Business of the House

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Those discussions are happening, and we are very focused on this issue. Many aspects of the support provided in such situations are devolved; none the less it is a matter for the UK Government to provide leadership on the steel industry, and that is what we are seeking to do. As I said, BIS Ministers will be in the House next Tuesday, and I will make sure they are ready to provide an update to hon. Members with constituency concerns.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Successive Governments encouraged people to buy diesel cars because they were low on carbon dioxide, but now it turns out they are high on nitric oxide. May we have a debate in the Chamber on how to reduce emissions from diesel fuel additives in cars? Millions of people cannot suddenly buy petrol cars instead.

[Chris Grayling]

The issue of diesel is absolutely shocking. For those of us who defend and believe in free enterprise, our case is not helped by extraordinary corporate malpractice of the kind we have seen at Volkswagen and in the diesel sector. I hope that those issues can be resolved as quickly as possible; and clearly if individuals lose out financially as a result, they should be compensated. The automotive industry has a duty to be open and honest, and when something like this happens, it damages confidence in corporations and their products, and it makes the life of the public much more difficult. It should never have happened. It is shocking.

Summer Adjournment

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

It is very nice to follow the maiden speech by the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows). I wish her all the best in the Parliament. We all bring different attributes and experiences here, and she was very down-to-earth in describing herself as a mother, a teacher and a bookkeeper. All those attributes will be very useful here in Parliament. She also said that she very much wants to represent her constituents and, irrespective of our political party, that is something that we really value. Our constituents will definitely hold us to account when it comes to the next election. I welcome the hon. Lady and hope she enjoys her time here. I will not go into great detail on some of her political points, because it was her maiden speech, but I congratulate her.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this recess debate. We have just heard from a Scottish Member, but if we look at the south-west we see that the borders of Tewkesbury are three miles closer to the Scottish border than they are to Land’s End. That shows how big the south-west is, and how necessary it is for infrastructure to get there. We often talk about rail being electrified to Bristol, but it needs to be electrified all the way to Cornwall, because there is a lot of west country in between. The Government are focusing on getting the infrastructure right, but we need to do more because that helps our constituents and businesses—generally, it creates the economy that we all want.

The A303 being dualled from Stonehenge to Ilminster, along the A358 to the M5, is right, but there is a stretch between Ilminster and Honiton that needs serious improvement. I really want to see proposals from the Government to make sure that we do that. We have agreement from the area of outstanding natural beauty that the road can be built, and we need to get to grips with that.

On broadband, we need to ensure greater competition. BT is a great company, but it has almost a monopoly when it comes to rolling out broadband. In some areas, it moves in, delivers broadband to a few properties and then the rest of the properties are missed out, which makes it difficult for other companies to come in to provide it. I would love to see Ministers come forward with a voucher system, especially in the areas that are hardest to reach. If we cannot get connected through BT, let us get it through wireless, as we are deciding to do in Exmoor and Dartmoor. We have got to get our constituents broadband—not only individual constituents and residents, but businesses. It is very much part of the infrastructure that we require, and I look forward to it being delivered throughout Devon and Somerset and beyond, but we need greater competition so that BT does not dictate to us exactly what we should have.

My final point, as I promised to be brief, is that I have been very fortunate to be elected Chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. We are very keen to start looking into what is happening with the single farm payment, making sure it is delivered on time; and to ensure that TB is eradicated from this country, with the necessary measures taken not only in testing cattle, but in making sure that wildlife is clear of the disease as well. There is much to do in the farming world, because prices are poor, and we need to help with that. We also need to look at flooding, and at having more internal drainage boards so that more local people and more local knowledge can be used to deliver a much better drainage system at a much more competitive price. So, there is much to do, but we are more than up to doing it.

Christmas Adjournment

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Mr Amess) for securing the debate. He is always the expert in delivering so many constituency cases and I congratulate him on that. I want to cover a number of constituency cases—perhaps not as expertly as my hon. Friend, but I will do my very best.

