Speeches by Reynolds.

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work on this important issue. I know there is a lot of concern in his local area and beyond about Dartmoor ponies, but I reassure him that under this Government, there will be no planned reduction in the number of Dartmoor ponies. I am working on solutions to support this fantast…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), the new farming and food Minister, and I published our new farming road map, which is the first ever long-term strategy for farming. It sets out a vision for a more productive, profitable, sustainable and resilient sector. The primary purpose of farming, …”

“Since our last oral questions, we have recently published England’s first long-term farming road map, as I mentioned earlier, and we have opened the first application window for our reformed sustainable farming incentive. I visited the Groundswell agricultural festival to see regenerative farming in action, and I will …”

“I agree. Given that the Conservatives created this mess by rejecting some of the Fursdon recommendations, it is a bit rich of them to have a go at the current Government, as we are trying to clear up their mess on this issue and many others. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that I am well aware of the different issues on …”

“I reassure the hon. Lady that those farmers whose agreements are coming to an end towards the end of this year or early next year—there are obviously thousands—will be able to apply in the second window. We have made the technological advances necessary to ensure that that can happen. I know that issue has been raised …”

“My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. We are engaging with the National Farmers’ Union on this; we know it is a great concern for farmers. We have asked the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to increase fertiliser price reporting, so it is now doing that weekly rather than monthly. We have already c…”

“I can reassure my hon. Friend of that. He will have seen that I wrote to Ofwat setting out my early concerns that the creditors’ current proposal does not do enough to protect customers and the environment. The protection of consumers and the environment is at the forefront of all my thinking. I reassure him that we wi…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. We have worked in close partnership with farmers and stakeholders to shape the new SFI. I can reassure my hon. Friend, and Members across the House, that those farmers who have soon-to-expire ELM revenue agreements will be able to apply in the second window of SFI later th…”

“My hon. Friend is right to say that the Government absolutely recognise the potential of agri-tech as a high-growth sector. That is why it is included in the Government’s industrial strategy. The UK is already a world leader in agri-tech, but we want to ensure that we maintain that leadership. Under this Government, we…”

“Innovation and productivity go hand in hand, and the Government are backing British agri-tech with real investment. Innovation is central to our farming road map, and I recently announced that we are boosting the farming innovation programme to £123 million this year. We are also working across Government—for example, …”

“Dartmoor ponies are a vital part of our landscape and history. As the Environment Secretary, I have a duty to protect our native species, which obviously include Dartmoor ponies. I want to see the number of Dartmoor ponies maintained and the condition of Dartmoor improved.”

“I would take our record over the hon. Gentleman’s record any time. The Conservatives could not even be bothered to spend the farming budget when they were in power. They sold farmers down the river on various trade deals, but we have not; we have protected farmers in our trade deals. We have set out the first-ever long…”

“I could not agree more. I absolutely pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman’s local young farmers’ club. As he knows, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs supports the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, and we engaged with it on the drafting of the farming road map. We always have young far…”

“I pay tribute to the work my hon. Friend does representing her local farmers, and I hope the Liskeard show goes well later this week. The Farming and Food Partnership Board, which has already been established, is working on two sector growth plans, starting with poultry and horticulture, to bring down barriers to growt…”

“I can reassure my hon. Friend that agricultural pollution is top of mind for me as Secretary of State and for the Water Minister, and the issue will form part of the clean water Bill. We need to crack down on water pollution from agriculture in partnership with farmers, making sure that they have the tools that they ne…”

“I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that it is a priority for the Government. I visited the University of Surrey’s veterinary medicine school yesterday, and we have been engaging with the sector, which wants to modernise the legislation. It is not fit for purpose—there are plenty of things available now that were not aro…”

“The right hon. Lady lectures us about regulators. We have a tighter grip on our arms-length bodies than the Conservatives did when they were in Government. I issued strategic policy statements to all ALBs earlier this year, writing to the chairs of those organisations to tell them about the Government’s direction of tr…”

“That is some brass neck, given that the whole issue of the Dartmoor ponies was created under the right hon. Lady’s Government. They rejected several of the Fursdon review recommendations and put the future of the Dartmoor ponies in doubt. We are having to clear up their mess, so I shall take no lectures from the right …”

“I could not agree more with the right hon. Gentleman that the centre is a UK national asset. I or the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), would be pleased to visit to learn more about what it is doing.”

“I am Emma Reynolds. I am the Secretary of State. If I could let my colleagues introduce themselves, that would be nice.”