Speeches by Kirkham.

“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…”

“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 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?”

“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…”

“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 …”

“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,…”

“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?”

“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…”

“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…”

“Does the Minister agree that part of the problem was caused by the Conservatives, who did not welcome the introduction of the minimum wage in 1998, saying that it would destroy businesses, and later when in government split the minimum wage so that people over 25 got more than people under 25, which is causing the ineq…”

“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.”

“I thank the hon. Member for giving way. Does she not agree that the trade agreement that was signed earlier this year and the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, which the EU now has a mandate to discuss and which will hopefully be through by 2027, will make a massive difference to a lot of the exporting that is done…”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“I thank the Minister for that answer. I have very vulnerable constituents who have raised concerns about the draft EHRC guidance on transgender people. Many are scared and fear rising transphobia and discrimination. What steps is she taking to ensure that we protect the rights and dignity of everyone in society, and su…”

“How will that impact on our ports, airports and seaports? Will they have to build that inspection capacity, and how will we stop it adversely impacting on trade?”

“The Government are simplifying a very complex system, so that we can take forward a railway that is fit for the future, and I really welcome the measures on timetabling, tickets and the merging of the 17 bodies. I also welcome the 30-year long-term rail strategy, which is a fantastic idea. Rail is so vital in Cornwall,…”

“Just quickly on the intelligence point, when we went to Dover we were told that it was already getting intelligence about which vans were coming in and were given numbers and so on. What would change with the SPS? How much more intelligence would there be? We could not see huge amounts of evidence of that to be honest.…”