First, I very much welcome the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport on the £2 billion to deal with the bottleneck on the A30/A303, which goes through my constituency.

Broadband in rural areas is extremely necessary. I have worked with all Members for Devon and Somerset from both sides of the House to secure funding for rural broadband. Devon and Somerset county councils have put money in, along with Broadband Delivery UK, to deliver rural broadband across the two counties. The very nature of the contract let to BDUK states clearly that broadband should get to the hardest-hit areas. Of course, what happens when the contract starts is that BDUK picks the easiest cherries on the tree and gets to the areas that are not quite so hard to hit. However, there are delays and delays in bringing rural broadband to areas around the Blackdowns, such as Upottery, Smeatharpe and over on the other side towards Seaton and Rousdon. We even had the chief executive of BDUK, in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, saying that it could be 2020 before some of those villages are reached. BDUK has come out with wonderful statistics stating that there is 95% broadband coverage across the country. The only problem is that nearly 95% of parts of my constituency do not have broadband. I suggested to the BDUK chief executive that it would not be wise for him to make that statement in some of my rural villages, because 95% of the people there do not have broadband.

BDUK has begun, very late in the day, to look at alternatives to the large junction boxes or cabinets with fibre-optic cables. There are ways to introduce smaller cabinets on telegraph poles and the like. It is now beginning to pilot those schemes, but it is time for it to up its game and get broadband out to those hard-hit rural areas. I am looking forward. I welcome the support, with Government, council and public money, but it is time that broadband was delivered. I would love the Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, to deal with this, because pressure needs to be put on BDUK on delivery.

In my constituency, there is a group of volunteers called the Devon Freewheelers who deliver blood and body parts for transplant to hospitals. They have police-type bikes, are fully trained and deliver across the county of Devon, into Cornwall and beyond. The service they provide is run entirely through charity. No help has been given to it by the NHS or the local NHS trust, even though it now has a contract with the NHS in Devon for deliveries. It is time that we looked across our Departments in Government to see if we can find ways to support these great people, who have put in a huge amount of effort. One can imagine the tremendous amount of money it would cost if the NHS in Devon, Cornwall and beyond had to pay for the service.

My constituent John Panvert of Steart Farm in Stoodleigh, Tiverton, bought a farm with a commercial stables with a large gallop area, many stables and an indoor horse-walking area. When he bought the property, business rates were being paid on it. He did not challenge immediately the fact that he carried on paying business rates, even though he now uses the stables domestically, so he now has a huge amount of business rates to pay. I have been to the property twice and seen that three stables are used for his wife’s horses, but for no other purpose. Even though we have challenged the valuation office about that, it is about to hire a barrister and take him to court to get him to pay the business rates. I think that is an abuse of power by those in authority.

My last point is about the huge problems facing dairy farmers in my constituency and across the country. The price of milk is falling to 24p and below, but the cost of production is at least 30p. Farmers need support. I urge the Government, when procuring milk and other dairy products, to look for British products. I would also like the Government to look at how we promote milk. I am a great believer—I declare an interest as a former dairy farmer—in milk being a wholesome product that is very good for us. Over the years it has been downgraded, with people always talking about the fat it contains, but not the protein and all the other good constituents. We should go out and promote milk, using the resources of Dairy UK and others. The Government must stand up for a great farming industry that is not only looking after and feeding people, but delivering the great countryside that we all love to visit.

Finally, I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all in the House for looking after us so well and wish everyone a thoroughly happy Christmas.

Business of the House

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 11th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I can see the case for such a debate. As the hon. Gentleman said, we live in an age in which we are extremely concerned about child protection. An important conference is taking place on that this week, and the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced further initiatives to protect children from abuse. The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point, and I am sure he will make the case either for an Adjournment debate or for the Backbench Business Committee to table a motion on that issue.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Recently I picked up a card in the restaurant for vegan month, and we have also had vegetarian week. The Leader of the House is a great believer in fair play, so given that excellent beef and lamb is produced on grass throughout the country, which helps to keep our green and pleasant land the way it is, could we have a red meat month so that we can eat red meat sustainably?

