Debate on the Address

My Lords, it is my particular pleasure and privilege to welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, of Cunninghame in North Ayrshire, and to thank her for making the fourth maiden speech today. I can safely say on behalf of your Lordships that all have passed the test with flying colours and, in the case of the contribution just made by the noble Baroness, with great aplomb. It is always a pleasure to hear from people who have the experience of the noble Baroness, Lady Ford. From her CV, which I read this morning, she obviously has vast experience in commerce and in local government. We knew that that would give her the authority to speak so intelligently on issues coming from and related to the gracious Speech. However, I find it interesting and rather intriguing that a Baroness from North Ayrshire—which I know extremely well, as I used to go to the areas of Lanark and Castle Douglas when I was quite a young man, many years ago—is now chairing the organisation English Partnerships. We have always realised that we can learn something from the Scots, and I fully concur with the Minister, who commented earlier on the importance of partnerships. I hope that we can learn something from the noble Baroness who has just joined us. We welcome her contribution and look forward to it continuing, as we know it will in one form or another. My privilege today is to speak in this debate, which combines local authorities, transport, agriculture and the environment—many issues that are touched on in the gracious Speech. I declare an interest as a farmer who has been involved in farm and food organisations through the ages. It is most appropriate to link together local authorities, transport, agriculture and the environment. They are all related. We recognise—indeed, everyone has commented on this—the growing concern about climate change and the production of energy, and the fact that food miles and the threat of agri-terrorism are becoming major issues. One is pleased that the Government are prepared, as has been stated, to take a lead on this crucial issue, and I look forward to becoming involved in future debates on the Bill’s proposals. If we look back over the years before we look forward, we may remember that the slogan used to be, ““Why import it? We can grow it””—and grow it in this country. Now, as my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith reminded us, the situation is changing. It is changing because production, particularly of grain, has gone down in relation to consumption. Indeed, there has been a 25 per cent reduction in wheat production worldwide. Therefore, we need to wake up to the fact that cheap food supplies are currently taken for granted, which affects the entire food market. There is ample evidence, which has been cited in our debates in this House, that crops can be grown throughout the world to produce biofuels. If we take set-aside out of the equation, we find that we have land in this country that is capable of making a substantial contribution to biofuels in general and perhaps to biodiesel in particular. Transport is therefore very much at the heart of the food and farming business. Given that the Animal Welfare Bill has now been completed, I hope that the Minister will not bow to pressure to change the laws on the transport of animals and increase yet again the costs of movement. Moving livestock, particularly sheep, from breeding areas to be fattened in the lowlands is an essential part of the farming business. The welfare of animals is of concern to all of us. The Act that was passed in 1997 was a major step forward, as we saw it, to ensure the proper and safe transportation of livestock. I therefore make a plea to the Minister that the necessary care is shown and proper consultation taken to keep the balance right on those movements. Before reducing stocking density, therefore, serious consideration must be given to the economic need to transport livestock. We also need to be aware that, by removing through legislation farmers’ ability to bury their fallen stock, we could make the cost of transport and air pollution considerably higher and we could add to the environmental costs of destroying the carcasses. Again, this is a question of common sense and balance, and a way should be found to enable a farm to have a biodigester or something similar. There is quite a lot more optimism in certain areas of farming, as we have heard. There are rays of hope, and words are being used that show that there is a much clearer light than there seemed to be about a year ago. One recognises the improvement in the marketplace for some products, particularly grain, which is a relief. But as my noble friend Lady Byford said, and indeed the Minister recognised, dairy farmers are the one sector that is of great concern. Dairy farmers are still going out of business at an alarming rate. My family have been dairy farmers for five generations, but have left dairying. It is a sad business when you are a farmer and you face that sort of situation, but it is understandable if you read the results of certain surveys. The Minister mentioned the NFU survey that came out last week, which was quite optimistic. I shall quote from another survey from the NFU and the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, which revealed the evolution of farm costs—an increase of more than 2p a litre over three years. The 350 responses to their survey showed that, from an average herd size of 196 cows and 523 million litres of milk produced, farmers received 17.3p for a litre of milk over June, July and August, while the consumer price in the little supermarket not far from me in London was 79p for the same product. The survey of all those farms shows the loss to be 0.78p per litre and indicates a clear imbalance between the price that the producer is receiving and the price that the consumer is paying. Furthermore, the storms of protest over the delay in the single payment have cloaked the anomalies and injustices of the reformed CAP. We have already had fairly lengthy discussions and debates on this issue, and I do not want to dwell too much on it, but the anomalies and injustices of the reformed CAP cloud the issue in many areas. Many farmers who went out of dairying did so between the 2002 arable-year base and the 2004 dairy-year base, and they received less than they should had done had the historic basis been applied and, I stress, had the system been better understood. The noble Lord, Lord Bach, said earlier that we had agreed to the hybrid system rather than the historic system. I could not have been in the Chamber when we agreed that, because I do not remember ever doing so. Nevertheless, we accepted that that was the situation at the time and that we faced a dilemma. Had we known then what we knew later, we would not have done what we did. Again, I ask the Minister what I asked him when the noble Baroness tabled a Question on the matter a while ago. It is remarkable that Germany applied exactly the same hybrid system as we applied but that their farmers were paid on the day promised. This is of great concern to us as we consider the viability of the agricultural scene. A different reference year compounded the problem, and the prevailing chaos prevented farmers from receiving the sort of advice that they sought. The Minister has made it clear on many occasions—he has said it again today—that the Government support a common overall policy in Europe, but one that is simple to operate, does not over-regulate, and gets red tape off the backs of farmers, enabling them to compete effectively and to run profitable businesses. That is a great statement, which I have made myself on many occasions. If he can do that, I shall certainly make my contribution to his statue now or even support his pension—whichever he would like first. It would, as we all know, be impossible to achieve uniformity throughout Europe, or even within a country, as conditions are different, but the real question is whether we can achieve the right balance between the payments that are made under Pillar 1 and those that are made under Pillar 2. I will not go into great detail, but farmers have not got used to the single farm payment on land farmed, but they are getting used to it and, I think, adopting the right approach to it. When it was first created, the system of subsidies was designed to stop food prices fluctuating, guaranteeing cheap food to the consumer. Now the supermarkets are more in charge and farmers have to, and are, rising to the challenge. Pillar 2 is interesting. As we know, farmers are stewards of the countryside and taxpayers should expect to make their contribution to the good agricultural and environment conditions, or GAEC. I believe that, over a period of years, the industry has recognised this. The Linking Environment and Farming programme, which has the same objectives as the GAEC, is working for many farmers and on farms, and many people are interested in it. The issue is one of trust. Recently, a farmer told me that when he telephones the SPS branch of the RPA, it shows a lack of trust in his queries and that often, ultimately, he feels like a beggar or a criminal. He said that dealing with environmental issues is much easier because that side has a totally different attitude. So farmers are responding. We need to know that the Government are committed to fulfilling their obligations on the payment and to reducing red tape in order to compete in the global market. Red tape never made anything; it only adds cost to our trade balance and reduces the profitability of the industry. I hope therefore that the Minister and those who are responsible will note that there is a lot of enthusiastic support for removing red tape. We must take notice of the recommendations and sensible proposals of stakeholders—the NFU and others—many of which I have seen. Farmers have the ability to compete, but many barriers need to be removed and commitments need to be made by the Government—not just hollow promises.