UK Parliament / Open data

British Agriculture and Food Labelling

Opposition day on Tuesday, 24 February 2009, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Herbert of South Downs. The answering member was Jane Kennedy.
British agriculture and food labelling. Sixth Opposition Day debate (part 2). Main question negatived on division (212 votes to 300). Amendment agreed to on question.
Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
488 c221-64 
Session
2008-09
Department
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Speaker | 488 c221 (Link to this contribution) I advise the House that Mr. Speaker has selected the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister.
David Leslie Taylor | 488 c222 (Link to this contribution) We on the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have looked into the issue a great...

Show all contributions (107)
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c221-2 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House believes that British consumers are entitled to know exactly how and ...
David Drew | 488 c222 (Link to this contribution) There is not a great deal in the motion with which I can disagree; indeed, I have supported cross-pa...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c222 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman should know that there is indeed a Co-op in Arundel, which I have been into. Peop...
Alan Simpson | 488 c222-3 (Link to this contribution) Just to help the hon. Gentleman on that point, does he understand and accept that, in the controvers...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c222 (Link to this contribution) We on the Conservative Benches are strong supporters of locally sourced food. In fact, there is a fa...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c223 (Link to this contribution) I note that the hon. Gentleman's judgment about whether the motion is worth while did not stop him f...
Rob Marris | 488 c223 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is being very generous in giving way. It seems to me, looking at the motion and t...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c223 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's point, but I will come to the extent to which a...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c224 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman, but he should be directing his comments to the Government and askin...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c223-4 (Link to this contribution) I happen to agree with the hon. Gentleman's support for an ombudsman. Last week at the National Farm...
Andrew George | 488 c223 (Link to this contribution) In view of the Conservatives' enthusiasm for transparency in the food chain, I would be interested i...
Jeremy Browne | 488 c224 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c224 (Link to this contribution) I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. It is a disgrace that the public sector procurement of British...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 488 c224 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is being very generous in giving way. Does he agree that although the consumer and th...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c230 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman will allow me, I will come to that point in a little while. I agree, and I hav...
Stephen O'Brien | 488 c230 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will be aware that 10 years ago I introduced a private Member's Bill on this very subje...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c231 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman says, the Competition Commissioner will report to my ministerial colleagues in...
Nicholas Winterton | 488 c231 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the Minister to respond to my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Goodw...
Andrew George | 488 c230-1 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister accept that her stated objective of encouraging, or indeed enabling, consumers to ...
Andrew Murrison | 488 c231 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Lady said that the problems facing the pork sector were not all to do with labelling,...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c224-6 (Link to this contribution) No. I have been generous in giving way and I want to make some progress. The Government's own food ...
Richard Bacon | 488 c226 (Link to this contribution) There is a further point to consider. Does my hon. Friend agree that the retailers will accept count...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c226-8 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend that there is evidence that some retailers have been willing to mov...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c228-9 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from ““House”” to the end of the Question and add:"““consid...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c229 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman—indeed, I agree with some of the points made by the hon. Member for ...
Robert Goodwill | 488 c229 (Link to this contribution) The Minister talks about trading freely, but what about trading fairly? If production methods used o...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c229-30 (Link to this contribution) I do not disagree with the hon. Gentleman about Shropshire, but in a moment I will come to why there...
Mark Pritchard | 488 c229 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will know that some of the best arable livestock and some of the best dairy farming in ...
Bill Wiggin | 488 c230 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will be aware that none of the bacon fed to our troops is British. What discussions has...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c236 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to point out that it is possible for consumers unknowingly to buy meat produ...
David Drew | 488 c236 (Link to this contribution) One thing that has not been mentioned is genetically modified food and its labelling. We know that t...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c236-7 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to mention security of supply, which covers at least two areas. One is the n...
Rob Marris | 488 c236 (Link to this contribution) Speaking of a debate to which we may return on another occasion and given that this one is about Bri...
Lord Benyon | 488 c238 (Link to this contribution) I note that the hon. Gentleman refers to himself as the shadow Secretary of State for Environment, F...
Tim Farron | 488 c237-8 (Link to this contribution) It is important to know the truth about what we buy. The description on the outside can be technical...
Stephen O'Brien | 488 c238 (Link to this contribution) I am intrigued by the idea that the hon. Gentleman would like to support both the Opposition motion ...
Tim Farron | 488 c238 (Link to this contribution) We believe in having a proper supermarket regulator to ensure that we do not just have the surface i...
David Heath | 488 c239 (Link to this contribution) I am very concerned by what I heard from the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Benyon). It seems that the...
Tim Farron | 488 c238-9 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but he clearly misheard me. We will vote f...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c235-6 (Link to this contribution) May I just finish this point? Given the Conservatives' famously robust view of Europe, how do they p...
Andrew Murrison | 488 c234 (Link to this contribution) Could the right hon. Lady not then apply for an exception for British pork—in the same way that the ...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c234 (Link to this contribution) That is within the scope of the discussions that are taking place in the European Commission about h...
David Heath | 488 c234 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Lady not agree that, at the very least, it should not be possible to pass off me...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c234 (Link to this contribution) It is certainly something that I will be looking into. [Interruption.] Well, it is something that I ...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c235 (Link to this contribution) The guidance was updated again in November. The FSA is quite clear about what should be included in ...
