British Livestock Farming

Part of Opposition Day – in the House of Commons at 9:18 pm on 21 April 1999.

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Photo of Janet Dean Janet Dean Labour, Burton 9:18, 21 April 1999

I greatly welcome the debate, although I am saddened that, when Conservative Members choose to debate agriculture, as they have on several occasions, they concentrate on blaming the Labour Government for all its ills. I can only imagine that they do so either to atone for the mistakes that they made in government or because they cannot quite believe that many Labour Members represent rural areas. My constituency has two National Farmers Union branches and a 5b area, and is probably unique because it also contains an urban area with objective 2 status, so structural funds are very important to it.

As I have said in the House previously, I am a farmer's daughter and I lived on a farm until I was 19. It is rich for Conservative Members to presume that Labour Members know nothing about rural matters. I find that quite offensive, especially as the Conservative Government were clearly to blame for the BSE crisis, which is still having a great impact on agriculture and on the agricultural problems that we face. They also did not do much for the rural community when they introduced bus deregulation.

I pay tribute to Ministers for what they have achieved. During the Minister's recent visit to Staffordshire, farmers welcomed his honest way of talking to them and addressing the issues and problems that they raised with him. They also welcome the consultations that the Government have instigated. During the two years I have been meeting farmers in my constituency and making representations to Ministers, many of the issues that have been raised with me have been addressed. Farmers raised the matter of agrimonetary compensation with many of us and Ministers listened.

Ministers acknowledge that the problems of British agriculture are great. I particularly welcome some of the announcements that have been made tonight, because they have addressed issues that have recently been raised with me by farmers in my constituency. The difficulties with small abattoirs are important, especially if we want to develop the farmers markets to which my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) referred.

I also welcome the Minister's statement that welfare standards will be considered during discussions at the World Trade Organisation. Farmers in my area want a level playing field with the rest of Europe. Welfare standards that apply in this country should be taken on board by the rest of Europe and by the World Trade Organisation. I welcome the fact that we are modifying the charges immediately for abattoirs, with deferment of the specified risk material costs, and that we are examining further the costs of abattoirs in this country compared with those in the rest of Europe. I particularly welcome the consideration of welfare standards with regard to pigmeat.

It is not always the Opposition who raise agricultural issues. My hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Charlotte Atkins) secured an Adjournment debate on badgers and TB in Staffordshire. That is of particular concern in the northern parishes—the same northern parishes as form the objective 5b area in my constituency and adjoin the Staffordshire-Derbyshire border. There is concern about the dramatic increase in the number of farms whose herds have been affected. We want that problem to be addressed, and I hope that that area can in the future be one of the trial areas.

There are many problems in the rural communities that Labour Members represent. I believe that Ministers are aware of those problems and are trying to address them. As I said, I find it offensive when Conservative Members imply that those problems all began in May 1997.