argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for his response to last week’s debate on the impact of the living wage on fruit farmers. As he knows, fruit farmers in my constituency support the living wage, but they are worried that supermarkets will not pay them a price that recognises the increased cost of production. What steps is he taking to support the fruit farming industry on this issue?
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that we had a good debate on this issue last week. As a former strawberry farmer, I can say that supermarkets pay a premium for English fruit—the quality is superior and we have better varieties. It commands a premium over both Dutch and Spanish fruit.
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I think that the company to which the hon. Gentleman refers is called Stichelton. It produces cheese using raw milk, and as a high-quality product it commands a premium over Stilton. Every single Stilton producer opposed changing the protected food name status for Stilton, and we believe that there should be some sense of consensus before changes to recipes are imposed on producers.
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. One of the key long-term aspects we are looking at is developing a dairy futures market so that farmers can help to mitigate and manage the risks of price volatility. Such a market works quite effectively in the United States, and the European Commission is setting up a high-level group to look at how to develop such a scheme in the European Union.
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Edward John Comport Argar (Conservative, Centre-right): Farmers can be helped to obtain a fair price for their produce if they act as retailers themselves through, for example, farmers markets and farm shops such as the excellent Roots in Barkby Thorpe and Cook’s in Newtown Linford, in my constituency. What assessment has the Minister made of farm shops as a small part of the way in which producers can be helped to sell their produce at a fair price?
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I should declare an interest. My family run a farm shop, and I can add to my hon. Friend’s list Trevaskis Farm in Cornwall, which is one of the best farm shops in the country My hon. Friend makes an important point. In the last 15 years we have seen a huge surge of interest in food provenance—people want to know where their food comes from—and a significant rise in the turnover of farm shops, which are a good way of enabling farmers to protect their margins.
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. We have been trying to foster the development of producer organisations, and Dairy Crest runs one that is very successful. We provided funds to support the development of dairy producer organisations through the most recent rural development scheme. As the hon. Gentleman says, ensuring that farmers can negotiate collectively is key to enabling them to deal with the fact that they are small and fragmented.
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): The number of dairy farms and dairy cattle in Northamptonshire has fallen by more than a third since 2001, largely because the common agricultural policy is rigged in favour of the French dairy industry. Other countries have negotiated early payments from the CAP this year. Why have we not done the same?
Farm Produce (Fair Practice) — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): This year we decided to issue the full BPS payments as quickly as possible and as early as possible in the payment window. About 60% of the entry level and higher level stewardship payments have now been made. We are working on the dairy crisis fund, and we aim to issue the majority of basic payment scheme payments in December and the vast majority by the end of January.
Food Waste — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Britain is a leader in addressing the problem of food waste. We have managed to reduce household waste by 15% and retail waste by 7.2%, and the figures for 2014 suggest a further 3.2% reduction, but that will be dealt with mainly through the Courtauld 2025 agreement.
Food Waste — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The supermarkets and retailers in general are a very important part of the Courtauld agreement. I pay tribute to some of the retailers: Tesco has made progress on bananas, and there has been progress from the Co-op on potatoes with the Marfona range, which reduces potato waste by 30%, but I absolutely agree retailers have to play a larger role in reducing food waste in general.
Food Waste — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): There have been a number of discussions. I absolutely welcome that move and pay tribute to that work with the Salvation Army. We should also pay tribute to Tesco, which now has a new app running with FareShare, and Morrisons, which has announced it will be putting all the food within the sell-by date over to charitable purposes. This is a really good lead and it is showing that a voluntary approach is working.
Tree Planting — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Jeremy Mark Quin (Conservative, Centre-right): The Secretary of State will be pleased to hear I represent the most biodiverse constituency on earth given the presence within it of the millennium seed bank at Wakehurst Place. Will she join me in congratulating Wakehurst on the work being done on the UK national tree seed project, testing the resilience of our native species?
Tree Planting — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Wakehurst Place is a fantastic national asset and is part of the Kew group, which is the jewel in DEFRA’s crown. Not only do we have the millennium seed bank and the important work it provides; we also have the world’s largest database of plants, which we are now digitising so we can benefit everybody in society.
Tree Planting — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We absolutely do. What is more, we have just launched our 25-year plan for the environment. We are looking at natural capital and at the value of woodland. We also want to ensure that trees are planted in the right place, because where we plant them makes a tremendous difference. We must ensure that we build for the future.
