Daniel Zeichner MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Jun 2025 · Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme · Hansard source

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  The fruit and vegetables aid scheme is an EU legacy scheme, and it closes in England on 1 January 2026. It is available only via producer organisations —that was an EU requirement—and only 20% of growers are benefiting from it; 80% get no benefit. All growers will continue to benefit from the farming innovation programme’s £63 million of grants, and the five-year extension to the seasonal workers visa scheme that we have announced.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Animal Disease Outbreaks · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and relatively near neighbour. He is right to raise the bluetongue issues, which have been dealt with effectively by our officials. His points about border controls and checks are under close consideration, partly as a consequence of our new arrangements with the European Union.

• 8 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and note that even in those times of distress, woe and horror, some good relationships were formed. The seasonal worker visa scheme for 43,000 seasonal worker visas was announced a few months ago. That number includes 2,000 extra for poultry. At the National Farmers Union conference, the Secretary of State announced a five-year extension to 2030. That will provide certainty, but my hon. Friend is right that we need to analyse and assess very carefully what the industry needs to ensure it has the resources required.

• 8 May 2025 · Small Abattoirs · Hansard source

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  I could not possibly comment. I will return to the issue of small abattoirs, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government are absolutely committed to making sure that we uphold the very high standards that we have in this country, and that is what we have achieved through the agreement. Returning to small abattoirs, we are working to modernise statutory livestock traceability services, which should make a big difference over the next two to three years and make it less burdensome for all actors in the supply chain to report the movement of animals into their premises. As we advance those opportunities, we have been working with the industry to identify ways of helping to alleviate the pressures that smaller abattoirs face with the disposal of animal by-products and with labour supply—again, points that were raised in the opening speeches. We will continue to work closely with the industry to explore potential solutions. To further support economic growth, we remain committed to harnessing the purchasing power of the procurement supply chain to set the tone for delivering our wider ambitions on sustainability, animal welfare and health. We have an ambition to supply half of all food into the public sector from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards, in line with our World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations. For the first time, as the Secretary of State announced at the Oxford farming conference in January, the Government will review the food currently bought by the public sector and where it is bought from. That work will be a significant first step to inform future changes to public sector food procurement policies, helping to create an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spent each year on public sector catering contracts. As the Secretary of State also announced, we are committed to streamlining planning processes for agricultural infrastructure through the Government’s planned consultation on the national planning policy framework. That will give us the opportunity to consult on reforms to expedite the construction of essential farm infrastructure, such as buildings, barns and other facilities necessary for boosting food production, while also improving environmental sustainability. As the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, I am absolutely committed to helping smaller abattoirs to succeed and to take advantage of the opportunities available to them by continuing to support the meat industry where and when I can. To support employment in the meat processing sector—a point raised by several Members—the Government are taking firm action to address the challenges we have identified through our engagement with that sector. We are reforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and will align with the industrial strategy. That will include shorter-duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted, growing sectors. That will help more people to learn high quality skills at work and will fuel innovation in businesses across the country. The Government will set out our plans for further steps and detailed information on the growth and skills offer in due course, based on the findings of Skills England’s engagement over the autumn with key partners, including employers and training providers. As part of our commitment to strengthening vital sectors across the agricultural and food industries, we have also announced measures to provide stability to farmers and workers in the UK’s poultry sector. In February, the Government announced a five-year extension to the seasonal worker visa until the end of 2030, ensuring a reliable pipeline of workers for farms. As in previous years, 2,000 visas have been allocated specifically for seasonal poultry workers, and annual quota reviews will balance farm support with reducing reliance on seasonal migrant labour, helping farms to grow with stability and confidence. I turn to funding. Despite the ongoing financial challenges posed by a very tight public purse, we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, with the largest ever investment directed at sustainable food production and nature recovery. Capital investment will not solve every problem, but we do plan to simplify and rationalise grant funding to ensure that grants deliver the best benefit for food security and nature. We are currently working to agree our capital settlement as part of the spending review and, once it is agreed, we will consider how best to use capital to achieve outcomes. In closing, I thank the meat processing sector and smaller abattoirs specifically for their continued commitment to supplying the nation with healthy and wholesome food. The Government stand with them, and I look forward to continuing to work with the sector to build a stronger and more secure future for British agriculture and food production.

