On 18th July 2024, the Bishop of St Albans gave a speech on issues affecting rural communities during the debate on the Kings Speech, also welcoming the new government’s plans to fight pollution in waterways:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Rural Coalition and add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, on her new role.
As a long-term advocate for rural areas and the people who live and work in them, I know that our farmers and rural communities are uniquely placed to deliver the Government’s missions of clean energy, increased building and the need to protect and restore our environment. Rural communities and rural businesses play an absolutely crucial role in the economic and social fabric of our country.
I welcome His Majesty’s Government’s plans to introduce measures to tackle pollution in our rivers, lakes and waterways. In my diocese of St Albans, covering Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, we are home to several of this country’s beautiful chalk streams, which, despite being extraordinarily rare and precious habitats, have been utterly devastated by both extraction and pollution. For example, the River Ver in Hertfordshire has been found to have six times higher levels of E. coli than is acceptable in bathing water. Between March and June this year, sewage was discharged directly into the River Ver for more than 2,400 hours.
I appreciate that agricultural run-off is also a problem when it comes to ensuring that our rivers are kept clean and healthy. That is why it is vital that the Government work closely with Britain’s farmers, as well as investing in research and development for better fertilisers and solutions to reduce the volume of manure and slurry. There have, in fact, been planning applications for slurry storage or energy-efficient greenhouses turned down as a result of environmental considerations—an outcome that is not only frustrating but counterproductive to what we are trying to achieve. Local authorities need to have access to the appropriate expertise when making decisions on these applications. The planning practice guidance needs to be much clearer, with more flexibility built in so that farm businesses are able to build the infrastructure they need to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
I welcome warmly this Government’s recognition of the fact that food security is part of national security. I was pleased to see the pledge to source a minimum of 50% of government-procured food from British producers. It is encouraging to see that the security of British farming is high up on the agenda both for the public and the Government. This is why I echo the National Farmers’ Union’s call for an increased, multi-year agricultural budget to secure the future of Britain’s farming industry and to ensure that farmers and government can work together to move forward towards sustainable food production, environment targets and net zero. We need to work in collaboration with, not in opposition to, our vitally important farming sector.
Several noble colleagues on these Benches raised concerns during the passage of the recent Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act that the import of animals and animal product raised under welfare standards that would be illegal here are damaging British agricultural business. Battery-cage eggs and poultry production is banned here, yet our producers have been undercut by imported eggs and poultry reared to lower standards. I look forward to hearing more detail on His Majesty’s Government’s plans to ensure that our own producers are provided with a level playing field and to ensure that these safeguards are a central bedrock of any trade deals.
Finally, I would like to make a few comments on housing. We are all aware that this is a huge challenge; if there were lots of quick wins, the previous Government would have grabbed them straightaway. I am grateful for the approach being taken by Homes for All, the coalition trying to take a strategic and systemic approach to increasing housebuilding. My particular interest, over many years, is rural housing and the rural housing crisis. It is a problem that is different from the challenge of building in many urban centres. It is crucial the Government recognise the specificity of the housing crisis in rural areas and the way that this impacts rural communities differently, not least in ensuring long- term rural sustainability. We had hoped our previous Government would provide us with a long-term strategy; I hope that this Government will consider doing so.
Over many years, we have seen the closure of rural shops, schools and services from rural areas, partly linked to the lack of genuinely affordable housing. We have also seen the drain of young people and families—indeed, sometimes the elderly—as they are being forced to leave homes and communities, often where they have deep roots and have lived all their lives. Local communities need to be informing decisions around building new houses to ensure that they fit into the locality, as well as being well-designed and of good quality; ultimately, they need to strengthen the community. I call on His Majesty’s Government to consider, as part of their reforms to planning, introducing a planning passport for rural exemption sites which have been highlighted as an avenue of great potential for mitigating the housing crisis. Future policies need to be sensitive to rural housing. That is not just the responsibility of Defra; it must happen across all government departments. It is why we need proper rural-proofing applied systematically to all legislation that comes to your Lordships’ House.
With the right support and investment, the rural economy can add billions to the national economy, contributing towards this Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth, as well as holding the potential to play a vital part in making Britain a clean energy superpower. I look forward to working with the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, in the coming years on these issues and others for the common good of our nation.
Extracts from the speeches that followed:
Lord Curry of Kirkhale (CB): Investment in science and skills is also hugely important for the agricultural and horticultural sectors. The Minister may be aware that I was involved in the establishment of TIAH—the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture —to improve skills across the sector, and that Defra has been very supportive, for which I am grateful. I also continue to work closely with the science community. We are on the brink of a technology and data revolution in these important sectors, and I hope that the Government will recognise that we cannot deliver economic growth and improve our productivity without investment. For too long we have lagged behind our global competitors; our productivity record is not good enough. But we have the capability to regain that position as global leaders, provided that we invest in skills and the application and delivery of scientific knowledge.
