argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. We will be looking to use the powers in the Agriculture Act to make provision to support and financially reward farmers who may allow their land to be used in certain water catchments to protect communities from flooding—a nature-based solution to that flood risk, as it were. We will also be using this money to support improvements in water quality by supporting an expansion of catchment-sensitive farming. It will be for the Welsh Government to decide their own priorities and the pace at which they detach themselves from the legacy schemes, but we believe that redirecting support in this way is the correct way to go.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Anthony Edward Timpson (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to hear from my right hon. Friend that there will be a period of engagement with farmers, landowners, managers and other key stakeholders in Cheshire before finalising the detailed design and operation of this fairer farming system. To that end, will my right hon. Friend tell the House what economic impact assessment his Department has done to help inform these significant and potentially transformative policy decisions?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very important point. We are looking at this matter. We believe that by removing the area-based subsidies, there could be some adjustment in land rents to reduce costs for farmers. Through the changes that we are making in the supply chain, it could also be the case that farmers will have a fairer share of the value for the food that they produce. By investing in technology, we can help farmers to reduce costs so that they become profitable without the need for area-based subsidies.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman has a habit of starting off by suggesting that he is going to pay me a compliment, and things go downhill quite quickly thereon. The area-based subsidy that we currently have has a habit of giving the largest payments to the wealthiest landowners. Sometimes these are people who are not really actively farming. Sometimes it is people who made their wealth in the City and are trying to shelter it in land, and then also qualify for taxpayers’ payments—sometimes running into millions of pounds. That cannot be right. The system that we are developing will reward people for what they do with their land and what they do to help nature recover.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Robert Alexander Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has said that he hopes that this plan will encourage new entrants of people trying to get into farming. Will he briefly outline in what way it will be different from what happens now?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): Agriculture policy is devolved, so Scottish farmers are not turning their backs on the policy that I have announced today for England. Perhaps the lack of enthusiasm is because of the failure of the Scottish Government to show leadership in this area.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Simon Richard James Fell (Conservative, Centre-right): Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to visit Hobkin Ground farm in my constituency, which is actively pursuing regenerative farming and trying to reduce the carbon footprint of raising a cow from field to fork through measures such as new grasses. What assurances can my right hon. Friend give to farmers like Megan and Mark that the new environmental management scheme will help us to help them meet our stringent net zero targets?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are looking at a number of different disciplines within regenerative farming, including methods such as mob grazing, the use of different types of leguminous nitrogen-fixing plant mix in grassland and reduced fertiliser use. If we manage grassland and soils correctly, they can be a really useful store of carbon and contribute to net zero.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): We think that the policy will lead to stable food prices, but also to a situation in which we change the way we reward farmers. We will reward them not just for occupying land but for farming their land in a nature-sensitive way and a way that enhances animal welfare.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Neil Peter Hammerton Hudson (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the statement and, as a vet, the fact that high animal welfare and health will be recognised as a key public good. Farmers in Penrith and The Border and throughout the UK produce top-quality food to the highest standards. Will my right hon. Friend assure the farmers and land managers in my constituency and throughout the UK that when the direct payments scheme ends, the new way of funding will be secure and long term, so that they can plan accordingly and continue to produce local food sustainably to benefit our rural communities for generations to come?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. The Agriculture Act 2020 sets out clear objectives on animal health and welfare, as well as the environmental objectives. We recognise that animal health and welfare is a public good, and it is right that the public are willing to support improvements in that regard. The Act also includes support for genetic resources—such as our native and rare breeds—that many farmers in many parts of the country will be able to access.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government set out in our manifesto that we will keep the budget for each part of the UK the same in cash terms for every year of this Parliament, and that is what we intend to do. Matters thereafter will be a matter for all the political parties in their manifestos for future elections and, of course, for future spending reviews. I should point out that the European Union’s budget runs for only seven years and it has cut its budget by 10% for the next perspective.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Anthony James Holland Mangnall (Conservative, Centre-right): Many of us were woken this morning by the Secretary of State speaking on Times Radio about the need to end bureaucracy for farmers. Now that he is, with this statement, pushing the fact that DEFRA is going to be a help, not a hindrance, will he explain how ending the bureaucracy and unnecessary form-filling is going to help to ensure that all our farmers are exactly where they need to be, which is on the land?