Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Reed Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sir Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to promote innovation in the agricultural sector.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

First, I add my congratulations to the Speaker’s Chaplain on her distinguished tenure, and to Terry Wiggins, who has been here much longer than all of us.

I thank the right hon. Member for his question. The Government recognise the importance of innovation in supporting farmers to boost Britain’s food security, drive productivity and improve nature’s recovery. The UK has world-class science and innovation capabilities. The Government will promote the UK as a great place for technology innovators, which will drive investment, economic growth and create high-skilled jobs, supporting farmers to embrace the latest technology and best practice.

[Sir Julian Smith]

One of the challenges for risk-taking farmers is the regulatory environment. Will the Secretary of State update the House on how he will bring together Natural England, the Environment Agency and other agencies to reflect and be much more responsive to the enterprise culture in farming?

[Steve Reed]

I share the right hon. Member’s interest in the need for effective regulation. I will soon make an announcement about our intentions to review regulation to ensure that it is fit for purpose across the Department and helps to achieve the priority objectives that we have set out as a new Government and ministerial team.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to increase uptake of environmental land management schemes.

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[Sarah Coombes (West Bromwich) (Lab)]

4. What recent progress he has made on increasing the accountability of water companies for pollution discharges into waterways.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

I welcome my outstanding former employee to her place in the Chamber, and thank her for her question. After 14 years of Conservative failure, the public are furious at the levels of sewage being released into our rivers, lakes and seas. Last week, this Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to strengthen the power of the water industry regulators and turn around the performance of failing water companies. The Bill will ban bonuses for chief executives when environmental standards have not been met, and will bring forward criminal charges for obstruction.

[Sarah Coombes]

Our canals are the pride of the Black Country: they are very important to our communities, our wildlife and our tourism. Unfortunately, like the rest of the waterways, we have seen serious pollution incidents in the canals in recent years. What are the Government doing to protect our canals and waterways and clean up the failures of the last Government?

[Steve Reed]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on being such a champion for waterways in and around her constituency. Toxic pollution of canals or, indeed, any other waterway is disgraceful and unacceptable. The previous Government cut resources for the regulators, leaving them incapable of investigating all the incidents that were happening. We are putting firepower back with the regulators through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will allow them to claw back the costs of prosecution from the organisations that are prosecuted, so that they can carry out more enforcement against organisations that got away scot-free with polluting our waterways under the previous Government.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

Dozens of homes and businesses across Alverstoke village in my constituency were flooded with polluted water from the Alver creek when Storm Pierrick caused a tidal surge in April this year. We now hear that, without urgent flood protection measures, that could be a one-in-20-years scenario. Those measures will cost an extra £3.5 million, and we are waiting desperately for news from the Secretary of State’s Department about whether we have been awarded that flood and coastal erosion risk management grant so that the work can start. We are now heading into winter, with higher tides, and some of my constituents still have not been able to return to their homes and businesses after the previous flooding event. What reassurance can the Secretary of State give me that that announcement is coming soon, and will he please meet me urgently to discuss this scenario?

[Steve Reed]

I congratulate the hon. Member on winning her seat in the general election and taking her place. I will certainly make sure that the relevant Minister is able to meet her to discuss that issue in more detail. I am very pleased that the first meeting of our new flood resilience taskforce will be later today. The intention of that organisation is to ensure much better co-ordination between Whitehall at the centre, where the resources are held, and the agencies on the frontline that need to be taking appropriate action as quickly as possible to protect communities, businesses, farms and all of the rest of the people who can be affected by flooding, particularly given that we are seeing more frequent severe weather incidents because of climate change.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

Sound management of water companies is of course vital if customers are to receive the high level of service they expect and environmental performance obligations are to be strictly adhered to. Some water companies are better managed than others, so will the Secretary of State guarantee that in his efforts to hold water companies to account, no offer of a regulatory easement will be provided—in other words, no permission to lower standards, relax environmental permits or reduce agreed levels of investment will be provided to any water company, no matter their financial circumstances, by the Government or the regulator?

