Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Spelman]

I am sure the hon. Lady does the household shopping in the same way that I do, and it is interesting that the hike in world food prices has not yet fully translated through into the cost of the grocery bill. This issue is a concern not only in the UK, but in other countries. It was also a concern to her Government during the last price hike in 2008. She should also be concerned about the farm-gate price of food: farming input costs are rising, making it extremely difficult for farmers to provide us with food at a reasonable price. That is one of the reasons why we made it a priority in our business plan to support British food and farming in a way that her Government did not.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. I call Simon Kirby. He is not here. I therefore call Yvonne Fovargue.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

19. What funding she has allocated over the period of the comprehensive spending review to reduce the level of illegal trade in animals and animal products.

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[Mrs Spelman]

The hon. Gentleman might have misunderstood what I said. There is a four-pronged approach to mainstreaming sustainable development, in which the Environmental Audit Committee might, I suggested, play the role of holding Secretaries of State to account in the way that Select Committees regularly do. Although the Select Committees are bodies of Parliament rather than Government, I have written to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee to ask whether some of the 700 auditors in the National Audit Office, which comes under her jurisdiction, might be released to help the Environmental Audit Committee in that role.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State.

[David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con)]

T6. Returning to my earlier question, will the Minister consider ensuring that the public sector buys only eggs that have been produced to EU standards when the new legislation banning battery cages has been implemented?

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[Mrs Spelman]

I can give the hon. Gentleman an assurance. I visited the Lake District national park last week as part of launching the uplands policy and the park authority expressed itself quite capable of making savings, which are pro rata across the Department because we have to repair the finances after what was left behind by his Government. I am therefore confident that it can protect the front line while making savings in the back office. That park, in conjunction with many national parks, is setting about doing that constructively.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Douglas Carswell. He is not here.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I met a number of Warwickshire dairy farmers last week and they told me that they are still receiving less for their milk from the supermarkets than it costs to produce. When the high cost of feed is added to that, it will either drive farmers away from producing milk or out of business altogether. What can the Secretary of State do to support our dairy farmers and protect UK food security?

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[Mrs Spelman]

I am delighted to be able to tell the House that DEFRA has instituted the green Ministers breakfast. Ministers from across the Government come to DEFRA once a month for this popular event. As you would expect, Mr Speaker, the Department of food and drink makes absolutely sure that they do not go hungry. The events have brought about the huge benefits of breaking down silos between Departments and putting in place a really joined-up approach to green issues and sustainable development right across the Government.

[Mr Speaker]

We are now much better informed and thank the Secretary of State.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

We saw this week that the Department has been slapped down a second time by the Prime Minister—this time over CAP payments. Does that explain why we still do not have a water White Paper?

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[Mrs Spelman]

I am happy to give my hon. Friend an absolute assurance that I will use all my best endeavours to ensure that we proceed swiftly. I pay tribute to his work on producing a Bill in this Parliament, which I hope will help to inform his colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. I know that the Deputy Leader of the House is anxious that we make good progress on the important Bill that my hon. Friend mentioned.

[Mr Speaker]

I thank colleagues for their co-operation which, not for the first time, has ensured that every question on the Order Paper has been reached and substantially more besides.