Daniel Zeichner MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Feb 2025 · Support for the Scotch Whisky Industry · Hansard source

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  I hear those concerns. We are addressing a whole range of financial issues across the economy, and we think this is a fair and balanced approach. To continue outlining some of the measures that we have taken to support the industry, we have announced measures to reduce business costs and encourage growth. We will be doing away with the alcohol duty stamp scheme from 1 May. About 3,500 spirits producers, bottlers and labellers will no longer need to comply with the duty stamp requirements, saving an estimated £6.5 million annually. We will also simplify the administration of alcohol duty, reducing burdens and supporting growth. From March 2025, HMRC’s arrangements for duty returns and payments will be reformed, supported by a new online service. Additionally, reform of the production approvals required by spirits producers means that many will no longer be required to operate separate excise warehousing facilities for the storage, bottling and labelling of their own products. The industry has always been innovative in sustainability practices. That is reflected in the strategy developed by the Scottish Whisky Association, supported by the UK Government as we strive to develop a more circular economy. The strategy involves a number of packaging reforms, such as the deposit return scheme and extended producer responsibility. We genuinely believe that this partnership working toward a common outcome will help us all to achieve wider sustainability goals. We are aware that some distilleries in Scotland have struggled in recent years with delays and limitations to connection with the national grid, creating a barrier to growing their businesses. Reducing electricity network connection timescales and expanding network capacity to connect and to power businesses are both top priorities for the Government. We are working closely with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator to accelerate network connections. The newly announced mission control for clean power 2030, alongside planning reforms to speed up infrastructure development, will play a vital role in unlocking grid connection delays for Scotch whisky distilleries, especially those in rural areas. I thank the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey again for securing this debate. In the contributions today, we have heard Members’ passion for this vital and important industry in Scotland and the wider United Kingdom. We have also demonstrated the strong support the UK Government are giving the Scottish whisky industry by listening to and acting on the industry’s concerns, and by working collaboratively toward common goals. Question put and agreed to.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Support for the Scotch Whisky Industry · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Siobhain. I thank the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) for securing the debate and providing such an excellent and thorough introduction. I commend my hon. Friends the Members for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Alison Taylor) and for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) on their contributions. I am sure that they will all be delighted to hear how much I enjoyed my visit in the summer to the Glendronach distillery in Aberdeenshire. The Government recognise and celebrate the global success of the Scotch whisky industry, which is of historical and cultural significance and plays a huge role in the UK’s economy and balance of trade. In 2023, exports of Scotch reached almost £6 billion in value. That success comes from the industry’s well-earned reputation for quality and high standards, and we are committed to working with the industry to champion and protect that reputation.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Support for the Scotch Whisky Industry · Hansard source

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  I will come to the Budget measures in a moment, but first I endorse my hon. Friend’s point about the number of jobs the industry supports—41,000 in Scotland and a further 25,000 across the rest of the UK, many in rural areas. Collectively, whisky distilleries are now Scotland’s most visited tourist attraction, bringing in thousands of domestic and international tourists every year, largely to rural areas, and creating many opportunities for employment. Whisky is also a hugely important trade good. In 2023, the equivalent of 53 bottles of Scotch every second were sold overseas. That is important to delivering growth at home, which is why we are committed to supporting the Scotch whisky industry to export its fine products to overseas markets. We do that by leveraging free trade agreements and removing barriers to market access across the world. We are currently working on no fewer than 29 markets.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Budget: Impact on Farmers · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question, which is one that I have been asked at the Dispatch Box many times over the past few weeks. I have been to meet farmers in Cumbria, and last week I met farmers in south Cambridgeshire. I would love to meet farmers in Devon, so I am happy to add him to the list for my grand tour across the country to reassure people that there is a strong plan to ensure that farmers have a viable future, which they did not have under the last Government.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Budget: Impact on Farmers · Hansard source

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  The truth is that confidence among farmers has been far too low for far too long. That is why this Government are setting out the sustainable long-term plan for farming. Again, I point people to the Secretary of State’s address at the Oxford farming conference. We will continue to progress our priorities over the coming weeks.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Agriculture Sector: Growth · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a very important point, but we need to make sure that we get the right balance between producing food and using our land for other purposes. That is why it is so important that a land use framework was brought forward. We have a consultation going on for the next 12 weeks, and I am sure that he and others will contribute to it.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Agriculture Sector: Growth · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes an important set of points, but I point him to the speech that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made at Oxford, because he made the very strong point that farming needs to get a better return for the hard work that farmers do. Alongside that, diversification is important to allow people to get through the difficult times, which inevitably come up in a cyclical business such as farming.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Agriculture Sector: Growth · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The Secretary of State set out our vision to boost farmers’ profitability and sustainability in our plan for change when he spoke to the 2025 Oxford farming conference. That includes a cast-iron commitment to food security, a £5 billion agricultural budget over the next two years, a boost to profitability by making the supply chain fairer and protecting farmers in trade deals.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Agriculture Sector: Growth · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes an important set of points about the biosecurity needed to protect our country. Over the past few weeks we have had a series of questions across the Dispatch Box about the foot and mouth outbreak in Germany and avian influenza. We have had this discussion about the investment in Weybridge, and I am delighted that this Government have brought forward a £280 million investment there. Of course, we need to do more in future, but what on earth were the previous Government doing over the past 14 years?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Public Procurement: British Produce · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman not only for his question, but for his interest in and attendance at DEFRA questions—we are honoured to have him here. I am very happy to look at what he suggests and to work towards making those proposals work. We know that it is complicated within World Trade Organisation rules, but there is a real prize to be had here.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Public Procurement: British Produce · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right; there is a real opportunity here, with £5 billion of purchasing power in the public sector, so we are looking at ways of ensuring that happens. It was a real surprise for us to find that the previous Government had not even measured the amount that was being bought—that is the starting point. We will start to make that happen, and we will get that huge opportunity for British farmers.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Public Procurement: British Produce · Hansard source

