organisations. This is best achieved by increased transparency, so will my right hon. Friend publish the positions that the UK took in respect of the total allowable catch levels for each stock? Progress towards sustainable fishing requires accountability, and the Government would contribute to that by making that information available.

Finally, as mentioned, East Anglian fishermen will accrue limited immediate benefit from the outcome of the negotiations, but from that outcome should flow the improved management of fisheries and increased access to fishing opportunities for local fishermen. With that in mind, will my right hon. Friend provide a progress report on the Government’s plans in that regard?

[Mark Spencer]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend not only for tabling the urgent question but for the work he does to represent his constituency. It is a little disingenuous of him to say that he dragged me to the Chamber for the urgent question; the ink went on the agreement when it was signed this morning, just after 10.30 am—around quarter to 11—which was after the statement deadline, meaning that it was not possible for me to bring a statement to the House.

Nevertheless, I am delighted to be here to celebrate what is a great deal. As my hon. Friend has identified, we are 30,000 tonnes better off now that we are outside the EU than we would have been had we remained a member state.

My hon. Friend made reference to the 10 December deadline, which I think was a false deadline. We were of course always ambitious to try to conclude the negotiations, but as the Minister I was always clear that it is more important to get the right deal than to get a quick deal and that setting false deadlines does not always bring us to the right deal.

My hon. Friend mentioned our negotiating position and asked whether we would lay it out in public. I am afraid to say to him directly that no is the answer. I am not prepared to share our negotiating position. I do not think that is how we get a good deal for the UK, which is what we have secured. If we set out in public where our red lines are before we enter the room, we tend to move quickly towards those red lines and fall back from that position.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Spencer and Peter Aldous

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

9. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support fishing communities. [R]

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

The Government are providing £32.7 million a year to enable all four fishing Administrations to deliver funding schemes to support the seafood sector, such as the fisheries and seafood scheme in England. In addition to that, £100 million is being provided through the UK’s seafood fund to support the long-term future and sustainability of the industry, helping to bring economic growth to coastal communities and supporting levelling up.

[Peter Aldous]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. I draw attention to my role chairing Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries, a community interest company promoting the fishing industry in East Anglia. It is welcome that policy labs in the Cabinet Office are engaging with local fishermen in producing the bass fisheries management plan, and a REAF director recently attended a workshop in Lowestoft. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he is also liaising with the Department for International Trade to confirm that the management plan accords with the trade and co-operation agreement, and will also apply to EU vessels?

[Mark Spencer]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his tenacious campaigning on this topic. The bass fisheries management plan will manage bass fishing in England and Wales. We are delivering on our commitments in the Fisheries Act 2020. The fisheries management plan will apply to all vessels fishing in these waters, and the Fisheries Act 2020 requires consultation with all interested persons. Our fisheries management plans will comply with the UK’s international obligations, including the trade and co-operation agreement.

Business Rates

Debate between Mark Spencer and Peter Aldous

Tuesday 30th October 2012 Westminster Hall

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Caton. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk) for securing this debate, and I welcome to the Front Bench my neighbour, the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis).

I welcome the debate, as this is an opportune time to review the future of business rates. Business rates are attractive to the Treasury and always have been, no matter which party has been in Government. They are easy to collect, difficult to avoid and highly productive, representing 5% of the UK’s tax bill. However, there is concern that the Treasury’s over-reliance on business rates is having unintended consequences. First, it is hitting high streets particularly hard, contributing to the large number of vacant units. Secondly, it is holding back economic growth, as the retail sector in particular is an important engine of the economy. Thirdly, it hits hard businesses that are property-reliant and must be in a specific high-value location. Many profitable internet-based businesses that are less property-intensive are not penalised to the same extent.

I am not an expert on the subject of business rates, but I do have an interest in the subject: before I came here, I was a chartered surveyor for 27 years. I dabbled occasionally in business rates, but it is a very specialist subject. I am interested in playing a small role in encouraging the renaissance in the high street, and I commend the Government for the work they have done in that respect. Lowestoft, in my constituency, is a Portas pilot, and the town team is setting about its work with relish. It is important that we in this place provide the framework through which its work can come to fruition.

I shall concentrate on the retail sector, which pays a significant portion of all business rates—more than a quarter, at 28%. On average, 14.6% of retail units in our high streets are vacant. That is due to a variety of factors: the growth in out-of-town retail parks, the rise of online shopping, falling consumer demand and high business rates. In some cases, the business rates are higher than the rent. Often, a retailer is interested in a particular unit; the rent looks okay, and he is working things out, and then suddenly he is hit with how much the rates will be. Mary Portas has said that high rates are a deterrent to investment in town centres and to retailers occupying shops.

To be fair to the Government, they recognise the vulnerability of small businesses to high rates. There is a small business rate relief scheme, a business rate deferral scheme and discretionary rate relief. The problem is that those schemes have had a limited impact and are of limited benefit to many small retailers. As was mentioned, the retail sector is the UK’s biggest private sector employer. It provides crucial first jobs to approximately 1 million 16 to 24-year-olds. There is real concern that another hike in rates will lead to fewer chances of work, less investment in the fabric of our town centres, which are so important to the country as a whole, and a more troubled high street.

Any decision to postpone the five-yearly revaluation review needs more consideration, scrutiny and consultation. I note that the British Chambers of Commerce was taken by surprise by that postponement. I hope that as the Growth and Infrastructure Bill progresses through Parliament, we have the opportunity to consider the matter in more detail. Any property tax requires frequent revaluations to ensure acceptability and fairness. The five-yearly reviews that have been in place for more than 20 years are well understood and provide a level of certainty. A break in that precedent creates an air of uncertainty—people will not know whether a review will take place.

It is also important to take into account that relative property values change over time. Relatively, rents in some sectors and locations will rise, while those in others will fall. It is important that the rating system has an in-built review system that reflects the dynamic nature of the property marketplace. We can then be sure that the tax burden is spread fairly—that those with the broadest shoulders pay the most, and those whose business may not be as profitable at a particular time pay less. Liz Peace, the chief executive of the British Property Federation, sums it up well:

“A revaluation should shift the burden from those who are suffering to those who are prospering.”

With the proposed freeze, there is concern that those in lucrative locations will benefit and those in hard-hit areas will suffer.

[Mr Spencer]

Will my hon. Friend mention the tax on empty properties? That causes me great concern. People who want to start a business need access to a small property. Landlords who find themselves having to pay enormous rates on empty properties are literally flattening them, so that they no longer have to pay. That removes the amount of start-up properties for those businesses.

[Peter Aldous]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important issue. I was not going to raise it myself, but I take account of what he says. The tax on empty properties was introduced under the previous Government. I was still practising then, and there were concerns at that time. I have seen a number of units—they may not have been in the best condition, but they were available, often with a low rental value—demolished by landowners and landlords. Reducing the supply of accommodation can lead to an increase in rents for small businesses that are just getting started.