Oral Answers to Questions

Owen Paterson Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

3. What recent discussions he has had on flooding.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

First, I offer my condolences to those who lost family and friends in the recent floods, and my sympathies to those whose lives have been disrupted.

I have had many discussions recently on flooding. On 23 November, I met representatives from all the public services in Northampton to discuss their experiences. Last week, I visited Exeter and Kennford to talk about flooding with local communities there. My ministerial colleagues, my officials and I are also in regular contact with our counterparts in other Departments and agencies on flooding issues.

[Bill Esterson]

I associate myself with the Secretary of State’s remarks about those who suffered in the recent floods. Given the misery caused by flooding to many people throughout the country, does he agree that we should do everything we can to prevent building on land that floods? Will he remind the planning Minister that his comments about building on the countryside have caused great concern among those facing the risk of flooding?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments about those who have suffered so much in the recent floods.

The recent national planning policy framework is absolutely clear. It seeks to ensure that development is located away from flood risk wherever possible; that the development that is needed in flood-risk areas is safe and resilient; that flood risk is assessed so it can be avoided and managed; and that opportunities offered by new development are used to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

The Secretary of State’s hon. Friend, the Under-Secretary of State, will have seen the heart-wrenching devastation caused by terrible flooding last weekend in the town of Malmesbury in my constituency. They were not new houses on flood plains; 500-year-old cottages on the verge of the river were particularly badly affected. The people there are badly affected by the fact that they cannot get contents insurance. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to enter into negotiations with the Association of British Insurers to reach a solution that will allow everyone, whether in flood-affected areas or not, to insure the contents of their houses?

[Mr Paterson]

I wholeheartedly concur with my hon. Friend’s comments about the real difficulties faced in Malmesbury, which was visited by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State.

The first meeting I had outside the office was with the ABI in September, and we have been working closely in recent weeks. We are involved in detailed negotiations, as the statement of principles was always going to come to an end in 2013. We want to achieve a better system of insurance that is as comprehensive as possible, provides affordability, and is not a huge burden on the taxpayer. Those detailed negotiations are continuing. The ball is in the ABI’s court and we look forward to hearing from it shortly.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

13. The floods in the past few weeks have highlighted the importance of affordable home insurance for home owners in constituencies such as Easington, Wansbeck, and across the north-east and the whole country. We were promised a deal on flood insurance by July this year. We heard from the Prime Minister that Oliver Letwin is in charge of the negotiations. Will the Secretary of State tell us why this policy has been so badly delayed? Will he clarify the position to the House?

[Grahame M. Morris]

I apologise.

[Mr Paterson]

I remind the hon. Gentleman that the statement of principles was always going to run out in 2013. That was confirmed in 2008, and we inherited absolutely nothing from his Government. We have been working closely with the ABI. We are in detailed negotiations and I totally agree with him that we want to achieve a system that is affordable and as comprehensive as possible, and which is not a burden on the taxpayer. We are working towards that. These are detailed negotiations, but I cannot conduct them in public or on the Floor of the House of Commons.

[Mr Speaker]

Tessa Munt.

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[Mr Paterson]

I enjoyed my visit to Exeter and I pay tribute to everyone who pulled together—councils, public services, the Environment Agency and all those who managed to repair the railway line. I saw where it had been breached and they got the line working the day after I was there. I hope it reassures my hon. Friend to hear that the first phone call I made on leaving Exeter was to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport who had already been on the case to ensure that the vital rail link was restored. I totally endorse my hon. Friend’s point about transport links and flooding.

[Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)]

I echo the condolences of the Secretary of State to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the floods.

Last week, there was an announcement of a new £120 million U-turn on flood defence spending. However, even after that announcement, the Government will still spend less on flood defences in 2013 than Labour spent in 2008. Just 30% of that money will be spent next year because the Environment Agency no longer has the staff capacity to get the money out of the door. It is difficult to decide which is more incompetent: cutting the budget too far in the first place or, when they change their mind, not having the capacity to get the money out of the door and to the communities that need it.

[Mr Paterson]

I love the way the hon. Lady always looks for the downside in a story—her ingenuity is tremendous. The fact is that on 11 September, within a week of coming in, I met the chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith. We saw a great scheme, which, in fairness, her Government launched in Nottingham. I asked him to come forward with proposals for future flood schemes, as the benefits in Nottingham were clear—not just 16,000 houses protected by the £45 million scheme, but the 500 acres freed up for development, which had previously been blighted. He wrote to me, quickly, on 26 September, and I am happy to give the hon. Lady the letter. We have put what he asked for into practice, to the letter: another £120 million, which will be of great benefit and save a further 60,000 houses from flooding.

[Mr Speaker]

I appeal to colleagues to speed up the exchanges. We have a lot to get through, and questions and answers are too long.