[Mr Hague]

Every month is red meat month as far as I am concerned, and I always think it does me a lot of good. My hon. Friend makes a good case. We have a wonderful industry in this country, including an excellent beef farming sector, and its success is important to agriculture and the country’s overall prosperity. I will always do my best to promote its success, but whether we can institute a red meat month will be a matter for wider discussion among the House authorities.

Business of the House

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

There is a great deal of continuing work to do in Afghanistan. The Prime Minister has not said that it is “mission accomplished” in the sense of everything being perfect in Afghanistan—he has absolutely not argued that. He has of course thanked the troops for the excellent work they have done and for the many things that have been achieved, particularly in southern Afghanistan. I hope that there will be further opportunities for the House to discuss these matters, for example during Defence questions next Monday. I know that the Defence Secretary will want to address these issues. We have been waiting a long time for the report of the Chilcot inquiry on Iraq. Of course, we have to learn from all the conflicts we have been engaged in.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on oil prices? Crude oil prices have dropped by 30%, but the price of heating oil has not come down by the same degree, and neither has the price of diesel or petrol. Many of my constituents live in hard-to-heat houses and have oil-fired heating, and we really need to get them the benefit of lower prices on oil.

[Mr Hague]

It is very important that price reductions are passed on to consumers. My hon. Friend is right—there has been a dramatic drop in the price of crude oil. The Government have already made representations to ensure, for example, that price reductions in petrol occur at filling stations. It is also important that oil for domestic heating purposes is reduced in price. I will remind my colleagues in the Treasury of the point that he has made.

Summer Adjournment

Neil Parish Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to speak in this debate. I add my support for the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Dr Lee), who raised the issue of the plane being shot down over Ukraine and the problems that has caused, with all those people, from the Netherlands in particular but also from this country, being killed. We must send a message that that must not happen again and we must do much more about it, so I endorse his comments.

I want to refer first to the A303/A30. As we leave here for our recess, many people from all over the country will be moving down to the west country for the holidays. If they come from Birmingham, they will come down the M5 all the way to Exeter and will then get on the A30 down into Devon and Cornwall. That is great, but then we have all the traffic that comes from London. We want to see as many visitors as possible, because as my suntan shows—it has all come from Devon, not from foreign parts—we have wonderful weather. Everybody is most welcome. However, as visitors come from London, they come down the M4 and must also join the M5, so when the Birmingham traffic meets the London traffic there is absolute chaos. As you represent one of the Bristol seats, Madam Deputy Speaker, you will know that.

I am delighted that we will have a statement in the autumn, all being well, from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury giving money towards dualling the A303/A30, because it is essential that we have a second route in the west country. The traffic from London would then go down the M3, pick up the A303 and go on into Devon and Cornwall through Somerset and Wiltshire, and we would split the traffic between the midlands and London. At the moment, when the M5 or M4 is blocked, there is absolute chaos and hours and hours of traffic jam. The whole length of the A303/A30 needs to be dualled. There are five sections that need doing. The first is in Wiltshire at Stonehenge. It is extremely expensive because the powers that be seem to believe that we need a tunnel. I will not comment on the merits of that one way or the other, but it is expensive. The end that I represent, going into the Blackdown hills, is also expensive. I do not want to see the Government go shooting down the A303 and then shoot off on the A358 up to Taunton, because that road should be complementary. I am happy to have the A358 dualled, but we need the A303/A30 dualled all the way into Honiton to provide that second arterial route into the west country. Otherwise, if people join at Taunton, everything will be mixed back up on to the M5 and there will be complete chaos. That is why it is essential to dual the A303/A30. We can find a way to dual the route through the Blackdown hills without damaging the environment; we just have to be imaginative and make sure that we do it.

I welcomed the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill), to my constituency. He drove the route with me to see where the problems are, and I look forward to the Government doing something about it in the very near future.