Farmers and growers are proud of their record and have always been willing to embrace change, but they need a sense of direction. Everyone in agriculture is fully aware that we are on a pacy journey but there is no clear destination or vision. It will be good if the Government share the ambition of the agricultural and horticultural industries and are willing to work in partnership to define what “good” would look like in 10 years’ time. We stand by, ready to help, and look forward to working with the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, on this. I very much support the contribution of the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, who appeared on screen earlier.
I have two final issues to refer to. The first is the Government’s ambition to source 50% of public sector food from domestic suppliers, mentioned by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans. Of course, I very much welcome that ambition—but we have been down this road before. Under the previous Labour Government, the noble Lord, Lord Whitty—who is not in his seat—and I made significant progress on sourcing sustainable local food for the public sector: schools, hospitals, prisons and departmental catering contracts. It is very worth while, but it is hard work. Importantly, the Government need to be aware that it will have financial implications. Can we please look back at the lessons learned from our former efforts, and consult the noble Lord, Lord Whitty?
The Earl of Devon (CB): I note my interests in the register as a lawyer and a heritage land manager in Devon. In particular, I note my membership of the Devon Housing Commission, which is due to publish tomorrow its report on the acute housing crisis that bedevils our county. Under the tireless chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Best, the commission has spent 12 months investigating the parlous shortage of housing for those living and working in Devon. We make many recommendations that are applicable to coastal, rural and market town communities across the country. I will not steal the commission’s thunder, but I ask that the Minister undertakes to consider the report closely when it is received. Its recommendations to the Government echo the comments of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, including the need to fund affordable housing, the need to support regional developers, the need to develop skills and staffing in local planning and in the retrofitting of housing stock, and the crucial importance of delivering diverse and accessible housing to sustain healthy local communities.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con): Labour has rightly prioritised cleaning up the rivers and waterways of sewage, but the problem of sewage in rivers and sea starts with the mass building of four and five-bedroom houses in inappropriate places, pushing four or five times the amount of sewage into inadequate water pipes. Will the Government make an early pledge to end the automatic right to connect, promised since Sir Michael Pitt’s review after the 2007 floods? Will the Government commit today to implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010? Equally, will they introduce mandatory sustainable drainage systems for all new housing developments? That is a single measure that would help to prevent sewage overflow into the combined sewers and, from there, into our rives and seas.
Defra must make water companies statutory consultees in the planning application process, particularly where it is impossible to connect safely to existing pipes, which are often antiquated and from the Victorian era. Planning applications must take into account that they cannot simply fit and must ensure that the developers pay for the connections.
What is the position of the Government on building on functional flood plains? Labour, in opposition, supported the amendment in my name and that of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, to the then Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill to prevent building on functional flood plains. Will the Government now honour that commitment? In particular, will they provide resources to local authorities to undertake the essential mapping exercise to establish which zones fall under zone 3b so as to exclude them from major developments, which is so essential to prevent future flooding?
There are specific needs for housing in rural areas, as specified by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans. In particular, there is a crying need for one or two-bedroom homes that are affordable. We have identified initiatives such as rural exception and making a planning passport for all exception sites, which would help to remedy this.
Baroness Bakewell of Hartington Mandeville (LD): I turn to illegal sewage dumping, which was a major issue during the election campaign. I welcome the proposals to block the payment of bonuses to those water executives who regularly oversee the discharge of sewage into what were once our gloriously clear rivers, streams and waterways. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans raised the issue of sewage discharges. On these Benches, we have long been supporters of tackling this issue. We look forward to it being one of the early priorities brought forward. Issuing fines and installing real-time monitors at every sewage outlet is to be welcomed. I look forward to the day when my interventions on sewage overflows will no longer be needed and I can move to other subjects.
Ofwat is to be given additional powers to ban bonuses for water executives; I hope it is up for it. The Ofwat forward plan has now been published and is out for a consultation, which closes at the end of August. While it is important for this issue to be tackled, and long-overdue investment in the water companies’ infrastructure should occur, this should not be at the expense of higher water bills for householders already struggling to make their income stretch to cover all their outgoings. I support the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, on his proposals to reform both the water regulators.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab, DEFRA): Finally, my noble friend asked about the Vagrancy Act. We will deal with this as quickly as possible. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans asked about rural housing and support for rural communities, as did the noble Lord, Lord Harlech, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. I assure noble Lords that, as someone who lives in a very rural part of Cumbria, I completely understand their concerns. We have rural communities at the heart of everything we do, as we do urban: this is designed for all communities to thrive, but I will of course be talking about rural matters right across other departments as part of my brief.
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