[Mary Creagh]

Of course, it is great to build flood defences, but it is just as important to maintain the ones we already have and to keep our rivers clear. Yesterday, however, the Chancellor announced that a further £60 million would be cut from DEFRA’s budget, so can the Secretary of State guarantee that no further cuts will fall on the Environment Agency’s river-dredging and maintenance budget, which is already set to fall from £108 million in 2010 to just £60 million in 2015?

[Mr Paterson]

As the hon. Lady knows, we inherited a hideous mess from her Government and are taking time to put it right in a very difficult world environment. I have to go back to my early reading, when I came into the House, of “Erskine May”, but she must stick to the truth on these issues. In total, with all the agencies involved, the Government will spend more over the four-year term than the Labour Government spent over their last four-year spending round.

[Mr Speaker]

I know that the Secretary of State was not suggesting that the hon. Lady would knowingly tell an untruth. He would not suggest that, I am sure, because he would be in breach of the conventions of the House if he were to do so. Will he confirm that he was not suggesting that she would knowingly tell an untruth?

[Mr Paterson]

I am trying to correct statements made—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. I think we will take that as a no. He is not suggesting anything of the sort, but simply seeking to put his own position on the record, for which we are grateful.

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[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effect of partnership funding on the provision of flood defences.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

Partnership funding is enabling more flood and coastal schemes to go ahead and giving local people more choice in how their community is protected. The approach has brought forward £72 million of external funding so far. This is likely to increase further, compared with the £13 million during the previous period. Early indications suggest that up to a third more schemes will go ahead in the coming years than if the previous funding system had remained.

[Graham Evans]

Has the Department been liaising with insurance companies to help individuals affected by the most recent floods, such as the businesses that were affected in Northwich?

[Mr Paterson]

I enjoyed my visit to Northwich and pay tribute to all who have worked so hard to put the town straight after a difficult time in the floods. We are working with a range of agencies, including the insurance industry, to ensure that floods cause as little disruption to people’s lives as possible.

[Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab)]

In a press statement issued earlier this year outlining the £120 million of additional funding that would be made available for flood defence work, the Secretary of State mentioned Derby. Some 2,000 households in Chester Green and Darley Abbey are at risk of flooding. The city council has an excellent scheme of flood defence works. Can he outline the percentage that would be expected from the city council to get those works under way?

[Mr Paterson]

We are working on the details of the extra money as we speak, but the hon. Gentleman might be pleased to note that Derby was mentioned in the letter that Lord Smith wrote to me on 26 September. I would strongly urge the hon. Gentleman to get involved in the negotiations and push for his town.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that super-dairies do not have a detrimental effect on animal welfare and traditional British farming.

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[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

10. What representations he has received on his Department’s response to the recent floods; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her letter on behalf of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, making representations on my Department’s flood response. I will reply in due course. During my visits to Northampton, Exeter and Kennford, I have also had a number of useful representations from the people affected, emergency services and local councillors.

[Miss McIntosh]

I am grateful for that reply. A ministerial visit to North Yorkshire would be most welcome. We have experienced flooding for the second time since September. I would like to join the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) in what she said about drains. What has been a feature since 2007 is surface water flooding—clean water mixing with foul water, coming into people’s homes. The SUDS—sustainable urban draining systems—regulations need to be adopted as a matter of urgency, as 2014 is simply unacceptable. I think the British public expect DEFRA to act as a matter of urgency.

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. The Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon) visited York recently, and we fully take on board how people have been affected. The question of getting water away is very relevant, and the Environment Agency is quite clear that drainage channels have to be kept free for flow, but for the real emergencies such as those we have had, the priority has to be protection of life and serious damage to property. The question of the SUDS regulations is complicated, which is why we are intending to bring them in in 2014. I am happy to discuss that with my hon. Friend outside the Chamber.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

One of the most pressing and important long-term responses to the challenge of flooding is the protection of those 200,000 home owners who will be left without insurance, leaving their homes unmortgageable and unsellable, if the Minister cannot get a deal. The Association of British Insurers has described discussions on flood insurance as “stalled”. Will the right hon. Gentleman be able to lay out calmly what he believes is the last acceptable date for a deal?

[Mr Paterson]

I would like to reassure the shadow Minister that the talks are not stalled. We have had detailed discussions on a regular basis with the ABI—before I came into office in September and since. I am not going to put a date on it, because we want to get to a system that improves on the current statement of principles. To repeat what I said earlier, we want something that is affordable and as comprehensive as possible but which is not a burden on the taxpayer. We intend to carry on these detailed negotiations, but I cannot conduct them in public.

[Mr Speaker]

May I remind the House that topical questions and answers to them should be brief? Perhaps we can do better in this part of the proceedings than we did in the first part.

[Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Owen Paterson)]

DEFRA is doing everything to seek to boost growth in the rural economy, improve the environment and safeguard the health of our plants and animals. I have this morning published our interim control plan for Chalara and the interim report of the expert taskforce on tree health and plant biosecurity, copies of which can be found in the Library. Our recent focus has, of course, been on the floods and the efforts to protect people’s lives, homes and businesses. I would like to place on record my condolences to those who have lost loved ones and my praise for the response of the emergency services, Government agencies and local authorities.