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Under the current common agricultural policy, we have rules about the maximum width of a gateway, the minimum width of a hedge, the maximum width of a hedge, whether a cabbage should be treated the same as a cauliflower for the purposes of the three-crop rule—the list goes on and on. It makes no sense at all and we will sweep away those unnecessary rules.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): When it comes to standards in trade agreements, which is one of the issues that was debated, that of course is a reserved matter, since it is a matter for those international negotiations. Of course, when it comes to setting standards around animal welfare, those matters are devolved now and will remain devolved, as will the design and administration of any future scheme to replace the common agricultural policy scheme.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Alun Craig Williams (Conservative, Centre-right): On Friday, I visited the Wynnstay Group headquarters in Montgomeryshire, who supply supplies and services to agricultural communities across England and Wales. My constituency has cross-border farms, so I welcome the tone—especially of evolution, not overnight revolution —of the Secretary of State’s comments. Can I draw him on the funding? We welcome that commitment in Wales, but my farmers have long dealt with the modulation from pillar 1 to pillar 2 in Wales, which is 50%: the highest in the United Kingdom. While Opposition Members talk strong on agricultural funding, for the last decade they have been taking out of direct payments to my farmers. May I draw him on that support and welcome what he is doing in England more broadly?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. Indeed, the indications to date are that the Welsh Government will probably strike a similar approach to that which we are taking in England. It may be that Northern Ireland, because of its proximity to the Irish Republic and, indeed, Scotland, for other reasons, may decide to change things at a slower pace. But it is the case that Wales has, even in the last five years, transferred money from the pillar 1 basic payment scheme to the pillar 2 agri-environment schemes.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): We will not be cutting the budget: we will be cutting the payments that go through the rather dysfunctional legacy basic payment scheme, and we will instead be directing that money into new schemes, including the sustainable farming incentive that farmers will be able to access from 2022.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Jerome Patrick Burke Mayhew (Conservative, Centre-right): As well as wanting to be custodians of the land, people farm because they want to produce food. While I warmly welcome the thrust of the plan, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government remain committed to increased food security and, if so, can he clarify how this plan will help farmers to maintain or increase food production?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are absolutely committed to domestic food production and the crucial role that that plays towards our food security. The Agriculture Act 2020 requires that every three years, there will be a review of our food security, and that will look at the viability and profitability of our domestic food production. The paper that we have published today sets out plans for a farm investment fund that will have a whole suite of grants available to support farmers to produce food in a more cost-effective way and to add value.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The confusion on this stemmed from the fact that the EU budget runs on a cycle called n+3, where n is seven years, so effectively, the EU budget is across a decade. The budget that we have announced is across a Parliament and we have guaranteed the same in each year. A typical spending review cycle is five years. We cannot compare a 10-year EU budget with a five-year UK one that will be renewed at the end of that. The reality is that we have set a favourable exchange rate that is 22% higher than before the referendum result, and that benefits farm incomes. The reality is also that the European Union has had to slash spending on agriculture by 10%.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): I draw attention to my involvement in family farms as detailed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. To enable farmers to access new markets and to obtain fair prices for their high-quality UK-reared-and-grown produce, both at home and abroad, there is a need for investment in food and drink processing facilities. I would be grateful if the Secretary of State could outline the strategy for securing this.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): Our paper today outlines plans for a farming investment fund. That can include small grants to support the deployment of new agricultural technology and larger grants—transformation grants—that could support adding value through food processing facilities on farms, but also for groups of growers or producers to come together and collectively invest in such a way.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I reject the hon. Gentleman’s claim that the budget is not what was promised. We promised to maintain the budget in each part of the UK in cash terms at the juncture where we left. That is exactly what we are doing. It means that Scotland will receive £595 million per year, 22% higher than it would have received had we used the exchange rate at the start of the last EU programme, and 10% higher than it would have received had we stayed in the EU since it has cut the agriculture budget. This is a good deal for farmers. Indeed it will be open to the devolved Administrations to design their own policy and that could include if they wanted an element of coupled payments.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Daniel Rayne Kruger (Conservative, Centre-right): Can my right hon. Friend reassure farmers in Wiltshire that food production will still be supported under the new scheme and that they will not be undercut by farmers, including in the devolved nations, who are subsidised for food production or by area, not just for stewardship?