As we move into the 21st century, the one thing that matters to most, if not all, our constituents is access to fast broadband. Some of my constituents cannot even get snail’s pace broadband, let alone anything that is fast. There are huge problems even now in getting broadband into the Blackdown hills area, and places such as Upottery. I have an awful lot of farmers in my constituency who want to claim their single farm payments online. It is almost impossible to get access in some areas, so we really need to do something about it. I welcome what the Government have done already. Devon and Somerset county councils, along with BT, have put more than £100 million into delivering broadband, and Government money has been put in too. We have to make sure that it happens.

We have had a problem in the past—I think it is getting better—in that BT seemed a little secretive about where it was going next. It is all very well to be secretive about these matters, but of course people on the ground see the BT vans turn up and have a rough idea who is going to be connected and who is not, even if it does not appear on a BT map. That is where I hope that we are learning the lessons. I look forward to having broadband throughout the constituency. Unfortunately, a lot of spots are hard to reach. We are raising money in Devon and Somerset to deal with that, but Government money is necessary. It could be done by BT, or perhaps there could be some competition from other companies to deliver broadband to the hardest-to-reach areas. A little more competition might be a good thing. I have worked with the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), on broadband.

My constituency also has a lot of beef cattle and a lot of sheep. Recently we have seen the price of beef drop significantly, as has the price that farmers receive from cattle. One of the most worrying things is that a year ago 57% of the value of a beef animal went directly to the farmer, whereas now it is 53%. The processors, retailers or whoever are taking too much money out of the market. It is expensive to raise beef cattle, and not only are the cattle very good to eat but they look after the wonderful countryside that everyone is going to drive down the A303 to see. We look forward to people eating those animals when they get there, but we need to make sure that farmers get a decent price for them so that they can carry on producing this excellent meat.

When you come to Devon, you can also have some great lamb, Madam Deputy Speaker, if that is what you like to eat. I am not sure whether you do, but if you do you are most welcome to come to Devon and eat some of it. Again, it is a case of making sure that the farmers who produce that food get a fair market price because they are the ones who look after the countryside.

I have been delighted, Madam Deputy Speaker, to be able to speak in this pre-recess debate. I look forward to coming back in September. In the meantime, I say to you, the Speaker’s Office and all the staff of Parliament, thank you very much for looking after us so well, and we look forward to returning in the future.

Business of the House

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman has made an important point, with which I completely agree. I cannot promise a debate immediately, but there were debates to mark Holocaust memorial day earlier in the year, and I hope that the House will continue to have opportunities to convey its abhorrence of racism and our determination to tackle it wherever we see it raise its ugly head.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Russia has abused the sovereignty of Ukraine by marching into Crimea. Is there any chance of an urgent debate on the matter next week?

[Mr Lansley]

As I said to the shadow Leader of the House, it is evident from the number of questions asked by Members in response to the Foreign Secretary’s statement on Tuesday that, in due course, there will be good reason for many of those Members to have an opportunity to make a somewhat longer contribution in a debate. I cannot promise such a debate next week, because Government legislation will be debated on three days out of four and the Backbench Business Committee will be using its slot on Thursday, but my colleagues and I will think about when it might be best for one to take place.

Christmas Adjournment

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

It is good to follow the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell). He made a powerful case about ensuring proper consultation on HS2 and the new runways at Heathrow, and I understand his concerns. Perhaps the issue does not cause me quite so much concern representing Tiverton and Honiton down in Devon, but I can see his concern and that of his constituents.

I want to raise a particularly difficult case that concerns the struggle of one of my constituents to obtain compensation for serious trauma caused to him back in the ’80s. I will give a brief background to the case. My constituent was living on an Army base in Cyprus in the late ’80s with his father, a GCHQ employee. My constituent experienced serious sexual abuse at the base from the age of 12 to 17 from a paedophile gang of military personnel from both the UK and the United Nations.