[Stephen Barclay]

Given the challenging weather conditions experienced by farmers this year and the shocking performance of the Rural Payments Agency under the last Government, can my right hon. Friend reassure me that there will be no unnecessary delays regarding single farm payments?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the chance to put straight the current record. He is right that the performance of the RPA was a real failure in previous years. As of 4 December, however, 96,037 customers with claims or 92.3% had been paid £1.4 billion. That is comfortably the RPA’s best ever performance and we will see it deliver its December payment targets by the end of this week, providing certainty to farmers at a very difficult time.

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[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

T3. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodland Trust, known as Coed Cadw in Wales. As the Minister will know, over those 40 years some 16 million trees have been planted, but they are now facing a real challenge in the form of ash dieback. What steps is the Minister taking to work with the trust to overcome the problem?

[Mr Paterson]

I pay tribute to the Woodland Trust and its work, and to its 400,000 members, some of whom I enjoyed meeting at a reception in the House a couple of weeks ago. Today I am publishing an interim plan for controlling Chalara fraxinea, the pathogen that causes ash dieback, which sets out actions to build on existing participation in the process of identifying threats to tree health. That includes the provision of funds for a pilot project to develop a tree health early-warning system, involving volunteer groups such as the Woodland Trust, and the establishment of a “plant health network” of trained people to support official surveillance of Chalara and other pests. The Woodland Trust will play a very important role in that.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

T8. Will the Minister join me in congratulating the Shark Alliance on its successful campaign against shark finning, and on closing the loophole in the European Union shark-finning ban? Will the Government now work to secure a complete ban on shark finning? As a first step, will they focus on securing international trade safeguards for vulnerable shark and ray species under the convention on international trade in endangered species when its signatories next meet in March?

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

T4. I congratulate the Secretary of State on the work that he is doing in negotiating reforms of the common agricultural policy. Does he share my concern about potential delays owing to lack of agreement on the budget, and will he assure the House that farmers will have enough time to prepare for the next round of CAP reforms?

[Mr Paterson]

When I attended a meeting of the Agriculture Council last week, I made clear to my 26 colleagues that if we were not going to meet the 2014 deadline we should admit it now, and that all existing arrangements—such as the special arrangement on modulation—should continue until the settlement date, which may be 2015 or 2016.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

Unless every DEFRA Minister with a farm in his constituency is now disqualified from answering a farming question, will one of them now try to answer my question about the devastating impact of the Government’s proposed minimum alcohol price on the cider industry?

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State press the European Union harder to open its markets to developing countries, especially in relation to the common agricultural policy?

[Mr Paterson]

As my hon. Friend knows, I am in favour of free trade in all products, because opening up markets gives real opportunity to our own farmers who want to export in the other direction.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Despite new flood defences along the River Trent, which provided great reassurance during the recent floods, many of my constituents cannot obtain affordable insurance for their homes. I listened carefully to the Secretary of State’s earlier answer about the floods, but when will he be able to reassure those people that they will be able to secure insurance in the future?

[Mr Paterson]

I think I made it clear to the hon. Member for Luton South (Gavin Shuker) that we want to get this right, but I am not going to place an artificial deadline on it. All of us, including the hon. Lady’s party, knew that the current arrangements would end in 2013. I repeat that we want to improve on those arrangements, and that it does not help when people make out, in the middle of negotiations, that the talks are foundering or in trouble. We are working very closely with the insurers, and we intend to secure a good deal for those whose houses are at risk of flooding.

[Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

T5. The export of lamb and beef is a vital part of the Welsh agriculture industry. Is the Secretary of State making any progress in promoting British exports?

[Mr Paterson]

I recently visited China and Hong Kong, and celebrated a tremendous launch in Hong Kong of the exporting of beef on the bone. Last year we celebrated record food exports worth £18 billion, and thanks to the Prime Minister’s intervention, the beef export market has been opened up in Russia. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s Pembrokeshire neighbours at Trioni Ltd, who are looking forward to selling organic milk to the Chinese.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

What is more important to the Secretary of State: appeasing the Treasury or securing affordable, accessible flood-risk insurance for those 200,000 homes and businesses in flood-risk areas?

[Mr Paterson]

I would like to reassure the hon. Gentleman—this is about the fourth or fifth time during these questions—that we are looking for a good, long-term deal that gives reassurance to his constituents who are worried about flooding, that is as comprehensive as possible and that is satisfactory to the taxpayer. We are working extremely closely with colleagues in the Treasury and the Cabinet Office, and we will come to a better arrangement than his Government left behind.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

T6. Given the growing incidence of plant disease across the globe and the increasingly global nature of trade, what plans does the Minister have to address the long-term threat of disease to our plants and trees?