Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Streeter]

There is an onus on all of us to get the message to our constituents that anyone voting by post should ensure that they get their postal vote away in good time, especially if they are voting from overseas. All electoral registration officers can make an arrangement with the Royal Mail so that all postal votes in the sorting office on polling day are collected and taken to the returning officer. I think that it is important that all EROs enter into such arrangements.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

In 2012 the law was changed to allow returning officers to write to people whose postal votes were rejected because of signature or date of birth errors. Surely it would make sense to allow them to write to those whose postal votes were returned late to notify them and help ensure that they do not do it again.

[Mr Streeter]

That is an excellent suggestion. It is not currently done, but I will certainly take it back to the commission so that it can pass it on to returning officers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[George Eustice]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Before I became a Minister, I followed the issue closely from the Back Benches. We are doing two things. Later this year we will introduce community protection notices, which will introduce new powers, for instance to issue orders to require an owner to keep their dog on a lead, muzzle their dog or put postbox guards on their door. In extreme cases, there will be powers to insist on a dog being neutered. I also agree with the hon. Gentleman about responsible dog ownership. That is why we are clear that anybody who is breeding dogs for sale should have a licence.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

I recently attended a free Dogs Trust chipping event in Blacon in my constituency, and I noticed that a lot of people were unaware that it will be compulsory to have dogs chipped in England from 2016, and Wales from 2015. What is the Minister doing to ensure that dog owners are aware that that will be compulsory from 2016?

[George Eustice]

That is an important point and we must ensure that dog owners are aware of those proposals. We are working with veterinary practices across the country to ensure that they know about them and are passing the information on to dog owners. We will also run a communications exercise in the press to raise the issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. The matter he raises is of real concern to a number of Members who have written to me. We are taking what actions we can, but we are the Government of the UK, and he has to remember that.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

T8. Poaching in some parts of Africa is getting so bad that Tanzanian Minister Khamis Kagasheki has called for a shoot-to-kill policy to deal with poachers, following the loss of half of Tanzania’s elephants in the past three years. On current trends, it is estimated that the African elephant will be extinct in the wild by 2025. What action are the Government taking to tackle the illegal trade in endangered species?

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this shocking issue, on which he is absolutely right. The problem is even worse in respect of rhinoceroses; we lose one every 11 hours. So this Government are taking a world lead. We are calling a conference on 13 February next year, and we intend to co-ordinate world action—with western countries, with the countries where these animals live and with the countries where there is significant demand—before these iconic species become extinct.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 4th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely wrong. We have funded the wildlife crime unit, which does great work, both at home and abroad; we have been a leader in global forums on dealing with international crime—for example, we have co-funded Project Wisdom, through Interpol, to tackle the illegal trade in endangered species; we are involved in a variety of different operations in Africa and other range states to protect wildlife species; and the expertise we have at home is part of a fantastic partnership between the UK Border Agency, the police and various other agencies, which other countries come to look at.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

My hon. Friend will be aware of the key role that Chester zoo is playing in the “If They’re Gone” campaign, whereby it is leading on orangutans and it has orangutan month in August. Will he tell us about the key role the campaign is playing in promoting awareness in the UK?

[Richard Benyon]

The “If They’re Gone” campaign is one of the highlights of what this country is doing in giving leadership. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has launched the rhino part of the campaign, and the elephant part highlights the importance of making people aware of the risks that ivory poaching poses to that species. The next phase is the orangutan phase. The orangutan is an endangered species and this country is determined, through our footprint abroad and in terms of the palm oil we all use—making sure we are responsible at home and abroad—to protect that very special species.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Streeter]

It most certainly is considered. I do not want to prejudge the report, which will be published later this month, but it is well known that the Electoral Commission advised the Government in advance of its concerns about the lack of information about candidates going to voters. I very much hope that before the next police and crime commissioner elections, which are due in 2016, significant lessons will have been learned.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

One lesson I have learned is that if senior Members of this House, such as the shadow Home Secretary, are appearing on television screens before an election telling everyone that the election is a waste of time and money, we can hardly be surprised if the electors are not all that interested. Does my hon. Friend agree that if Members of this House are not prepared to stand up to champion democracy, we cannot be surprised if members of the public are not flocking to the polling stations?

