Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Thursday 22nd October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

The Government are in the final stages of negotiating a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier by removing trade barriers for British producers. An SPS agreement could increase the volume of UK exports of major primary agricultural commodities to the EU by around 16%. A regulatory impact assessment will be prepared as part of the normal process. Details are subject to ongoing negotiations, and we will not be providing a running commentary.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

England has become a world leader in gene editing and precision breeding. That has increased crop yields and eradicated diseases, and it helps to protect domestic, and potentially global, food security. But much of this technology is banned in the European Union, and dynamic alignment will mean that we cannot use it. What representations has the Minister made to the Cabinet Office and to Ministers in negotiations with the European Union to ensure that gene editing and our world-leading technologies are protected?

[Stephen Morgan]

I am committed to the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023. Details of the agreement are subject to negotiation, and the EU-UK “Common Understanding” sets out the agreement, which will include a short list of exceptions. I can confirm that the UK has been clear about the importance of being able to support the use of new and innovative technologies.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for the way in which he has been engaging with me already so that we can learn lessons from SFI26, and for convening colleagues in the process. Uplands are an area of priority for me. I am very impressed by the work Dr Hilary Cottam has been doing in Dartmoor. We are looking to deliver that scheme elsewhere in the country. It is absolutely something that I want to take forward with him and I look forward to doing so.

[Charlie Dewhirst]

The simple fact of the matter is that this scheme’s portal opened at 10 am and closed at 3.48 pm, at a time when most farmers are at work, and for agents representing farmers, that was simply enough time to fill in multiple applications. I have a very simple question to the Minister: will he apologise?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

We will respond in due course to those issues.

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for SEND.

Education

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Thursday 21st November 2024 Written Corrections

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

T6. The teachers and staff at Hornsea school and language college do a fantastic job for their 1,300 pupils, including 90 with SEND, but they do so in crumbling buildings with leaking roofs. With the news in last week’s Budget that this Government will continue the Conservative’s school rebuilding programme, will the Secretary of State prioritise Hornsea school?

[Stephen Morgan]

I note the hon. Member’s point on that specific college. As he will know, the Chancellor committed £1.4 billion at the Budget to drive the delivery of the current school rebuilding programme for next year. Over the coming weeks and months, we will work with trusts and local authorities to identify which schools will be in scope.

[Official Report, 4 November 2024; Vol. 756, c. 19.]

Written correction submitted by the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan):

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

T6. The teachers and staff at Hornsea school and language college do a fantastic job for their 1,300 pupils, including 90 with SEND, but they do so in crumbling buildings with leaking roofs. With the news in last week’s Budget that this Government will continue the Conservative’s school rebuilding programme, will the Secretary of State prioritise Hornsea school?

[Stephen Morgan]

I note the hon. Member’s point on that specific college. As he will know, the Chancellor committed £1.4 billion at the Budget to drive the delivery of the current school rebuilding programme for next year. Over the coming weeks and months, we will work with trusts and local authorities to identify which schools will be in scope.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Morgan and Charlie Dewhirst

Monday 9th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

I thank my hon. Friend for all her hard work while in opposition on these important issues. This Government see early education as more than just childcare; it is central to our mission to give every child the best start in life. We recognise the inherited workforce challenges, in both recruitment and retention. In the coming weeks and months, this Government will set out plans for reform, beginning with a complete reset with the sector, so that the workforce feel supported and valued.

[Charlie Dewhirst (Bridlington and The Wolds) (Con)]

T3. As was alluded to by my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), children with special educational needs and disabilities in some urban local authorities receive three times more funding than they do in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Will the Secretary of State or her Minister meet me and East Riding colleagues, so that we can secure a fairer future for our local children?