House of Commons
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat Tim Farron says: "No cyber attacker can ever do as much damage to the UK as we are about to do to ourselves in leaving the EU."

But he adds: "If there was one aspect of leaving the European Union where I could see a silver lining, it is potentially the ability for the United Kingdom to design and deliver a policy for supporting agriculture."

He is critical of the the bill in a number of ways - which he says is "poorly thought out" and shortsighted.

"There is no point having food security for the next 20 years, if after that the land is unusable... Anyone who thinks three years constitute the long term knows absolutely nothing about farming.

"Many of the words in the bill are good, but the detail and understanding of farming are lacking."

Select Committee
Parliament

MPs are meeting to discuss the cost of the restoration of Parliament.

Parliament has approved a large restoration of Westminster in order to allow the palace to be brought back to full working condition. However, Parliamentarians will not move before 2025 at the earliest, while other works take place beforehand.

MPs in January voted to vacate the premises while some aspects of the restoration take place. Work is already taking place on the Elizabeth Tower, much to the disappointment of tourists.

The total cost of the regeneration is expected to cost around £5.6bn.

At the time, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said that the era of “patch and mend” had to come to an end.

MPs have said that in its current state, the Palace of Westminster has become a safety risk for those who work in it.

It was originally recommended by a joint report on the Palace of Westminster in 2016 that the rolling programme of repairs had to come to an end.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Clive Efford asks how much of the money is the live performance, and how much is merchandise.

Ben Lovett, of Mumford and Sons, says you might get paid £700-800 for a venue with 200 people, and that doesn't include rehearsals or vehicle hire. "It's kind of a loss leader," he adds.

ShaoDow says that for his tour he was happy to pay out of his own pocket and charge attendees £10. He says on that tour he made a "small profit".

"It's the same with these small music venues," he says, because small venues do it for the love of music, not for the money.

We're going to leave this committee here, as we turn our attention to the Finance Committee on the restoration of the Houses of Parliament.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Damian Collins asks the musician ShaoDow asks if specific areas of the country have been particularly affected by the closure of small music venues.

ShaoDow says that there are areas of the country where he is not able to organise an event, because there are no venues which can hold just one or two hundred people. There are only places where there are capacity for 500 people upwards.

Mark Davyd, of the Music Venue Trust, says that under the current economic circumstances, when a venue closes, it is highly unlikely to reopen.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Former Conservative environment, food and rural affairs secretary Owen Paterson celebrates that the UK will have greater control of agricultural policy after Brexit.

"It is impossible to have an all-encompassing regime for the whole continent," as the EU attempts to do, he says.

He agrees with Deidre Brock that "it would be nice to have a mention in the introduction of food... that surely is the first role of farming". But he says "we should not subsidise food production" - that should instead be left to technology development and individual farmers.

"I congratulate the secretary of state heartily... I look forward to voting for this bill tonight."

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Press Association

The DCMS Committee is meeting to take evidence on the impact of live music to the UK's culture and economy.

The British live music industry attracted over 30 million music fans in 2016, with music tourism contributing £4bn to the UK economy that year. However, despite the fact that festival and concert attendance continues to grow, the number of grassroots music venues have seen a drastic decline.

The growth of secondary ticketing has seen trust in the music industry fade from devoted fans.

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP environment, food and rural affairs spokesperson Deidre Brock says the bill "lacks the foundations" as there is still no Brexit deal, with the government taking the country "off a cliff-edge" with its approach.

However, "you can't see the horror, but you can appreciate it's going to hit you hard", she says, acknowledging that the bill is at least a start.

Food production is a significant absence from the bill, she criticises - which she says is the central point of agriculture.

She criticises Defra, who she says are unprepared for Brexit and lack a clear vision of post-Brexit policy, which is demonstrated by the bill: "Here we are with a bill that would require secondary legislation."

Agriculture policy is devolved and she says there is "no need for a power grab", but the plans being made that would affect Scottish agriculture "would not suit Scotland". Pledges to "respect Scotland's parliament" have been dropped and are "breathtaking" in their scope.

"No decent Scottish MP could stand by and allow this," she concludes, stating that her party will be voting against the bill.

The DUP would end its parliamentary support for the Tories if they sign up to deal that means additional checks between NI and rest of UK.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Neil Parish, says he supports this bill, but was upset that the committee were not offered pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill before now.

He says he welcomes the long transitional period for farmers, as it gives farmers more certainty, but that it "must be made sure that farmers are sufficiently supported during this time".