• 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.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Foot and Mouth Disease · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for expressing her concern. I reiterate the point I made earlier about the border controls that we have in place. I am afraid this has been a long-running issue, but we have much stronger border controls in place than we would have done in previous times. We are working hard with the port health authorities to make sure that we crack down on illegal imports of meat.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Foot and Mouth Disease · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his invitation; I shall add him to my list. The border checks involve a complicated set of issues, but one of the Brexit benefits, if you like, is the existence of those checks, and I am satisfied that they are providing a level of security that should give people confidence. As I said in an earlier answer, we have strengthened the controls on personal imports. It is always a challenge to protect any area, but we are in a better position than colleagues in mainland Europe.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Foot and Mouth Disease · Hansard source

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  I am always happy to speak to Lord Curry, who brings huge expertise and knowledge. I will just say to the hon. Gentleman that there was no delay—essentially, as soon as we were informed, we put the appropriate processes in place, and staff at border control points were issued instructions to hold goods at the border. Everything was done as quickly as possible. I hear the hon. Gentleman’s point about our relationship with the German Government. I know the German Minister personally, and I spoke to him yesterday. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are getting every co-operation needed from the German Government.

• 28 Nov 2024 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  I will certainly look at that. These are relatively early days in the fisheries management plans. A huge amount of work has had to be done quite quickly. We have established a good structure to look to the future—a much better way than in the past. On the quota shares, it is because we are now an independent coastal state that we have the right to negotiate with coastal states in the north-east Atlantic on management measures for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. Those are important stocks for the UK that have been overfished in recent years because there are no sharing arrangements in place between the coastal states. We continue to push for comprehensive quota-sharing arrangements that are in the best interests of stock sustainability and of the UK catching and processing sectors. We see the three-way management arrangement with Norway and the Faroes that we signed in June this year as an important stepping stone towards securing a fully comprehensive deal on mackerel. Almost all the speeches touched on the very challenging issue of marine spatial prioritisation. We know that considerable pressure is being put on the fishing sector by all the competing demands in our seas. And we know the seas are going to get busier over the coming decades. My hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Anna Gelderd) and the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) both raised those points. We absolutely need to factor in increasing spatial pressures and new activities such as the growth of new types of energy. As a Government, we will very carefully consider the evidence marshalled by the cross-Government marine spatial prioritisation programme for English waters. Lots of work is ongoing on this. I am absolutely determined that we have a full and open debate and dialogue because it is such a complicated issue, and I am very grateful for the constructive engagement we are having with industry representatives. I move on to labour shortages, which, again, were raised by the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland and others. We are, of course, aware of the concerns about labour shortages in the sector. Members spoke about the opportunities being there, if only we had the people to do the work—I thought that was very telling. My Department is working with industry to understand what we can do to alleviate those shortages, but they have to be understood in the context of our wider immigration policy objectives. I am sure Members will understand that there is an ongoing dialogue with the Home Office on that. I pledge that we will work closely with industry to understand people’s labour needs—including, of course, what can be done to make the industry more attractive to the domestic labour market, which is an issue that people have worked hard on. The points made on training were really quite uplifting; it was very good to hear about the work being done in Grimsby, for example.