My constituent is seeking compensation for the serious damage caused to him while living on that Army camp in Cyprus, but I understand that he is not eligible for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Overseas) Scheme because his father was not military personnel, even though he was attached to the Cyprus base. There is a UK national Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, but my constituent is excluded from that because the offences took place outside the United Kingdom. There is also a Europe-wide scheme, but again my constituent is excluded by reason of the offences taking place prior to the implementation of that scheme. My constituent is excluded from other possible avenues for compensation. He is at present without a remedy for the grievous harm he has suffered. I understand that GCHQ comes under the jurisdiction of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, so it might be thought reasonable for it to implement a matching scheme to provide compensation for those in my constituent’s position, or, alternatively, to offer a one-off compensation award under the same principles as the overseas scheme.

I have met Ministers and military police. I think and hope that in 2013 the case has been dealt with much more sympathetically and in a much better manner. The military police dealt with my constituent’s case in a very high-handed and ineffective way, and I want very much for him to have closure in this matter. We need to find some form of compensation, whatever it is, just to say that somebody has owned up to the fact that it was not dealt with properly, and that the abuse he sustained all those years ago still affects him now. I have met him several times. I do not know whether the Deputy Leader of the House can help in any way, but I seek help from him because this is a very serious matter.

Moving on to other constituency matters, I would like to talk about the A30/A303. I hear in this House huge problems for the Government in trying to get HS2 going and the trouble with Heathrow airport. I assure the Government that they would have much less trouble dualling the A30/A303.

[John McDonnell]

I don’t suppose the hon. Gentleman would like a runway, would he?

[Neil Parish]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the idea that we could have a runway for Heathrow, but I think we are about 180 miles away. That is a long way away, but I understand his sentiments.

Returning to the A30/A303, from Exeter to Honiton the A30 is all dualled. It then goes from Honiton to the Somerset border, where it is not dualled. As it gets towards the Somerset border it splits off, with one part going on to Yeovil and the A30 carries on and goes into the A303. I want to see this part dualled in particular, and not just because it is in my constituency. Believe it or not, I am not just making a plea for my constituency, because it then travels up through Somerset and into Wiltshire. Of course, it passes by some rather interesting stones—I think they are called Stonehenge. How to pass them—whether we should build a tunnel and so on—has always been a thorny problem.

I think that, in all, nine sections of the A30/A303 need to be dualled. As a Government, we need to start picking up and running with these individual schemes. The greater the amount of dual carriageway on the road, the more we will have a second arterial route into the west country. Devon and Cornwall in particular, and Somerset too, rely a lot on tourism. Our businesses are hugely affected by the speed of travel. If the M5 is blocked, there is just carnage because traffic cannot get through.

[Mr Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con)]

I was not expecting to intervene, but as my mother-in-law lives along the A303—not that I necessarily want to rush to get to my mother-in-law’s—I know the road has congestion points that create huge tailbacks, particularly leading back from Stonehenge towards London. I sympathise with my hon. Friend, and I am, of course, very much looking forward to seeing my mother-in-law on Boxing day.

[Neil Parish]

I thank my hon. Friend for his comment. On this occasion, it being Christmas, I am sure he will be delighted to see his mother-in-law. To be serious, he is absolutely right. Travelling the A30 down into Cornwall, one finds large tailbacks on every long stretch of non-dualled road, but on short non-dualled roads, there is always much less of a tailback. I hope we will get a dual carriageway, tunnel or something past Stonehenge, but if not, at least a lot more dualling on the road would speed up the process. The other day, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced a pipeline of funding, so I asked him to turn on the tap. I am looking forward to the tap being turned on and that road being built.

On a third constituency matter, Feniton is a village on the outskirts of Honiton that was flooded many times last year and which has been under threat this year, yet several planning applications have been made for 200 homes in the village. These proposed homes have been refused by the district and parish councils, and the local population oppose them hugely because the infrastructure is not there. These homes will create more surface run-off and cause more flooding. I want the Planning Inspectorate to consider that point. I understand that the planning Minister is issuing guidance to planning inspectors to ensure that the infrastructure of a village or town is taken into consideration when appeal decisions are being looked at. It is imperative that this matter be treated in that way, because Feniton could be swamped by these homes and the infrastructure—the roads, the sewerage system and the schools—would be overloaded.