"Having good, healthy, affordable food is absolutely essential," he says.

Neil Parish says there are ways the payment system to and from farmers and producers can be made more palatable.

"Let's make sure we can feed our nation on our food," he says. "Farmers are the original friends of the Earth."

He says if the government weakens the UK's farming sector through this bill "there will be severe consequences", so the government needs to make sure it is as thorough, progressive and tight as possible.

Image source, Getty Images

The Agriculture Bill 2018 is the legislation setting out a system for UK farming and environmental protections to support farmers after Brexit, which takes the UK out of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

It is the first Agriculture Bill since 1947.

The bill also sets the framework for Defra’s future Environmental Land Management Policy.

The government is seeking to move away from the current subsidy system for farmers, which is based on the amount of land owned or farmed. It claims the current Direct Payments system is “ineffective” as it pays farmers on the total amount of land farmed.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has said that the "lion's share" of farm subsidies after Brexit should go to support environmental work.

Whilst the Agriculture Bill will not have any funding directly attached to it, as funding is ring fenced until 2022, the results of the next spending review in 2019 will determine what lies ahead for farmers in the UK.

A note on devolution

Agriculture policy is devolved, and so the Agriculture Bill sets out primary legislation mostly for England. The government says following engagement with the devolved administrations the bill will provide powers for Welsh Government ministers to pursue their own reforms, and extend provisions to Northern Ireland, until primary legislation is taken through their own legislatures. The Scottish Government is not taking powers in the bill.

House of Commons
Parliament

"Access to good quality, healthy food must not become just the preserve of those who can afford it," shadow secretary for environment, food and rural affairs Sue Hayman says.

"We can do more to increase British production of food in this country and any trading deals must protect the standards our farmers have."

She says all this bill currently offers UK farmers is "a pay off", which will lead many to sell out to big intensive factories.

"Labour will oppose any free trade deal which threatens existing standards."

She says the post Brexit agricultural policy is a seminal moment for the future of the environment, agriculture and countryside, but regrets the lack of legally enforceable environmental detection targets.

"We must talk proactively about what we want to see as part of a long term strategy for farming, and sustainability must be at the forefront of this."

She says Labour cannot support this bill at second reading unless amendments are made.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Michael Gove says the bill also ensures that the UK can take its seat at the World Trade Organisation and negotiate on behalf of the United Kingdom.

He says this bill is "not a power grab from our devolved administrations", as it is asking them to do what they believe is right for UK farmers which is "to move away from a system which has inadequately rewarded them for the food they provide".

"We must give UK farmers the chance to sell more, and hand the UK farming sector on to the next generation in a much better shape."

Sue Hayman, shadow environment, food and rural affairs secretary, says clarity is needed in the agriculture sector, but that the bill proposed by Michael Gove is "vague with no commitment to protecting either farmers or consumers in this country".

"Let me bring the secretary of state's 'Green Brexit Dream' into the cold light of day," she says.

"The bill does not match up to the nature of the agricultural crisis we are facing, and is worryingly silent when it comes to food poverty."

Agreeing with Green MP Caroline Lucas, Sue Hayman says the bill should contain a commitment to net zero emissions within farming.

Mark D'Arcy
Parliamentary Correspondent

Ho-hum….just another wilting Wednesday, as MPs yomped through another super-sized PMQs (48 minutes) that was distinctly short of super content.

The shining exception was the veteran Ken Clarke, who urged the PM to push through a soft Brexit, using pro-EU Labour votes to counter any threat of rebellion by hard Brexiteers on the Tory benches, or “right-wing nationalists” as he called them.

The PM’s non-answer did not endorse that strategy, which would be pretty poisonous to Tory unity, and simply hoped everyone would support the deal she struck – but she offered a crumb of comfort to the Brexiteers by saying it was the government’s duty to Leave, in the light of the referendum decision.

So while their exchange provided no answers, it did highlight some of the choices she faces – and that will eventually confront all MPs, as well.

It may well be that some further uncomfortable compromises are in the pipleline, and with the government’s DUP allies warning they might ditch their deal with the Conservatives and refuse to support the Budget, at the end of the month, the position is increasingly wobbly.

Each negotiating shift wins some MPs and loses others – as the government inches towards what it hopes will be a sellable solution.

Trade deal with Japan?

A second front was opened by former [David] Cameron policy wonk Alex Burghart who asked about a trade deal with Japan and the Trans Pacific Partnership – a prospect that Brexiteers think would probably be ruled out by the PM’s current Brexit policy. Theresa May sounded positive. Was that the sound of her spiking one Brexiteer gun, and ruling in an approach they say won’t be possible?