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I can give my hon. Friend that commitment. The aim of this policy is very much to support and reward farmers for farming more sustainably, but the emphasis throughout is on sustainable food production, not on taking land out of production.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. We do work with the devolved Administrations on the design of future policy. There will be a co-ordinating group on future policy. We also work with all the levy bodies through the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, and the devolved equivalents of those, on a joint approach to marketing our fantastic food and produce around the world.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): It is right that the equipment and technology fund and the transformation fund should focus on core agricultural business and productivity, but can my right hon. Friend also reassure me that his Department will continue to support farm diversification, which has been so important to so many Hampshire farmers?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes a very important point and I can confirm that that will be possible. We made some changes to the Agriculture Bill that was brought through this Parliament to ensure it could support farm diversification projects to help farmers add value.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important to note that since the advent of area-based payments the subsidy payments have been totally decoupled from production. Indeed, had we had our time again a better way to have done it might have been to introduce conditionality to the old payments that were there before. It is already the case that there are people who own a plot of land and claim on it but who are not actually producing food. The logic of our policy today is to focus the payments towards what farmers do with the land, not just dole out money based on how much land they own.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Felicia Jane Beatrix Drummond (Conservative, Centre-right): The chalky soils of the Meon Valley are very different from the peatlands of the Derbyshire dales, so how will my right hon. Friend ensure that farmers in all areas are incentivised to improve soil quality, for sustainability as well as for farming?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. We made an explicit change to the Agriculture Bill in this latest incarnation to ensure that soil health was recognised as a public good. Different soil types need different approaches and different treatments to bring them back into health. We are working with a number of stakeholders and universities now to establish how best to manage and measure soil health on a range of different soils, and we will have incentives in place to support that endeavour.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have said several times, we do not recognise the caricature that the budget has been cut. We were clear that we would maintain the budget in cash terms for each year of this Parliament. That is precisely what we have done.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): As we have outlined in the paper published today, we want to incentivise farmers to embrace integrated pest management. Across the piece, we are likely to see reductions in the use of synthetic chemistry and the adoption of other processes to tackle the problems of pests and diseases. It is also the case that we want to be able to support the restoration of peatlands and so forth.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Richard Quentin Fuller (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for outlining the principles and programmes for these changes in payments. As he will be aware, however, it will be in the implementation of those programmes and the inspection of those schemes that issues will appear. Farmers will have worries about the implications of not changing, transitioning and falling in accordance with the new plans. What reassurance can he give to farmers about how implementation will take place?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I can reassure my hon. Friend that I am alive to that danger. When introducing any new scheme, it is critical that we do not over-engineer its design and that we tack towards simplicity to make sure that things are deliverable. What we want to do on this new scheme is move away from the endless form filling, endless mapping, and arguments over maps, and instead get to a position where a trusted adviser or agronomist walks the farm with the farmer, sits down around the kitchen table and helps them put together a plan that is right for their farm.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Macroeconomics
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I think I have explained at the Dispatch Box several times the cause of the confusion that there might have been. It is because people are trying to compare a seven plus three year—a 10-year—EU budget with a five-year parliamentary term that we have set for the current budget. We cannot compare two entirely different timescales for a quantum of sum of money.
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Greg Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): For transparency, I remind the House that my wife’s family are farmers in receipt of subsidy. I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and, as we set our own trade policy for the first time in decades, have enormous optimism for the future of British farming. It is also the case, though, that farmers face a great deal of uncertainty as demonstrated by the weather conditions that led to a particularly poor 2020 for so many. With that in mind, will he outline when the detail of the sustainable farming incentive and other bridging schemes will come forward so that farmers can have certainty as they plan for the future?
Agricultural Transition Plan — House of Commons, 2020-11-30
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): We will be publishing more papers in the new year on some of the more specific elements of scheme designs, including the voluntary exit scheme, which we mention in the paper today. As I said earlier, in the first six months of next year, we will be consulting on the design of the sustainable farming incentive.