On a general point about flooding throughout my constituency, we are on an alert even as we speak. We must learn the lessons of flooding. No, we cannot stop it raining, and no we cannot stop flooding, but we can ensure that our rivers and tributaries are dredged and we can enable more local management of waterways so that the people who know exactly when the rivers are too high, when sluices need to be opened and when drainage points are blocked can do that work. The result would be a lot less flooding. It is good that the Government are negotiating Flood Re with the insurance companies. That means that my constituents should be able to get insurance at a reasonable cost. I also want to emphasise the fact that sometimes the Environment Agency’s flood-prevention schemes can be very expensive, but local people could help bring that about and do a lot of self-help.

On a final issue, we are about to agree yet another reform of the common agricultural policy. Under the new settlement, money will be taken for so-called capping or modulation, although we do not know whether it will be 9%, 12% or 15%; we are waiting for the Government to say exactly how much. I make this plea: we must make good use of the money we take from farmers and put in place good environmental schemes that will help not only agriculture, but the environment, grasslands and hills, such as those in Devon.

[Mr Newmark]

I thank my hon. Friend for allowing me another bite at the cherry.

Last Friday, I met my local farmers, and they raised with me a good question about the modulation that my hon. Friend could put to the Secretary of State or Ministers. According to many farmers, 15% is an extraordinarily high figure, and some justification for why it is not 9% or 9.5%, as in other EU countries, would be useful.

[Neil Parish]

I had better be quick because, Madam Deputy Speaker, you are looking me very sternly.

Yes, 15% is very high. We must use this modulated money to put in place environmental schemes that are necessary. We must not take money from farmers unless we know exactly what we are going to do with it. In the end, the family farms in Devon and across the country are important, not only to farming, but to the countryside itself.

I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and Mr Deputy Speaker a happy Christmas. I also thank all the staff throughout this building for their good work this year and wish them a happy Christmas.

Summer Adjournment

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to be the last speaker in this debate.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) on taking on the mantle of my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Mr Amess) in trying to refer to the most constituents in the shortest time. I echo his concerns about dangerous dogs. We are doing a lot of work on that. Microchipping and other compulsory measures will help. People who have a legitimate right to go into a home, be they a postman, a midwife or a social worker, should not be bitten by a dog, especially a dog that is known to be dangerous. I want to pursue that matter. I have great sympathy for the postman who was bitten in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley, as I do for the thousands who are bitten every year.

I will raise one or two serious matters from my constituency. The first relates to the A35, which runs through my constituency, including through Axminster, and on to the Dorset border. Recently, there have been a couple of fatal accidents on the A35 at the Hunters Lodge junction at Raymond’s Hill. In the first collision, a 60-year-old man from Plymouth died and two other people were injured. The second crash claimed the life of 82-year-old Pamela Manning from Harrow and her two elderly companions in the car were taken to hospital.

I have met the Highways Agency, Axminster town council and Uplyme parish council to discuss how we can improve the Hunters Lodge junction. Something must be done. Although there have been many accidents at the junction, the Highways Agency said at the meeting that there had been no fatalities. Unfortunately, they have now occurred, so it is essential that something is done, and I shall be working with my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr Letwin) on this issue.

The A303/A30 was mentioned in the financial statement. It should be dualled all the way from Honiton, right the way through those interesting stones in Wiltshire called Stonehenge, to London, so that we have a second arterial route into the west country, and to Devon and Cornwall in particular. Tourism is one of our great industries. Those who run businesses in the west country find that when the M5 is blocked, the A303/A30 is almost impassable. I look forward to its being dualled.