Tree Planting — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): First, may I welcome the new Opposition Front-Bench team to their places? I am looking forward to meeting them over the Dispatch Box in the coming months The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have a burgeoning timber industry in this country. We now have more demand for our native woods, which is important. It is important for biodiversity to bring more of our woodlands and forest under management. As part of the 25-year environmental plan and the natural capital approach, we will be looking at things such as how we can use the planting of trees to help flood defences. Last week, I went to see "Slowing the Flow" in Pickering, which is using the woodland—putting trees upstream—to help slow the flow downstream. There are a lot of opportunities to look at the environment more holistically so that we can both plant trees and help address our other environmental priorities.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Our consultation on plans to improve air quality in our towns and cities closes tomorrow. Plans will be submitted to the commission by the end of this year. This builds on £2 billion of Government investment since 2011 on measures to improve air quality.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We have launched a consultation on putting clean air zones in place across the country. This is the first ever national network of clean air zones, which will help to address our target of getting to compliance by 2020 in other cities and by 2025 in London. We are working closely with the Mayor to make sure that we introduce the ultra-low emission zones to help deliver that.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Caroline Alice Spelman (Conservative, Centre-right): Is it not the case that 27 out of 28 member states in Europe are non-compliant with the air quality directive? Does my right hon. Friend see this proliferation of clean air zones as one very good way in which the UK could comply with those standards?
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Transportation
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I know that she did a lot of work on this when she was Secretary of State. Our plans have been modelled and will achieve compliance by 2020 in cities outside London and by 2025 in London. Of course we need to work at a European level to make sure that we have real driving conditions reflected in the tests and that we have a coherent framework that reflects both air quality and car tests. There is still some way to go on that front.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): On the right hon. Gentleman’s first point, this is the first time at a European level that we have agreed that the lab tests do not reflect the reality of what vehicles are emitting, and we have put in place a process to get to real-world conditions. This country has been pushing for that for some time and last week we succeeded in getting a path to achieving it. That is major progress, which will help us to deliver our air quality commitments.
Air Quality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: What progress she has made in consulting on her Department’s draft plans to improve air quality; and when she plans to respond to that consultation.
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): We are clear that the clear air zones that we have modelled use the very best data, so we acknowledge that there is a difference between laboratory tests and real-world performance, and that is factored in to our plans. In our consultation, we are considering incentives to ensure that what we want happens. I am absolutely determined to deal with the issue of air quality and to ensure that we are in compliance by the dates that I outlined earlier. We are looking at the incentives at the moment—that is part of the consultation—so that we can submit those final plans to the European Commission by the end of December.
Urban and Rural Areas: Inequality — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Technology
Questions: 16 . I am also delighted to hear that the Minister is conscious of this issue. Some of the houses in about a third of the villages in my constituency do not have access to superfast broadband. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that broadband generally is as fast and as effective in rural areas as it is in urban ones?
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay tribute to my hon. and learned Friend for the meeting that she held in South East Cambridgeshire last week, with more than 20 parish councils, British Telecom and Broadband Delivery UK. It is a really good example of how local MPs—and this is true across the House—can lead this kind of progress. There are new technological solutions that we are putting in place. We are very proud that, by the end of this year, the universal service commitment of 2 megabits will be available, but that will not be enough for the future, which is why I would also like to draw her attention to the Fell End build and benefit model where the Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, BT and local communities are finding out how to deliver fibre to the most remote rural communities.
Food Security — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The factors that affect household food security are complex and difficult to measure. However, a recent report comparing OECD countries found that a proportion of those who said that they are finding it difficult to afford food went down from 9.8% in 2007 to 8.1% in 2012.
Food Security — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Social Welfare
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me point out a number of things. First, food prices have fallen for the first time in around 15 years. They went down by 2.3% over the past year. In addition, since 2010, we have seen an increase in household disposable income; it is up by around £900 according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Finally, we must bear in mind that the way to get people out of poverty and to tackle poverty is to get people off benefits and into work. That is exactly what our welfare reforms are doing.
Regional Food and Drink — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Christopher Paul Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Welsh lamb and Welsh water are key ingredients in the recipe of our economy’s success, so will my right hon. Friend commend the Radnor Hills water company in my constituency for investing in a new £7 million production line, securing the future of production and jobs? With lamb prices so low, will she also assure farmers in my constituency that she is doing everything she can to ensure that Welsh lamb remains on the menu for generations to come?
Regional Food and Drink — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): It sounds to me like my hon. Friend’s constituency is a food powerhouse and I congratulate him on the success of the Radnor Hills water company. We are the No. 1 exporter of lamb in the world and Welsh lamb is an important part of that success. I will be in China next week, trying to open that market for lamb, and I will continue to push the case here in Britain.
Food and Farming Industry: Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government are investing £90 million in centres for agricultural innovation to ensure that our world-leading science is improving farm productivity. Just last week, I visited the Rothamsted research institute to launch a new agrimetrics centre that will develop the use of modern data analysis and management.
Food and Farming Industry: Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Christopher James Green (Conservative, Centre-right): I understand that the Minister is working on a 25-year food and farming plan and that many farmers and businesses in the north-west have been involved in the discussions. How central will data and technology be to the plan and what benefits will it bring to farmers and food producers in the north-west?
