Speeches by Kirkham.

“Have you not just been to Newlyn?”

“They felt blindsided, yes.”

“Fishers saw that as a bit of a loophole. There were changes made to our waters without consultation.”

“We have had the problem before where there have been no applications, and then a flood of applications, and targets have been hit and no one has noticed. We have had schemes opening and closing quite abruptly. The fruit and vegetable aid scheme, for example, is due to close at the end of the year. We had the SFIs closi…”

“There were changes made in the catch, but I understand that there were some technical measures taken in our waters as well that were part of the negotiations. These were done quickly, without the kind of consultation we would normally have, and they affected UK waters.”

“Yes, on-farm holistic advice.”

“Does that mean that we are going to open up more of those advice schemes? Is that going to expand? We really need that.”

“One thing that has been really helpful to farmers is the farming resilience fund and some of that advice work. That finished, I think, last March. I think everybody agrees that farmers need that more whole-farm approach to advice. What work has been done to expand those advisory services? Where can farmers go to get th…”

“The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority does not have confidence that the farming and countryside programme will hit those goals to time and cost. Do you agree with that? How would you respond to that? I am talking about evaluation and monitoring as we go forward?”

“The countryside stewardship schemes have been extended at the last minute, for another year. We are not sure what will happen after that. What plan do the Government have for reforms of that more ambitious part of ELMS?”

“That will take time, so what will happen in the meantime? Dame Angela Eagle: Yes, but we have to do it. The context in which these moneys are paid is our environmental improvement requirements. Therefore, it is important, if we are going to reach some very stretching targets that have been set on all that, that we can …”

“You talked a bit just now about targets, goals and how we could be sure that we hit them, or we are getting to where we should be.”

“The other thing about SFIs is that they are for environmental measures, soil health and that kind of thing. Everyone except for us is still subsidising food production, basically. How will the balance hold between those environmental measures and food production? How will we stimulate food production?”

“How do you stop that?”

“It has not been simple. A lot of small farmers say that. Obviously they have a lot of other things to do. It is very hard to fill in the multiple forms and work with the RPA sometimes. Up to now, the SFIs have run on a kind of pick-and-mix basis. Farmers have looked at things like hedges, or maybe soil and herbal leys,…”

“Brilliant. That is really good news. I think everybody will be pleased to hear that, because we have been waiting for news about the SFIs for a long time. The EU is now, with its land-based subsidies, looking a bit more at smaller farms. It is restricting the amount of subsidies it gives to the larger ones and focusing…”

“I want to look a bit more at some of the schemes and programmes that are going on in the Department at the moment. You have just said that we are going to hear more about the SFIs in the first part of next year. To clarify the timeframes, does that mean that they will be coming in in the next financial year in April?”

“Earlier this year I welcomed the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill receiving Royal Assent. Currently there is no such equivalent for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Will the Minister confirm the plan to introduce an Armed Forces Commissioner for the RFA in the Armed Forces Bill next year, as set out in my ten-minute rule Bill?…”

“T2. I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of the £30 million Kernow industrial fund, and the fantastic critical minerals strategy. With the pipeline of floating offshore wind projects in the Celtic sea, it is vital that we invest in Cornish supply chains and infra- structure. In my constituency, we have brilliant sup…”

“3. What steps she is taking to ensure the provision of safe spaces for transgender people in the context of the draft code of practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.”