[Steve Reed]

I will be announcing later this autumn—in just a few weeks’ time—a review of the entire water sector, including regulation. In particular, I want to make sure that regulation is as tough as possible to ensure that the practices and, frankly, the abuses that were going on can no longer happen. Part of that will be complete transparency about what is going on—on the part of the water companies, and also, I have to say, on the part of Government. It was very disappointing that, when he was a Minister, the hon. Gentleman tried to cover up the extent of sewage spills before the election, telling Environment Agency officials not to put the key figures on the front page of its environmental portal.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Saying that the hon. Member “tried to cover up” is suggesting that a Member is lying, and I do not—

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Member cannot raise a point of order now. He has been here long enough to know that they come at the end of questions. [Interruption.] Order. I am dealing with this. We really have to reflect on what we say about other Members in this House, and I would like the Secretary of State to withdraw what he has suggested.

[Steve Reed]

I withdraw that comment. Perhaps I should have said that the shadow Minister could have been more open and transparent. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am not going to open up that question. We will now have the second question from Robbie Moore.

[Robbie Moore]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

So there we have it: the Secretary of State’s first outing at the Dispatch Box, and he was not able to clearly answer the question I asked. Will the Secretary of State confirm that, in fulfilling his obligation to hold water companies to account, he will not issue regulatory easements, no matter their financial circumstances? Will he answer that question clearly right now from the Dispatch Box?

[Steve Reed]

As I have already said, we are looking to strengthen, not weaken the regulation. The regulation was inappropriate. It is not just the regulation itself, but the lack of resources the regulators have had. That is why the Water (Special Measures) Bill we are introducing will allow the regulators to claw back resources from water companies that are successfully prosecuted, so that they have the firepower to prosecute further wrongdoing by those water companies or others responsible for it.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

5. If he will maintain the level of funding for farming.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

12. If he will maintain the level of funding for farming.

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

The Government will restore stability and confidence in the sector by introducing a new deal for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security alongside nature’s recovery. The Government are currently conducting a spending review, which will conclude in October. Departmental budgets, including spending on farming, will be confirmed through this process.

[Harriet Cross]

The Labour party manifesto rightly stated that the Labour party

“recognises that food security is national security.”

I agree, but those words must be matched with actions. We have already asked today about future budgets, but have not heard any answers. Will the Secretary of State confirm that there will be no real-terms cuts to the agriculture budget?

[Steve Reed]

As the hon. Member will know, there is a spending review process going on, which will culminate with announcements in the Budget. That is the point at which all of that will be made clear and apparent.

I would gently remind the hon. Member that it was her Government who underspent the farming budget by £130 million in the previous financial year. That money should have been in the pockets of farmers, who desperately need it for the work they are doing to provide the food we want to eat and to help nature’s recovery, yet that Government were too incompetent to get it out the door. This Government will make sure that the money allocated to farmers is handed over to farmers so that they are able to use it for the purposes for which it is intended.

[John Lamont]

Being an MP for the Scottish Borders, I am lucky enough to represent some of the best farmers and food producers in the whole of the UK. However, as we have heard, the new Government have chosen not to give them any clarity about their future funding settlement, so I ask again: can the Secretary of State commit not to cut the funding for farmers and food production?

[Steve Reed]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment as shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.

As I said previously, a spending review process is going on. No Government announce their Budget in advance of the Budget taking place. I cannot do that either, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are keen to ensure that farmers in every single part of the United Kingdom receive the support they need to do the job that we as a country need them to do to ensure that we have the food security that we want, because it is part of our national security, and that this country deserves.

[Martin Vickers]

Farmers in my constituency who receive funding through the sustainable farming incentive are concerned that some of the schemes are becoming over-subscribed and therefore their income is reducing. Will the Secretary of State give a reassurance that that particular initiative will continue and will do so at the existing funding levels?

[Steve Reed]

I have been clear, throughout the election campaign and since, that we do not intend to overturn the applecart in respect of the old schemes in general, including the SFI. We support the principles behind the schemes and want to see them continue. In terms of what the hon. Gentleman alluded to, there are ways to make them work better. My intention is to work closely with the farming sector and the nature sector to make sure that we get the maximum bang for our buck for every single penny that goes through those schemes, and that the farmers who need it get the support they deserve.