Food and Farming Industry: Productivity — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Charles George Eustice (Conservative, Centre-right): We held a workshop in Manchester as part of our food and farming strategy development and I am delighted that some of my hon. Friend’s constituents were able to contribute. Data and technology will form a crucial part of our food and farming plan. We are using the way in which we can harness data to improve plant health, animal health and crop yields, for instance. It is therefore vital to the future of our agriculture.
Flood Defences — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an important point. I am glad that he recognises the work that has already been done along the Fylde coast, which is one of the top six projects for the Environment Agency. Nearly £80 million has been spent on protection along the Fylde coast. On farmland, the Dock Bridge pumping station and the work that my hon. Friend has done with farmers in situ are extremely important and I look forward to meeting him and the Environment Agency.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): This week we launched the great British food campaign to grow more, buy more and sell more British food. We will be harnessing the expertise of pioneering chefs, entrepreneurs and farmers to build the UK’s reputation as a great food nation. In the new year we will be establishing the great British food unit to bring together DEFRA exports and UK Trade and Investment into a single team to support great British food companies. [Interruption.]
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Energy
Peter William Bone (Conservative, Centre-right): On 22 January I expect to get a Second Reading for my private Member’s Bill—it is not a Government hand-out Bill, but I hope it will have Government support—abolishing the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is, I understand, keen to have the energy element. Would the Secretary of State like to have the climate change section in her Department? I think the Government are looking favourably on this Bill.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): DEFRA is a crucial Department. We respond to animal disease outbreaks, we are responsible for flood defences and we represent the largest manufacturing industry, the food industry, which I think has tremendous growth potential. But that does not mean that we cannot do things better. Today we have been talking about how we can digitise our records and help digitise such things as our farm inspections. We can do things more efficiently so that we can spend more money on the frontline, which is what I want to do.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: I very much welcome the Secretary of State going to China to promote great British food that is being produced to high welfare standards. What more would she like to do in co-operation with UK Trade & Investment to liberate more exports of great British food?
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, we will be promoting Stilton in China, alongside other British cheeses. It looks as though the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) would like to accompany me on the visit. It is not too late, if he gets in touch with my office. We are linking up UKTI and the DEFRA export—[Interruption.]
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture
Questions: I very much welcome the Secretary of State going to China to promote great British food that is being produced to high welfare standards. What more would she like to do in co-operation with UK Trade & Investment to liberate more exports of great British food?
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): What I want to say is that we are creating a one-stop shop so that any food business—a cheese maker, a pork producer, a "gin-trepreneur"—can have a single point of contact to deal with the Government, and get their products overseas as soon as possible.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Environment
Questions: I very much welcome the Secretary of State going to China to promote great British food that is being produced to high welfare standards. What more would she like to do in co-operation with UK Trade & Investment to liberate more exports of great British food?; To aid reduction in our carbon footprint, from 2018 it will be unlawful to grant new property leases with an energy performance certificate rating below E. What progress are the Government making on ensuring that as many of these properties meet that rating before civil penalties are introduced, and what encouragement are they offering to landlords to ensure that they bring their properties up to the highest possible EPC rating, rather than just making the necessary improvements to take them up to the minimum standard?
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I am afraid that I do not have a great deal of detail on that issue now, so I will be happy to sit down with the hon. Gentleman and discuss it further. Climate adaptation is baked through our departmental policy. It sounds to me as though this is something we need to discuss with the hon. Gentleman, communities, local government and, in particular, the housing taskforce.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2015-11-05
Topic: Transportation
Questions: I very much welcome the Secretary of State going to China to promote great British food that is being produced to high welfare standards. What more would she like to do in co-operation with UK Trade & Investment to liberate more exports of great British food?; To aid reduction in our carbon footprint, from 2018 it will be unlawful to grant new property leases with an energy performance certificate rating below E. What progress are the Government making on ensuring that as many of these properties meet that rating before civil penalties are introduced, and what encouragement are they offering to landlords to ensure that they bring their properties up to the highest possible EPC rating, rather than just making the necessary improvements to take them up to the minimum standard?; “Water adds value.” That was the conclusion of the Canal & River Trust when it studied the economic, social and environmental benefits of waterways restoration projects over the past 20 years. Will the Minister join me in praising the hard-working volunteers of the Louth Navigation Trust, who for the past 30 years have been working hard to restore the Louth canal to its full glory?
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I pay real tribute to the work of the Louth Navigation Trust. We are at an exciting moment with the Louth canal, with the potential removal of the Phillips 66 pipe. If we are able to deal with some of the land ownership issues and, in particular, work with my hon. Friend to talk with Merton College, Oxford, which appears to control access to the canal, then we can get what she and the Louth Navigation Trust have fought so hard for. I thank her for her interest.