Speeches by Zeichner.

“My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Of course, consumer food prices depend on a wide range of factors, including agrifood import prices, agricultural prices in general, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, exchange rates, productivity and the extreme weather we have been seeing, which inevitably impacts gr…”

“No, I do not agree with the shadow Minister. I have chosen my words carefully: this is a complicated set of issues, we are consulting and we will be coming back with our proposals shortly.”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Free-Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I warmly welcome everyone back, and hope they had a good break. This statutory instrument has been laid to amend exis…”

“It is always a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. Let me congratulate the right hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay)—my near neighbour and colleague—on securing today’s debate on such an important policy area. He is clearly deeply knowledgeable on issues relating to EU negotiation and…”

“Of course—absolutely. We are always working in collaboration, and we will do everything we can to ensure that. It is an important principle that has been established, and I am determined to ensure that it is successful. Next month, at the resumed fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee, we will hav…”

“It is a pleasure to respond to the debate, so ably introduced by the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael). He, along with every Member from across the Chamber who made a contribution, pointed out the seriousness of the issue and the urgent need for action. Plastic pollution is one of the biggest en…”

“I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s well-informed intervention. I assure him that negotiations and discussions are ongoing, and we are determined to ensure that we get a good outcome. As well as leading early work to develop criteria for problematic plastic products since the second negotiating session, INC2, the UK…”

“I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are working with all interested parties to ensure that we make progress on this issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy) recently co-hosted a ministerial event at the UN ocean conference to bring together Ministers from a range of coun…”

“Yes. If I can give you an example, New Zealand will get new access after the first 15 years of this agreement only once its existing quota has reached 90% utilisation. We are a long way from that at the moment. As I say, it does depend on the geopolitical situation at the moment, because, if New Zealand was suddenly lo…”

“With all these arrangements, we seek input from the devolved Administrations to get a sense of what it is that they are looking for. I am not an experienced international trade person, and so I might look to my colleague, but my sense is that the way in which international trade deals are negotiated at the moment is ra…”

“That is a really important question. Many of us were critical of the way in which some of those trade agreements were negotiated by the previous Government, but it is important to note that the quotas being used at the moment are relatively low; we will be watching this very closely to make sure that, if we begin to se…”

“I have to say that the SPS agreement, for me, is one of the most important things that I have been working on. For the last few years, it has been very clear that so many businesses have had difficulties. We have many really good food businesses in Wales and across the UK. I was very struck on the evening of the announ…”

“It is warming up in here, so I will take up your suggestion about removing coats, Chair.”

“Of course, we always listen to constructive proposals, but what I am told by Treasury colleagues is that a clawback would mean that inheritance tax would only be due if the relevant assets are sold within a specified time period after a death. The Treasury’s analysis is that some of the wealthiest estates would end up …”

“What I would say is that it has been discussed at some length in this place. I responded to an urgent question within days, and many of you made your points very forcibly about it then. There have been numerous debates in Westminster Hall. A month or two after the announcement, I and one of the Treasury Ministers met A…”

“There are a number of ways of doing politics, and my approach to politics does not involve blood on the floor or punch-ups. What I would say is that, before the last spending review, there were many people who thought that the money available for farming and the environment would be cut drastically. The Secretary of St…”

“As you will know, Budgets are very much the responsibility of His Majesty’s Treasury. What I would say is that, although it came as a shock to some, this issue had been discussed over many years. I had been lobbied by a number of groups two or three years prior to the election on these issues. Going back through old is…”

“That is why I stand with the Government. I would also just gently point out that there is a difference between the value of a farm and the value of an estate that is passed on at death. As I said earlier, a farm can be jointly owned by multiple people and many family members. This is a really complicated area. I genuin…”

“We discussed in detail with the Welsh Government and others when we were thinking about what to do in England a few months ago. Since then, we have been very mindful of the points that have been raised by a number of people about these concerns. My understanding is that a range of measures are being looked at to try to…”

“This is a really important issue as well. I am delighted to say that, in my view—and I have chaired a number of these inter-ministerial groups now—we have a really good working relationship. There is, of course, always scope for improvement and more, but it is the key forum for joint discussion at ministerial level. Ev…”