[Steve Witherden (Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr) (Lab)]

British farmers have been badly let down by crippling trade deals, skyrocketing energy prices and devastating floods. Will the Secretary of State outline how he will restore confidence and support British farmers?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There are all sorts of ways in which farmers have felt very let down over the past 14 years, and that has contributed to the tragic situation today in which we have the lowest levels of confidence ever recorded in the farming sector. Our new deal for farming is intended to start to sort part of that out.

My hon. Friend referred to trade deals that undermine farmers; they are furious about that, and at the National Farmers Union’s Back British Farming Day reception yesterday farmers made that clear to me again. We have ruled out any future trade deals that undercut and undermine British farmers in the way the previous Government’s Australia and New Zealand trade deals did.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

May I support your thanks to Terry Wiggins, Mr Speaker? He has been a great servant of this House and is a lovely bloke.

The Conservative complaints about support for farmers are a bit lame. Has the Secretary of State had the opportunity yet to work out why there was an underspend of over £100 million in the agricultural budget last year?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Opposition Members are asking me today about budget decisions that they know cannot be announced before the Budget, when presumably they are aware—because the statement has been laid—that they underspent the previous budget to the tune of £130 million. It is not that they were not warned about this either, because while we were in opposition we were making points, as were farmers, about underspends and the desperate need to get that money back out to the farmers who needed access to it. We will review the situation, find out exactly what went wrong and publish that information as soon as it is available.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Somerset is home to 8,500 farmers and food producers, which is more than any other county in the UK. They are worried that the £130 million of support will be stripped from them because the previous Government replaced the basic payment scheme with systems that were too complicated for many farmers to access. Notwithstanding the previous comments, will the Secretary of State confirm that he will not be slashing their funding, and give farmers the confidence that they need to be able to invest in the future and secure the nation’s food security?

[Steve Reed]

I am delighted to congratulate those farmers, producers and growers in Somerset. It is a fine county and they do an incredibly good job, of which the hon. Lady is rightly proud. I hope she will understand that I cannot make comments about the Budget in advance; I would be in deep trouble with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which is something I wish to avoid. At the appropriate time, we will make absolutely clear what we intend to do. My intention is to fight the corner of farmers through the spending review process so that we can make sure they receive the resources they deserve.

[Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to support farmers.

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[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Steve Reed)]

Scotland’s financial allocation will be confirmed through the spending review that concludes in October. As agriculture is devolved, it will be for the Scottish Government to allocate funding to farmers in Scotland. The UK Government are supporting farmers across the country with a new deal to boost economic growth and strengthen food security. We will protect farmers from being undercut in trade deals, make the supply chain work more fairly and back British produce.

[Graeme Downie]

Farming and agriculture are a vital part of the economy in west Fife and in my constituency of Dunfermline and Dollar. Yesterday, I was delighted to meet a delegation from NFU Scotland. Given the economic, social and environmental value of active farming and crofting in Scotland, and its significant contribution to the wider UK economy, will the Secretary of State share what he will do to ensure that food security and food production in Scotland remain at the heart of our national security?

[Steve Reed]

Many of those issues are devolved to the Scottish Government. I have already held meetings with the Scottish Agriculture Minister and we are due to meet again next week, and I will be making sure that we have a strong working relationship.

Where the UK Government have a role in particular is with trade deals. Many British producers were upset that because the previous Government erected barriers to trade when they were told that they would continue to get open access to the European markets, they could no longer continue to sell their great British produce into those markets, damaging them economically and financially. We will be seeking a new veterinary deal with the European Union to get those exports moving again.

[Mr Speaker]

I remind those on the Front Bench that it is topical questions, so questions and answers have to be short and punchy. The thing is, I have to try to get in as many as I can. Let us see a good example of that with the shadow Secretary of State.

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

The Secretary of State has repeatedly talked tough with the water companies, yet the Water (Special Measures) Bill that he announced actually weakens a number of measures, such as the automatic fines for category 1 and 2 prosecutions, and removes the unlimited penalties that would apply. He said that the review of water regulation would strengthen requirements on water firms; will he therefore confirm to the House that there will be no regulatory easements as part of that review?