• 14 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The proposal for a carbon border adjustment mechanism was supported by the previous Government, and we have confirmed it. It is complicated in the way it will work, and it will not affect people before 2027-28. The Liberal Democrats have shown once again that when it comes to environmental issues, they cannot be trusted.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Future of Fishing · Hansard source

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  I very much hear what the hon. Gentleman is saying. The visa issues are complicated but important, and there certainly could be opportunities if we can achieve the right outcome. The Fisheries Act 2020 set the broad outlines of where we will be going, and it and the joint fisheries statement that followed it detail the objectives for a thriving and sustainable fishing industry, which I know we all want to see. Since 2020, the UK has demonstrated its own approach to fisheries and to its role on the international stage. As an international coastal state, our relationship with the EU sits alongside our relationships with other international partners, as well as domestic partners. It is our status as an independent coastal state that gives us the right to negotiate with others in the north-east Atlantic on management measures for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. Those are important stocks for the UK that sadly have been overfished in recent years because of the lack of proper sharing arrangements between the coastal states. We are pushing for comprehensive quota-sharing arrangements that are in the best interests of stock sustainability and of the UK catching and processing sectors. As hon. Members will be aware, a full and faithful implementation of the fisheries heading of the trade and co-operation agreement will see access for EU vessels to the UK zone become a matter for annual negotiation, which will sit alongside our annual consultations on catch limits with a range of coastal states and international fora on fishing opportunities. Let me repeat that our ambitions for fisheries are no longer tied to the EU common fisheries policy. We have our own objectives for our own UK fishing industry, and they are central to our priorities and to the thriving and sustainable fishing industry that we want. As I have already said, the fisheries management plans are a key part of the way in which we intend to take the industry forward. I again pay tribute to the previous Government; they set that process in train and we are pleased to continue it. We are grateful for the support of the fishing sector and wider stakeholders in helping to shape the plans; they are being developed collaboratively with the fishing industry, and I think they are probably being looked at elsewhere around the world as an example of how best to manage the complicated trade-offs in our maritime space. The spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), raised the spatial squeeze issue. We are very aware of that, and we will come back to the House with proposals in the coming months and years. The fisheries management plans will play a crucial role in supporting the long-term sustainability of fishing businesses and delivering growth in coastal communities. As I have said, they are internationally recognised as the gold standard in managing fisheries. They protect and, where necessary, set out how to maintain or restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. Progress is being made. We have now published a sixth plan and work is being done to implement actions in the previously published plans. Legislation was recently introduced that will bring into law a number of the fisheries management measures set out in those plans. As I said, we opened consultations on the next five FMPs on 10 October. Beyond FMPs, we are putting in place a wider set of fisheries management reforms, in line with our domestic priorities as an independent coastal state. They include changes to the way we manage discards, the introduction of remote electronic monitoring, trialling new ways to allocate quota, and the opening of new fisheries, such as for bluefin tuna, which I am sure the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth will welcome. We will of course be looking at all ways to reform and best support all UK fisheries sectors to help our fishing and seafood industries thrive and contribute to economic growth and the nation’s food security. We are also considering the role of inshore and under-10 metre fisheries, including those in my part of the world—the east of England—and how we can best support that sector. A number of initiatives we are undertaking will benefit those inshore fishers, including the provision of additional quota and new quota trials, which should help the inshore fleet in the long run. We are continuing to engage with the five regional fisheries groups that have been set up for inshore fishers to discuss concerns with policymakers and regulators to help identify problems, contribute to policy development and secure solutions. In conclusion, the future of UK fisheries will be driven by our domestic agenda. We have domestic frameworks, including the Fisheries Act and joint fisheries statements, and policies such as the fisheries management plans that are part of the improvements we seek to make. For many years, our fisheries management was dictated by the EU common fisheries policy. That is no longer the case. Our relationship with the EU remains important and sits alongside other relationships we hold as an independent coastal state. We will continue to meet our international obligations, including those of the TCA, and the default arrangements for access after 2026 are clear. There are many opportunities ahead for our fishing sector. The Government are committed to making the most of them to secure the industry and ensure that it can best contribute to our country’s food security and economic growth, but this will be driven by our own domestic objectives.