Richard Bacon | 488 c235 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Lady is being very generous in giving way. The FSA updated its guidance in July. Will...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c235 (Link to this contribution) I am conscious that I am taking up a lot of time, but I will give way again.
Jane Kennedy | 488 c233-4 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that that is the case. If we were to have all country of origin information on all pro...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c233 (Link to this contribution) Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have met representatives of eight of the big ...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c233 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister. Does she agree that, while Marks and Spencer's other labelling is ent...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) Yes, because I said that I would.
Jane Kennedy | 488 c233 (Link to this contribution) That is precisely the work that we are doing. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that when a case can b...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) I will investigate the options. I certainly want to share as much of it as I can with the task force...
Rob Marris | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) In the interests of consumers such as ourselves, could my right hon. Friend publish the legal advice...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman allow me to explain the basis of that legal advice before I give way? His pr...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) The Conservative party's website. The document says that the Conservatives would"““write into law a ...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) I will come to the differences, and the flaws in the proposal advanced by the hon. Gentleman's party...
James Paice | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister. Can she tell us what extra costs would result from our proposed legis...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) I will, but I want to embark on the detail of my speech.
Kelvin Hopkins | 488 c256 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
James Paice | 488 c256-8 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not. That is why we have proposed a Bill to deal with the problem. That is why we suppor...
Huw Irranca-Davies | 488 c258-60 (Link to this contribution) I thank the House for a generally balanced and interesting debate. Once again, I welcome the Opposit...
Lord Robathan | 488 c260 (Link to this contribution) claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36). Question put forthwith, That the Question be n...
Speaker | 488 c260 (Link to this contribution) I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the No Lobby.
David Jones | 488 c253-4 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend the Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) has asserted with absolute confidence that th...
Andrew Murrison | 488 c254-5 (Link to this contribution) I declare an interest as a keeper of rare-breed pigs. I have four minutes to cover pigs, pork and ba...
Roger Williams | 488 c252 (Link to this contribution) I would appreciate hearing my hon. Friend's comments on Ofcom, which uses the 100 g criteria in deci...
Dan Rogerson | 488 c252-3 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. In fact, Ofcom is using the guidelines presented by o...
James Paice | 488 c255-6 (Link to this contribution) Let me begin by reminding the House of my interests, as declared in the Register of Members' Interes...
Bill Wiggin | 488 c248-9 (Link to this contribution) I read Farmers Weekly, and this morning when I was reading the editorial comment I saw that Jane Kin...
Stephen O'Brien | 488 c252 (Link to this contribution) Of course, one can actually get the right solution by completely ignoring the stubborn FSA approach—...
Dan Rogerson | 488 c252 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to have taken that contribution from the hon. Gentleman. The issue is often one of portio...
Richard Bacon | 488 c249-51 (Link to this contribution) Last November, the Minister, who is unfortunately not in her place, presented the David Black memori...
Dan Rogerson | 488 c251-2 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief, because other hon. Members wish to get in on this debate. I am glad that we have ...
Stephen O'Brien | 488 c247-8 (Link to this contribution) Well, it was uncompetitive from our point of view, of course. Some 10 years later, we still have ba...
Alan Simpson | 488 c244 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that intervention, because it strengthens the point that I am trying to make. Ther...
Alan Simpson | 488 c244-6 (Link to this contribution) There are long rivers in Hampshire. All that takes us into the world of the absurd, and there is a ...
Tim Farron | 488 c242 (Link to this contribution) I certainly agree that the rules are, by and large, rigged in favour of powerful players. It is the ...
Speaker | 488 c242 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before I call the next speaker, I remind the House that although there is no time limit on Ba...
Alan Simpson | 488 c242-4 (Link to this contribution) Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am glad to have caught your eye, given the number of Labour Back Benchers who ...
David Drew | 488 c244 (Link to this contribution) I am glad that my hon. Friend raised that case. I know a bit about it, as I was one of the complaina...
David Drew | 488 c242 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief. Despite my feelings about the EU, I point out that surely at the core of the issue...
Rob Marris | 488 c241 (Link to this contribution) Would the hon. Gentleman care to say something about the operation of the market and food security? ...
Tim Farron | 488 c241-2 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely correct, and the hon. Gentleman makes the point well. Ensuring that we have a for...
Speaker | 488 c240 (Link to this contribution) Order. I am reluctant to intervene, but I trust that the hon. Gentleman will relate his remarks to l...
Tim Farron | 488 c240-1 (Link to this contribution) That is indeed what I am proceeding to do. To recap, we will support the Conservative motion, but i...
Andrew Turner | 488 c240 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not understand that the choice is between an interventionist system of the k...
Tim Farron | 488 c240 (Link to this contribution) That is a very interesting point. Clearly, in a free society, we surely should be able to intervene ...
James Paice | 488 c239 (Link to this contribution) I think that the House deserves a little more clarity about what the hon. Gentleman is proposing. Ca...
Tim Farron | 488 c239-40 (Link to this contribution) I can make it absolutely clear. We are talking about ensuring that farmers get a fair price at the f...
Tim Farron | 488 c239 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. We are talking about farm gate prices and the exploitation of the farmers w...
David Drew | 488 c224 (Link to this contribution) I pay due tribute to my friend in this regard, the hon. Member for St. Ives (Andrew George). The Com...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c231 (Link to this contribution) I agree that fairness is extremely important, and that is why the Competition Commissioner's recomme...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c230 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) said, the issues facing pi...
Jane Kennedy | 488 c231 (Link to this contribution) On the contrary. I shall now set out what I consider to be the difference between our wish to conduc...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 488 c232 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister. She has cited legal advice which I hope she will publish, but why hav...
Stephen O'Brien | 488 c246-7 (Link to this contribution) I can keep some of my remarks brief, on the basis that the case for improved food labelling in this ...
Richard Bacon | 488 c233 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister accept that a simple way out would be to put to the Commission the point that alth...
Subjects
Animal welfare
Agriculture
EU law
Genetically modified organisms
EU internal trade
Food
Labelling
Imports
Food supply
Procurement
Meat
Marketing
Meat products
Origin marking
Supermarkets
Trade competitiveness
Link
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