Debate on the Address

My Lords, it was a source of regret to me that I was unable to be here yesterday to listen to the gracious Speech. I was chairing the AIC—the agricultural suppliers’ conference—in Peterborough. It was only some time later that I was able to glean the gist of the gracious Speech. ““Strong, secure, stable communities”” is becoming a government mantra. If you live in a rural area, particularly if you are a farmer or agricultural worker, you will know that stable is one thing the community is not. Young people are leaving because earnings are comparatively low and house prices are high and rising. Older people are leaving because they have to move from their tied housing once they stop work, and there is nowhere affordable for them to live nearby. The noble Lord, Lord Rooker, will know of the work of the Addington Fund, offering retirement housing for farmers. I was delighted to see that its project—I think it is in Cornwall rather than Devon—is well on the way, but I ask the Minister whether planning permission for particular projects will be eased. One of the sticking points for many rural housing associations, particularly those building affordable housing, is gaining planning permission. I know that the Minister is aware of that. Local councils vary enormously in their willingness to consider such projects. Will the new Bill address this at all? Rural communities are no longer secure. Organisations like Farmers Mutual are finding that claims for theft, breaking and entering, criminal damage and fly-tipping are on the rise. Government actions in towns and cities have consequences, possibly unforeseen, on the less protected areas of the countryside. Unfortunately, despite the advent of neighbourhood policing, apprehension of the perpetrators does not seem to be a roaring success. Figures given in a Written Answer—Official Report, Commons, 27/7/06, col. 280W—showed that instances of violence against persons in rural areas rose from 37,189 in 1997 to 158,184 in 2004-05. That is a four-fold increase in seven years. Rural dwellers are no longer secure, and they know it. The Bill on climate change is welcome so long as it sets firm parameters for action that will reduce UK outputs that cause global warming and provide protection in the event of dangerous changes. It is essential that we have year-on-year targets to reduce emissions. Despite a commitment in three manifestos to reduce emissions by 20 per cent by 2010, the Government dropped that target this year, almost a decade after it was first made. We expect an independent carbon commission to set and review targets, not merely monitor them, as I understand has been suggested. These are not just my concerns. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors would like to see stronger action to reduce carbon emissions, particularly from the built environment. Its briefing expressed its concerns about the split between local government policy and finance. I hope the Minister will touch on that in her response. The Association of British Insurers reflects that some 570,000 homes are now at high risk of flood, compared with 220,000 when current flood defence spending levels were set in 2002. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Sheikh on his excellent maiden speech in which he raised this issue. The association believes that government spending on flood defences should increase by 10 per cent a year, but the Government cut the Environment Agency’s flood defence management budget by £15 million this year. That does not bode well for the future. The gracious Speech is deficient in a couple of items that I and other noble Lords wished to see. There is no marine Bill, which is a great disappointment. Ever since we passed the CROW Act in 2000, we have realised that while greater protection has been given to the land, no such provision has been made for marine protection. Over the past five years, we have constantly called for that to be rectified, and the lack of a marine Bill in this Session is a disappointment. It is a bad omission. The RSPB, the WWF and IFAW have all written to me, and I suspect that they have written to other noble Lords. They are extremely concerned that, despite previous promises, there is no marine Bill in the gracious Speech. Strategic marine spatial planning would give greater certainty about where industry could develop and would help to avoid conflicts between different economic interests or between industry and nature conservation. There is growing expert evidence of serious damage to underwater wildlife and the ocean floor from modern fishing, energy generation, gravel extraction and pollution. There are fears that it will be compounded by rising sea levels due to global warming and increased storm damage due to climate change. These are real issues. I understand that the local government and planning Bill will introduce planning gain supplements to replace Section 106 agreements between developers and local authorities over the provision of infrastructure for new developments. Planning gain supplements should be a key component of the report of the final Barker review of land use planning, which is to be published near the end of this year, and were a significant recommendation in the first Barker review of housing supply. It is critical that the Bill states the details and states whether the funds available for infrastructure development will be collected at regional or national level or whether local authorities will be trusted to collect and invest the development funds themselves, as they do under Section 106 agreements. I seek clarification on that issue. I bring to the attention of noble Lords the extra costs of delivering services in rural and sparsely populated areas. When I am touring the countryside, I am constantly lobbied by people who tell me the practical difficulties they have in supplying such services. I also raise the question of rural post offices. As the Minister is aware, about three weeks ago, there was an enormous rally here at Westminster and a petition containing more than 4 million signatures was given to the Prime Minister to express people’s concern. The Countryside Alliance and the Daily Telegraph are following how the Government respond about the future of post offices. Apart from a reference in the Climate Change Bill, which we support, agriculture was not mentioned in the gracious Speech. However, I was grateful that when the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, opened this debate, he recognised the important role of farmers in producing food and renewable energy crops. It was good to hear him restate that it is essential for farmers to have a sustainable and, more importantly, profitable future. He quoted the recent NFU press release that expressed its optimism, which I share, about farm-gate prices. Increased prices are welcome. I should remind noble Lords of my family’s farming interest. The one point that the noble Lord did not enlarge upon was the future of milk production in this country. Prices at the farm gate are at an unacceptable level, which has resulted in many farmers who produced milk going out of business. The Government need to give a little more thought to letting nature take its course because we could very shortly find that we are in an unacceptable position. The Minister also referred to pollution caused by farming methods, but I know he would acknowledge the improvements being made by the farming community through many voluntary initiatives. I hope the Government continue to go down that line. I was glad that the noble Lord, Lord Bach—who is no longer in his place—participated in this debate. He was formerly the Minister, and I am glad to see that he continues to take an interest in agricultural matters. However, I was disappointed by his comments about my honourable friend Jim Paice. The noble Lord confused our role of holding the Government to account and suggested that we do not think that there is a future in farming. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr Paice was a farmer, and his son is active in the agricultural industry. My family has a farm, and we believe that farming has a future or we would not still be in the farming business. Outside this House, I am known as Mrs UK Agriculture, and I found the noble Lord’s comments slightly unacceptable. We do not know the details of the Climate Change Bill, but I support its principle, and I hope that agriculture can help the Government to reduce climate change. I look forward to seeing the details of the Bill. I end by congratulating noble Lords who made their maiden speeches in this debate, and I look forward to the maiden speech that we shall be hearing shortly.