Speeches by Zeichner.

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for taking the opportunity to shoehorn a wider issue into the debate this afternoon. I would encourage him to look more closely at the details as presented by the UK Government, which are a very reliable source of information.”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her important question, and I recognise the importance of the Scottish fishing fleet and its contribution. She will have to wait a little longer to hear the full details of the outcomes of any negotiations, but I have to remind her that the sense of betrayal across fishing communities came und…”

“I could not possibly comment. I will return to the issue of small abattoirs, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government are absolutely committed to making sure that we uphold the very high standards that we have in this country, and that is what we have achieved through the agreement. Returning to small a…”

“I am always grateful for a contribution from the hon. Gentleman. As he will know, a series of fair dealing clauses were included in the Agriculture Act 2020; they are being brought into effect at the moment and we expect to see more progress made in that regard. He is absolutely right to raise the point that farmers sh…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and note that even in those times of distress, woe and horror, some good relationships were formed. The seasonal worker visa scheme for 43,000 seasonal worker visas was announced a few months ago. That number includes 2,000 extra for poultry. At the National Farmers Union confer…”

“I can assure my hon. Friend that we will always maintain our high standards. All imported products will continue to be subject to clear controls, including limits for pesticide residues. I join him in sharing the really good news on that trade deal: it is good news for Scotch whisky and good news for British producers.”

“Annual variations in farm input costs are driven by global markets. UK fertiliser farm gate prices are tied to movements in the international markets, and UK fertiliser suppliers compete for market share, providing the best price they can for farmers.”

“As ever, the right hon. Gentleman makes a well-informed point. Vaccination has been considered for some time. There are trade issues, but as he says, the fact that the French are changing their position is useful. The Government are committed to exploring options for vaccination, and a cross-Government and industry avi…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words and his praise for the APHA. These are extremely important subjects. We face a range of threats. That is why the Government have increased security in terms of personal imports through the short straits in particular. On his point about Weybridge, we have had this discussion bef…”

“I am always interested to hear reflections from farmers. I have spoken to other members of the Nature Friendly Farming Network who are very pleased with the progress being made, but of course we want to go faster and further. We have over 50,000 people in the schemes and more money is being spent than ever before. We m…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. I can assure him that I and Baroness Hayman, who leads on this in the Department, are very well aware of the recent reports and the antiquated nature of the legislation. We will come back with proposals in due course.”

“We work closely with the Minister in Northern Ireland for exactly the reasons that he would expect. We take this extremely seriously. There are a range of threats in Europe, and that is why we have not only put in place the long-established and well-trialled measures, but added additional protection measures to ensure …”

“On VE Day, it is important that we remember the huge contribution made by fishermen, fishing communities, farm workers and agricultural workers during the last war to keep the country fed. Later today, I shall unveil a plaque to the members of the Women’s Land Army, one of whom was my aunt, Jean Mead. They made a fanta…”

“I am grateful for the contributions of knowledgeable and well-informed hon. Members. I am sure we can all agree that a resilient and sustainable pig sector that supports Britain’s food security depends on fair treatment across the supply chain, in particular for those in a weaker commercial position. I am therefore enc…”

“There are no stupid questions, and that is an important one. Animal welfare is clearly important and, in fact, goes to the heart of that very point about when the sector was not working properly—it was the welfare issues that were most troubling for many people. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that many other pieces…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025. As always it is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 13 March. Let me begin by paying tribute to the UK pig sector, which is a cornerstone of our…”

“The point we are making is that it is quite extraordinary that the Conservative party in government promoted a piece of legislation that the party in opposition now appears not to support. I am going to move back to fly-tipping, because that is the subject of the debate. We recognise the role of the public in tackling …”

“Absolutely—I will happily have a further tit-for-tat with the hon. Gentleman.”

“I will carry on for a minute. In the time-honoured spirit of scoring political points, I return to the intervention by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan), who queried why the Opposition voted against the deposit return scheme. That vote was just a few months ago, in January, when 67 Conser…”

“We absolutely recognise the gravity of the situation, but we believe that the best thing to do is to work with people locally to try to get a solution. It is a complicated situation, as has been outlined by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield, and I think we had better concentrate on trying to get a sol…”