[Mr Streeter]

I am delighted to say that the Electoral Commission is not responsible for any comments made by the shadow Home Secretary or any other Member of this House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 24th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Streeter]

Yes I do, and, more important, so do the Government, which is precisely why it is going to happen.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

One way to boost electoral turnout is to have candidates who are able to enthuse positively the electorate. Does the Electoral Commission have any plans to crack down on nasty, negative and dishonest campaigning?

[Mr Streeter]

In the many conversations I have had with the Electoral Commission over the months and years, this specific issue has not cropped up.

Horsemeat (Supermarket Products)

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 17th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

I know that it is a convenient fiction, but I can honestly say that I am not personally responsible for having mislabelled horsemeat in the Republic of Ireland. I am confident that the FSA is doing a very good job in this country and will continue to do so.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

There are suggestions that the future of the red tractor mark may be at threat. The red tractor mark guarantees the high quality of UK produce. Is this issue not a sign that we should be backing such schemes and increasing their use in the future?

[Mr Heath]

Producer-led and processor-led quality assurance schemes are a valuable tool for consumers, enabling them to know exactly the provenance of what they are eating, and the welfare conditions under which the animals, in the case of meat, have been kept. That is to be recommended to the industry and the consumer.

Flooding

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paterson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for trying to tempt me into negotiating in public but, as I have said many times today, we are involved in a long negotiation with the ABI. We had a very constructive meeting at senior level last week, are waiting for its counter-proposals and I am afraid that I cannot go into the sort of detail that he has asked me to on the Floor of the House.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

Given your first-hand experience of this flooding, what advice would you—sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker; I mean the Secretary of State—give to those who seek to build on floodplains?

[Mr Paterson]

I am not sure what plans you have, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I would strongly advise all those who are considering developments around the country to look very hard at the NPPF, which says that developments should not happen on floodplains wherever possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

1. What steps she is taking to promote agricultural exports.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

13. What steps she is taking to promote agricultural exports.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice)]

In January we published the joint Government-industry action plan, “Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector”. Since then we have worked closely with a number of organisations, including the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, to promote UK agriculture in a number of target markets, and we are pursuing all opportunities to export fine British food.

[Mr Paice]

My hon. Friend puts his finger on an important point: the value of brands. The Lea and Perrins brand is obviously extremely well known and Britain has a great tradition of good food brands from Worcestershire and elsewhere, so we are taking every opportunity and doing everything we can to support the British food industry to export and build on those excellent brand reputations.

[Stephen Mosley]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that we export more food and drink to Belgium than we do to Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico combined. I am aware that he has recently been to China. What action is he taking to encourage more exports to some of these fast-growing, emerging economies?

[Mr Paice]

My hon. Friend is entirely right to use that statistic, which I have used many times. He is also right to say that I recently took a food trade mission to China, representing a number of sectors of the British food industry. The most important result was that we opened up the Chinese market to British pigmeat exports, which the industry believes could be worth some £50 million a year. What is interesting is that the industry would not just be exporting the conventional cuts that we eat in this country, because China has an appetite for other parts of the pig, sometimes called the fifth quarter, which will add value to many pigs, not just those exported as full carcasses. He is absolutely right about there being plenty of other opportunities. In particular, we are targeting the Russian market to complete the process of opening it up for the British beef industry.

Fish Discards

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has been a hearty proponent of an end to the top-down management of fisheries and an enemy of discards both here and in the European Parliament, and I will continue to work on that. We should be very grateful to organisations such as Fish Fight for the part they played in exciting popular culture in support of what we are doing, but it is also worth paying tribute to the small groups of scientists, officials from DEFRA and other organisations that have been working to end discards and reform this policy for a long time.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

I give three cheers for this agreement, which represents a huge step in the right direction. However, given that some European countries, most notably France, remain opposed to some of its key elements, will the Minister ensure that he keeps up the pressure so that there is no slippage in the proposals?

[Richard Benyon]

I was pleased to welcome the new French Minister to the negotiations and very glad that I did not have to do what he did: ring his Prime Minister at 4.30 in the morning to get his authority to support the proposals. I can assure my hon. Friend that we work with every country that we feel can move this forward. It is really important that we do not just sit back because we have a general approach agreed; there is a lot more work to be done. I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s support.