Sustainable Livestock Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:02 am on 12 November 2010.

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Photo of David Nuttall David Nuttall Conservative, Bury North 10:02, 12 November 2010

I agree, and I am not suggesting that economics should be the only criterion by which farming is judged. There is clearly an environmental responsibility on farmers, and they would be the first to accept that. Indeed, the coalition programme for government, which was mentioned earlier, refers to the need to promote biodiversity.

Clause 3, which is entitled "Interpretation", also contains a definition of "livestock". One might have thought that, in view of the fact that much more obscure terms have not been defined, "livestock" was a fairly straightforward term that need hardly be mentioned. However, according to, and for the purposes of, this Bill,

"'livestock' includes any creature kept for the production of food, wool or skins, or for the purposes of its use in the farming of land or the carrying on in relation to land of any agricultural activity."

As we would expect, it covers all the usual farm animals-cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens and so on. However, the definition is much wider than that; the words

"use in the farming of land" would include the trusty sheepdog. Would it also cover the farm cat busy catching the mice?

Clause 1(2) sets out everything that the Secretary of State must do to be able to demonstrate compliance with the duty in subsection (1). It requires the Secretary of State, when deciding how to carry out that duty, to

"give consideration to...supporting sustainable practices and consumption through public procurement of livestock produce...providing appropriate public information and food labelling...supporting research into sustainable livestock practices...reducing the amount of, and finding sustainable methods for use or disposal of, food waste...changing the subsidies available to and support for farmers to promote sustainable livestock practices, and...the effectiveness of existing programmes aimed at improving the sustainability of the livestock industry, and action that could be taken to increase their effectiveness."

I should point out that, although the Bill contains a definition of what is meant by the scope of the phrase

"sustainability of the livestock industry", in so far as it relates to the duty under clause 1(1), no such explanation or definition is given in relation to the references to "sustainable" in paragraphs (2)(a), (c) and (e). It seems to me that a crucial part of the Bill is therefore open to challenge.

Clause 1(3) states that

"The Secretary of State must ensure that policies in relation to negotiations and other activities at international level, including at the European Union, are consistent with sections 1(1) and 1(2)."

It is not enough that the Secretary of State should have to devise a series of policies to try to meet the wide demands of the Bill in this country; they will also have to ensure that, with their ministerial colleagues, they try to persuade the other 26 nations that make up the European Union-and, during international negotiations, persuade other countries in the rest of the world-to adopt all the detailed duties set out in clause 1(1) and (2); effectively, they will have to try to impose the duty imposed on them on the rest of Europe and the world. I am sure that any Secretary of State would look forward to that little task with unbridled enthusiasm.

It is fair and reasonable to assume that the only way in which any Secretary of State could have any hope of showing compliance with all these duties would be to impose ream upon ream of new rules and regulations-not only on farmers, but on food manufacturers and packagers.