As predicted, after the PM hailed the end of austerity in her conference speech, Jeremy Corbyn highlighted areas of public services still squeezed, and pointed out the impact on pay for teachers and the police.

Confronted by questions like this, the PM rattles off figures and lapses into officiale-ese, constantly repeating the phrases “in respect of”.

This does not strike me as a very effective riposte – and although she eventually did get round to saying her government would not abandon fiscal responsibility, that phrasing was again a lapse into official jargon, rather than a fighting retort.

The difference? Mr Corbyn’s questions could be (and doubtless were) slapped straight onto social media for the delectation of austerity-weary swing voters; the PM's needed subtitles for those who don’t speak high formal Whitehall-ese.

Elsewhere, Labour’s Jim McMahon, a highly regarded shadow minister, probed the PM’s willingness to beef up the anti-slavery laws, in the wake of a Westminster Hall debate where there were cross party calls for improvements to be made and for a new anti-slavery commissioner to be appointed.

As Home Secretary, Theresa May worked hard to get the Modern Slavery Bill into law, and she said the government would continue to do all it could to tackle the problem.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards asks about the role of the supermarkets, and draws the secretary of state's attention to France where there is a focus on altering the power away from the supermarkets and to the producer.

He asks whether Michael Gove is prepared to take on the supermarkets.

Michael Gove says farmers should get supported and rewarded for the work they do with supporting clean air strategies and welfare policies, and notes the positive work supermarkets are doing with farmers to ensure more produce is sold.

"I'm a big fan of wonky veg," he says.

Michael Gove says UK farmers have greater financial certainty than those anywhere else in Europe.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Theresa Villiers intervenes to ask Mr Gove how he will discourage intensive farming methods and low welfare standards.

Michael Gove says "at the heart of everything we do is ensuring we have an ethical approach to proceedings", but admits "the level and intensity of farm inspection is not currently at the levels we need to maintain and secure high standards".

He says the bill will set a clear direction for the future of agriculture, and there will be a seven year transition from 2021 in order for UK farmers "to get to grips with the changes and take advantage of them".

The current system allocates taxpayers money purely on the size of the agricultural land holdings "which is wrong", he says.

"The common agricultural policy currently gives the bulk of funds to major landowners and this system needs to be changed."

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Sir Hugo Swire asks the secretary of state about labelling after the death of two customers of Pret a Manager due to incorrectly and non-comprehensively labelled food items.

He calls for Michael Gove to begin a review into food product labelling.

"The consumer deserves to know where the produce has been produced, and exactly what is in it," he says.

Michael Gove says recent tragic events require immediate action and the government will be working to ensure that labelling rules are reviewed and strictly followed as urgently as possible.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove introduces the bill, which is the legislation setting out a system for UK farming and environmental protections to support farmers after Brexit.

Michael Gove says the bill will ensure that the very high environmental and animal welfare standards will be maintained, and that no deal will be made which will undercut these high standards which gives the UK's agriculture industry the great reputation it has.

He says the Brexit plan will ensure the country "can have the best possible access to EU markets, and opportunities for our farmers to secure new markers", meaning farmers will benefit in many ways.

Labour's Geraint Davies raises a concern about food shortages in the immediate aftermath of Brexit, and the strain that will be put on UK farmers.

Michael Gove says the UK has "the most productive, commercially successful and progressive farmers" to provide high quality UK produce.

"UK farmers are increasingly responding to the high demand for UK produce."

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs begin debate on the Agriculture Bill, which sets out the system for farming after Brexit.

It's being introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Theresa Villiers is now introducing her Criminal Records (Childhood Offences) Bill.

• The bill makes provision about the criminal records of persons ages under 18 on the day an offence was committed, and would limit the disclosure of childhood offences for job applications.
• It aims to ensure that people's lives are not blighted by minor offences, "some silly adolescent scuffle", for example, in adult life.
• At the moment such records can prevent people getting jobs in the NHS or schools, as well as plenty of other occupations.

Theresa Villiers says she wants to limit what has to be disclosed to "very serious offences".

“We have one of the toughest regimes in the world relating to criminal records. In many cases they have to be declared, so many people are forced to live with the mistakes they made as children," she says.

"We need wide ranging reform to show that people can turn their lives around, but careful consideration should be given to where to draw the "serious offence" crime."

She says she believes children should serve punishments for crimes, but their lives should not be blighted by "one minor conviction committed many years ago".