I would like to talk about health funding for primary care. The current age profile in Honiton and Axminster—to take two towns I represent—is estimated to be reflected nationally by 2035. The population is getting older. The doctors in Axminster say that the number of people calling them for advice has gone up from 6,000 to 18,000 in a year, and there are similar figures for Honiton. Health funding will have to recognise this trend. People breathe in the good clean air in Devon and live for a long time. I am pleased with that, but people will need to be treated more as they get older and that has to be recognised.

As we bask in the sunshine, we must remember that a year ago we were all under water. There were floods in Axminster, Uplyme, Seaton, Cullompton and Tiverton—all over my constituency—and many were caused by the blocking of rivers and tributaries. At the time, the Environment Agency said that it had so much to do just to help people who were already flooded that they could not do a great deal to manage the waterways, by dredging them and clearing blockages. Now is the time to do it: there is never a better time than when it is dry. What we do not want to do is just bask in this great sunshine. I welcome this great sunshine and I am glad that the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) congratulated the Government on providing it, even though I know he was only teasing.

[Mr Barron]

The sunshine is the only thing the Government have accepted responsibility for since 2010.

[Neil Parish]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention, even if I am not sure that I entirely agree with him. I think will keep it fairly light-hearted at this stage of the proceedings.

We need to remember that flooding took place. We need proper dredging of our rivers. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is keen on it. Now is the time to do it.

I have mentioned Mrs Ethelston’s school in Uplyme previously. We need a new school in the village and we are trying to put together a funding package locally. Government support is needed to make that happen. It is a very successful school with very high grades and it will be a great asset to the whole area, not just Uplyme.

My constituency runs from Exmoor down through the Blackdown hills, so I have a number of farmers in my constituency. They are concerned about yet another reform to the common agricultural policy. It seems that yet more bureaucracy will be heaped on them, rather than less. There is no level playing field: payments between them and those on the continent, or even between them and farmers from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are all different. If we are to make a single market in food and agricultural products work, we need to pay farmers at a similar level. My argument over the years has been that we should either pay at a similar level or not pay at all, because otherwise we will distort everything.

We have had to negotiate a tough package in Europe. As a Conservative and part of the governing party, I cannot expect to go cap in hand to the Treasury for huge handouts over and above what the CAP provides. Therefore, I would ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to look sympathetically at how we deliver environmental schemes and payments to farmers in a way that maintains the countryside—the beautiful grassland and hills in my constituency, which people come to visit from all over the place, including down from London and even the north of England.

People visit Devon, Cornwall and much of the west country because of their landscapes and the way they are managed. Who manages them? It is very much the farmers who manage them, and if we lose them, we will lose those landscapes. I look forward to a sympathetic reform and to trying to break the bureaucracy of the system. I rather fear that some of what comes from Europe will be somewhat bureaucratic, but let us hope we can make the best of it, because I am a great believer in good, traditional food that is well produced under high welfare standards, which is what our farmers deliver in this country.

Finally, may I wish you a very good recess, Mr Deputy Speaker? I am sure that, like my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley, you will be busy in your constituency, as will I and most Members of this House.

Business of the House

Neil Parish Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

Health questions will take place on the next sitting Tuesday. On public procurement and the need to audit public money, the Freedom of Information Act cannot at present reach wherever public money goes, but the transparency requirements set out in contracts enable there to be absolute clarity about the propriety and purposes of public funds used in procurement.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on food labelling for processed food? The horse scandal has shown that the labels on processed food throw mystery on where that food comes from, rather than provide enlightenment. We have an opportunity to get something positive from this scandal, by making sure that people recognise where their food comes from.

[Mr Lansley]

I understand the point my hon. Friend makes, and he will have heard the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath), who has responsibility for food and farming, say precisely that. The Minister agrees that we must make sure food labelling delivers to consumers the information they need. As I know from my experience, we are making good progress in respect of the nutritional content of food and helping people to construct a good diet, but the provenance, origin and composition of foods must also be made very clear. My ministerial colleagues have reported to the House on that, and I know they will find further opportunities to do so.