Common Agricultural Policy

The hon. Gentleman is right that it is a long, hard business to reform the CAP. The sadness is th...

My hon. Friend will be aware of the concerns of the National Farmers Union and a whole alliance o...

I am afraid that is an area where the National Farmers Union and the Government simply do not agr...

Will the Minister expand on that? Farmers have expressed their concern to me in recent weeks and ...

A simple answer—I appreciate that it might be considered a simplistic one—is that we target the f...

The Minister is absolutely right to place the emphasis on pillar two. The figure for voluntary mo...

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman as full an answer as he would wish. First, we have not yet agree...

Will the Minister acknowledge the need for regional flexibility to allow Northern Ireland to tail...

Absolutely. That has been one of our key objectives during the negotiations, and we have worked c...

Surely the answer to the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) is no, voluntary modulation...

indicated assent.

The hon. Gentleman accepts my point. That arrangement created a level playing field across the wh...

I do not accept the issue of competitiveness, but I entirely accept the figures that my right hon...

The Minister said that only the devolved Administrations will be allowed to tailor their schemes ...

I hope that I have not misled the House in any way on this. We will bring forward our own proposa...

I am extremely interested in the Minister’s point about the United Kingdom having policies that a...

That depends on how we define repatriation. We have been arguing strongly for increased flexibili...

The Minister has put on record his intention to help hill and upland farmers in England. At the m...

As always, my hon. Friend is very well informed on these subjects. He is right, and that is somet...

Reference has been made to Scotland in regard to the transition. Would the situation that the Min...

Wales will have the same capacity as Scotland to apply its own CAP rules within the overall rules...

rose—

I should perhaps continue with my speech for a few minutes, rather than take any more interventio...

The Minister is being very generous in taking interventions. Will he respond to the concern of ma...

Obviously, we try as far as possible to eliminate potential disadvantages. I cannot say that we w...

I appreciate the Minister’s understanding of this complex issue. Many farmers who have had to lea...

I am grateful for that question. A lot will depend on the local determination in Northern Ireland...

The Minister is being very gracious in the number of interventions he is willing to take. The UK ...

The hon. Gentleman asks a basic question about voluntary modulation. We have already indicated th...

Will the Minister give way?

Of course.

Order. Before the right hon. Gentleman intervenes, may I gently point out that this is a 90-minut...

I will be very brief, Mr Speaker. I would be grateful if the Minister put on the record the Gover...

We do not believe that is a sensible position. We are not likely to succeed in preventing it, but...

We welcome this opportunity to scrutinise progress towards reform of the common agricultural poli...

On that fundamental point, does my hon. Friend agree that the idea that the CAP can be reformed i...

My hon. Friend, who has great knowledge of this area, is right. It is as though the Government ar...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for those kind words. I am interested to know what is the position of ...

The Minister ought to go back and look at the voting record, because the Labour party voted colle...

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. He has a vision of the perfect nego...

There, once again, speaks the historic Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party. We have always...

rose—

Order. The House will next be addressed by the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs C...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister on giving the House the opportunity to discuss the Com...

I am delighted to speak after the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh), the Chair of...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I do not have time, I am afraid.

The Chair of the Committee was absolutely right to put the...

Time will curtail what I say in the debate—I will not say all I would have liked to say, which wi...

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate on the reform of the common agricultural ...

Does the hon. Lady agree that the reforms should support production, reduce red tape, and ensure ...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I absolutely agree that farmers need to receive ...

I draw the attention of Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I omitted to refer to my entry in the Register of Members...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. May I too apologise for forgetting to refer to my entry i...

Is there anybody else while we are on the record? If not, I call Roger Williams.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am glad that my contribution has caused so much interest in the C...

How concerned is the hon. Gentleman, therefore, about the drive towards a referendum on the Briti...

I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern. The Farmers Union of Wales has made it clear that is sees E...

rose—

Order. There are four speakers and 16 minutes left.

1.55 pm

Last year, in its first report of the Session under the able chairmanship of the hon. Member for ...

I think the hon. Lady means that she does not want any disadvantage for our farmers. I hope she w...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for correcting me. I did not realise I had said that. I clearly meant ...

Very briefly, I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Inte...

I wrote my first paper on the CAP some 33 years ago. I suggested at that time that either it shou...

I am disappointed that we have such a short amount of time to debate these issues. We are talking...

I have limited time to reply to a very interesting debate, including to the rather ungenerous com...