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  Over recent weeks we have announced a series of reforms delivering on the Government’s new deal for farmers, ensuring that, in line with World Trade Organisation rules and domestic procurement rules, we can ensure that procurement is used to back British farmers.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Cat Breeding: Regulation · Hansard source

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  This is an issue that has been widely discussed. Our advice is that it would be difficult to enforce in practice, but I fully recognise the distress and concern that it causes.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Cat Breeding: Regulation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question and for his references. The Animal Welfare Committee has provided its opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices, and we will be looking at those and coming back with measures in future. In passing, may I pay tribute to organisations such as Cats Protection, which does such wonderful work? I am told that it recently pointed the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), to her new kittens, Lily and Meglatron.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Cat Breeding: Regulation · Hansard source

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  Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling cats as pets needs to have a valid licence issued by their local authority, and licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, which are enforced by local authorities.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for his question. The issues at Dover are significant and long-running. The funding was not resolved ahead of the general election, and there is an ongoing discussion. We are very aware of the challenges, but we are on it, and we will make sure that we are talking to those at Dover Port Health Authority.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My near neighbour raises an important point—this is a very high-value sector. A commitment was made to designate thoroughbred horses as high-health animals as part of the border target operating model, and we will provide an update on the timeline for implementation by the end of the summer.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his very important question. I can assure him that an entire apparatus is in place to ensure that all reassurance can be given to the kind of businesses that the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) described. From an animal welfare point of view, we will ensure that everybody involved in the sector has the kind of advice and support that is needed. If my hon. Friend has colleagues who wish to look at the advice, they should look at the webpages available on Government websites, which are significant and thorough. If people need advice, they should not hesitate to come to my officials or to me, and we will point them in the right direction.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is absolutely right: we need to be very careful about that. I can assure her that those are exactly the kinds of discussions that I am having with officials. We are tracking that and have the technology these days to look closely at what is going on. I will not go into the expert account on the Floor of the House of how the serotype works, but I am happy to put her in contact with officials if she needs more information.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  We have indeed assessed it. Of course, it is extraordinary that that happened. In terms of what we are doing, the system is well resourced to deal with these outbreaks, and we work in a cross-party way on that.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Secretary of State for her important questions. First, I reassure her and the House that the individual in question is, in my understanding, making a full recovery, but obviously we want to ensure that no one is put at undue risk. The advice is clear: the only people at risk are those who are in very close proximity. People should follow the guidance and advice. On mitigating sector supply, my understanding is there is sufficient supply within the system. Although the right hon. Member is absolutely right to raise the point that it was a significant and large producer that was affected, we are confident that supply is secure. On working with the devolved Administrations, my officials are in regular contact, as I said in my opening statement. The situation is being constantly monitored. The right hon. Member will be familiar with the compensation arrangements because they are the same as when she and her colleagues were in government. They are designed to control the disease, but of course they are also absolutely important to secure cash flow for farmers.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He will recall the terrible outbreak a few years ago when exactly those questions were raised and, as the shadow Minister, I asked similar questions at the time. The compensation arrangements were changed by the previous Government in a beneficial way, and I am absolutely confident at the moment that the delays we saw before are not happening. But he raises an important point: anyone who has a suspicion of an outbreak should report it as soon as possible, and they should not be concerned that they will suffer detriment from so doing.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  I am, as ever, grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue as it impacts Northern Ireland. We have been developing a UK-wide response to this, and my officials are in constant contact with officials from his Administration. We will ensure that this UK-wide response continues to be in place, because it is very important that we work together on all these issues. I hope in the not-too-distant future to continue my tour of the country, and I very much look forward to taking up his long-standing invitation—not only to Stormont, where I have been before, but to his fishing sector—and the very warm welcome that I know I will receive.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The importance of biosecurity cannot be overstressed —that is the way to tackle this. He is also right to say that amateurs and small bird keepers are important, and that is why they were brought within the registration scheme, which is beneficial and welcome.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his invitation. I have had numerous invitations. Last week, I was in Northumberland looking at rural crime, and this week I was at the Fenland SOIL—sustainability, opportunity, innovation, learning—conference. I will add the hon. Gentleman’s invitation to my list.