[Steve Reed]

The very Bill that the right hon. Gentleman referred to strengthens regulation. We will be looking further at regulation through the review. The intention will be to make it stronger, not weaker, because it was far too weak under the previous Government and we need to turn that around.

[Dr Beccy Cooper (Worthing West) (Lab)]

T3. Raw sewage was discharged into our rivers and seas for a shocking 4 million hours last year. Will the Minister reassure our coastal communities, including my own in Worthing West, that water companies will be held accountable for the necessary investment to address the systemic and chronic pollution of our waters?

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[Helena Dollimore (Hastings and Rye) (Lab/ Co-op)]

T4. My constituents in Hastings and Rye got their water bills this month. Many of them were shocked to see their bills going up despite the failures of Southern Water, which include sewage dumped along our coastline, flooding in our town centre and leaving us without water. It has even charged us for the five days when the taps ran dry. What are the Government doing to clean up the mess left by Southern Water and by the Conservative party?

[Steve Reed]

What has been going on in my hon. Friend’s constituency is completely unacceptable. I know that she has been a huge champion for cleaning up the water in that part of the country. One of the things we are looking at doing is doubling the rates of compensation from water companies when they let down their customers as she described.

[Dr Neil Hudson (Epping Forest) (Con)]

T5. Animal and Plant Health Agency staff deserve our thanks for tackling a number of challenges facing our biosecurity. Given the outbreaks of bluetongue in East Anglia, the advance of African swine fever across Europe, and the existing threats posed by avian influenza and bovine tuberculosis, will the Minister support the APHA by affirming that the Government will fully commit to the redevelopment of its HQ in Weybridge—Labour rightly called for that in opposition—to protect the UK’s biosecurity, and human and animal health?

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[Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) (Green)]

T6. Any cuts to the environmental land management scheme would be a blow to farmers and to the Government’s climate and nature recovery missions. The nature-friendly farming budget needs to be not just maintained but increased. Does the Secretary of State agree with the economic assessment made by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust and the Wildlife Trusts that the environmental land management budget will need to be increased to around £5.9 billion a year to meet the targets?

[Steve Reed]

The Government remain fully committed to the ELM schemes, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will make announcements about the budget at the appropriate time.

[Dr Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

Under the Conservative Government, there were almost 18,000 hours of sewage dumping in my constituency in 2023. What is the Minister doing to ensure that Yorkshire Water cleans up its act and our beautiful River Don?

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[Steve Reed]

We will publish all information relating to the Bill at the appropriate time during its passage through Parliament.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

What action will the Secretary of State and his Department take to support farmers in addressing rural crime, which is a huge issue for farmers in my constituency and across Essex?

[Steve Reed]

I am pleased to say that I made a joint announcement with the Home Secretary that this will be the first Government to have a cross-departmental rural crime strategy intended to cut the huge impact of rural crime on communities.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

Biodiversity net gain is critical to replacing the loss we are experiencing in our environment and is now mandatory in planning applications—but with exemptions. Those exemptions mean that most developers are avoiding biodiversity net gain, so what will the Government do to tighten up the exemptions and make that more difficult?

[Ben Goldsborough (South Norfolk) (Lab)]

The bluetongue outbreak in Haddiscoe is seriously concerning, and it is crucial that the Animal and Plant Health Agency is provided with sufficient resources to conduct testing swiftly. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss this urgent matter?

[Steve Reed]

I am happy to ensure that the relevant Minister meets my hon. Friend to discuss the issue. However, the APHA and other authorities are doing a good job right now of containing a very worrying incident of bluetongue.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

In Bexhill and Battle we get to enjoy the amazing High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty, but it is expansive, covering more than 1,400 sq km. What advice did the Minister’s Department give the Housing Department on taking such issues into account when centrally imposed housing targets are putting pressure on the area as a whole?

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[Steve Reed]

I will happily ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting, perhaps with our hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough), to discuss the issue in her region.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Before the school summer holidays, 26 year 3 students at Holy Trinity primary school in Cookham wrote to me about sewage in the Thames. They are really concerned that water companies are allowed to get away with putting sewage in our water. Will the Minister meet me and students at Holy Trinity to discuss their concerns?