Speeches by Dollimore.

“One of the big issues that has been raised with me by a local farm in my constituency, which was growing potatoes for hundreds of years and then stopped last year, is the big supermarkets. They simply cannot compete with the way that the big supermarkets are running their procurement, and the prices that they are payin…”

“Would you welcome changes in the area of the big supermarkets and how they conduct themselves?”

“Just finally, you did not touch on energy prices and the impact they have had. Has that been a big issue?”

“I just want to bottom out this point that has been touched upon around pony paddocks and whether there is a bit of a myth around that at present. Colleagues have referenced that perhaps if somebody had a house, two fields and some ponies, they might currently be on the list of people benefiting from APR. Can the panel …”

“I am hearing from you that when various different claims have been bandied around about a percentage that may or may not be affected by these changes, some have rebutted those figures by saying that those who are not impacted are those people with pony paddocks or whatever, but what I am hearing from the panel is that …”

“The land is genuinely being farmed. Yes, that is clear.”

“Does that happen often in your experience, Jeremy?”

“Jeremy, you also mentioned that the changes we are talking about today have not impacted those institutions that do not die. I was quite surprised when speaking to local farmers to learn that a lot of farmland in my constituency in Hastings and Rye is owned by an Oxford college: All Souls College. I understand this is …”

“David, Arun, any reflections on that?”

“Just to touch on those points, Stuart you mentioned expensive legal advice that people might be taking. I will not ask you what your hourly rate is.”

“Would that not be, on the previous discussion, about institutions that do not die holding much of that land?”

“So why would they be paying APR?”

“High net worth individuals for example.”

“I am conscious of time, and given the discussion so far, I am going to combine the questions. I would like to begin by echoing my colleagues’ comments, to place on record our thanks to the farming community, the hard work that everybody in the rural community does day in, day out to put food on our table. We really app…”

“You have expressed some concerns that with these changes there might be a smaller pool of land available for tenant farmers. Who do you see buying up that land instead? Would it be other landlords who would then lease the land?”

“There has been some reference to the Rock review into the tenant farming sector, and I know that obviously the Government are committed to implementing those recommendations. Have you seen any progress since that review in your sector, in terms of those being moved forward under the previous Government? What would be y…”

“You referenced profit. No one on this Committee would think profit was a dirty word, but we are very aware of how the farming sector has become less profitable in recent years. I know we have seen 12,000 farms close in the last decade. I just wondered if the panellists could comment on what they see as the main drivers…”

“Just before I bring in Tom on the wider sector issues, you touched on that issue around who is owning the land. If you look at the top 10 recipients of subsidies from DEFRA in recent years, many of the people on that list often are a surprise. For example, Oxbridge Colleges or huge multinationals. Do you think that is …”

“One of the big issues that has been raised with me by a local farm in my constituency, which was growing potatoes for hundreds of years and then stopped last year, is the big supermarkets. They simply cannot compete with the way that the big supermarkets are running their procurement, and the prices that they are payin…”

“Would you welcome changes in the area of the big supermarkets and how they conduct themselves?”