The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 31st October 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support British farmers (1) with the increasing cost of energy, and (2) to ensure food security.
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The Bishop of Exeter asked a question about support for produce exports during a debate on food imports and security on 24th October 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter: I thank the Minister for his responses here, but, given the current value of the pound, which is making our exports so attractive, what are His Majesty’s Government doing to seize this opportunity to grow our exports of British produce and therefore support and really encourage our fantastic and hard-working farmers?
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about produce exports”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 10th October 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the number of visas for seasonal workers given the estimated £60 million losses by the horticultural industry for the first half of this year’s growing season.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about seasonal workers in the horticultural industry”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 5th September 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Thrive initiative run by Devon County Council, which offers farmers up to three hours of free advice from a farm consultant; and what plans they have to encourage the roll out of this scheme in other areas.
Continue reading “Bishop of Exeter asks about farming advisory services”On 16th June 2022, the House of Lords debated the state of the pig farming industry. The Bishop of St Albans spoke in the debate:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I declare my interest as set out in the register, as the president of the Rural Coalition, and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, for securing this important debate. I come from a farming family, so I have little time for many of the urban myths about the agricultural industry, or for the complacency behind the lack of concern about food security for us as a nation.
We have already heard allusions to grain shortages worldwide because of the war between Russia and Ukraine. It is not having a huge impact on us, as we are fairly self-sufficient, but, fortunate as our position is, the serious shortage is causing huge problems in the developing world. That illustrates how quickly matters of life and death can come about when food shortages occur. The vast majority of countries ensure that they support the production of food to give them security whenever there is a war, a pandemic or exceptional weather conditions.
When it comes to the pig industry, we are facing a crisis and the evidence has already been set out before your Lordships. Just last Sunday, I was up in far end of my diocese in north-east Hertfordshire in the little hamlet of Meesden. As we stood outside in the sun having a glass of something after the service, one of the local farmers who farmed all the land around came to talk to me about farming. When I mentioned that this debate was coming up, his comment was, “We got out of pigs years ago. There is absolutely no money in it for your average farmer.”
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On 13th June 2022, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question regarding food security and carbon emissions – the Bishop of Southwark spoke on his behalf:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects on food security of allowing corporations to purchase arable land to offset their carbon emissions; and what plans they have to limit the amount of arable land that can be used for this purpose.
The Lord Bishop of Southwark: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question in the name of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who has been unavoidably detained in his diocese and sends his apologies.
Lord Benyan (Con, Under-secretary of State – Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs): My Lords, I declare my farming interests as set out in the register. This Government are committed to safeguarding food security, as highlighted by the food strategy published today. I am very conscious of the issue raised, and we already have several protections in place, such as requirements for public consultations on any large new woodland as part of environmental impact assessments. I am also working closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury and BEIS to develop robust standards for green finance investments, and will set out the next steps in the forthcoming months.
Continue reading “The Bishop of St Albans asks about food security”The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 26th May 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report by the National Farmers Union Growing our agri-food exports to 2030 and beyond, published on 27 April, what plans they have to increase the number of agri-food experts in British embassies located in target markets for future free trade agreements.
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The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 25th May 2022:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report by the National Farmers Union Growing our agri-food exports to 2030 and beyond, published on 27 April, what plans they have to match Agricultural and Horticulture Development Board levy contribution funding to help grow British agricultural exports.
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On 19th May 2022, the Bishop of St Albans asked a question during a debate on inflation and food prices:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his replies on this important area, but is he concerned, as a number of people are, that some farmland is now being taken out of production because it is being bought by companies for carbon offset? Indeed, one of the issues about some of the rewilding is that, sometimes, good farmland, which could help us, is now not available. What are Her Majesty’s Government doing to increase our food production, both for our own security but also so we can export to help those other countries that are facing huge hikes in prices?
Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about food prices”The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answers on 25th April 2022:
The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the dairy sector in England.
Lord Benyon (Con): Global gas prices have a major impact on agricultural commodities. We are very aware of the significant turbulence in international commodity markets following Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and are closely monitoring the market situation.
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