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Tag: Speeches

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Statement on the India Trade Negotiations

    Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Statement on the India Trade Negotiations

    The statement made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    The sixth round of UK-India free trade agreement negotiations began on 12 December and concluded on 16 December. As with previous rounds, this was conducted in a hybrid fashion—UK officials travelled to New Delhi for negotiations and others attended virtually.

    Technical discussions were held across 11 policy areas over 28 separate sessions. They included detailed draft treaty text discussions in these chapters.

    Coinciding with the start of the round, on 12 and 13 December I also visited New Delhi to meet my counterpart, Minister Piyush Goyal. We discussed the negotiations and the wider UK and India trade relationship. Discussions covered our respective ambitions for the deal, and we welcomed the progress made so far. I also made clear our red lines in the negotiation. I was also clear in this negotiation that, as with all our FTA negotiations, the NHS and the services it provides are not on the table.

    I also met a number of UK and Indian businesses. I heard at first hand about the significant opportunities that an ambitious FTA could bring, as well as the challenges that some businesses currently face and how Governments can help break down barriers to trade and investment.

    Both sides are working toward a balanced deal that will strengthen our economic links and bring real benefits to UK businesses, families and consumers.

    The seventh round of official-level negotiations is due to take place in early 2023.

    The Government will continue to keep Parliament updated as these negotiations progress.

  • Chris Philp – 2023 Statement on the Late Night Levy Consultation

    Chris Philp – 2023 Statement on the Late Night Levy Consultation

    The statement made by Chris Philp, the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    The late night levy—the “levy”—is a discretionary power enabling licensing authorities in England and Wales to collect a financial contribution from premises that profit from the sale of alcohol late at night—between 12am and 6am.

    Section 142 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 introduced several changes to the late night levy, which are yet to be commenced. Once in force, these changes will give licensing authorities the power to charge late night refreshment (LNR) premises the levy to assist with the cost of policing the NTE, give PCCs the right to request that a licensing authority formally propose a levy and require licensing authorities to publish information about how the revenue raised from the levy is spent.

    LNR premises will only be charged the late night levy in areas where licensing authorities decide that they place demands on police resources in the NTE. In each area, licensing authorities will have the option of charging only premises licensed to sell alcohol, or to premises licensed to sell alcohol and premises licensed to sell late night refreshment. The consultation asks whether LNR premises should be charged the same rate as other venues included in a levy, or whether they should receive a 30% discount.

    The Government recognise that businesses operating in the night time economy have faced particularly challenging times over the course of the pandemic. However, we believe the time is right to finally commence the changes made to the levy in 2017 which have been considerably delayed. The requirements for a local authority to consult widely before taking a final decision on the introduction of the levy locally provides sufficient safeguards to protect businesses and use the power effectively.

    The consultation is aimed at late night refreshment providers, local licensing authorities, the police, licensed premises, members of the public and other interested parties in England and Wales, where these proposals apply. The consultation being launched today will run for 12 weeks.

    A copy of this consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on gov.uk.

  • Steve Barclay – 2023 Statement on the Moderna Strategic Partnership

    Steve Barclay – 2023 Statement on the Moderna Strategic Partnership

    The statement made by Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    The covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of having the ability to develop and deploy vaccines rapidly to respond to a health emergency, as well as to mitigate the potential economic and health costs such an emergency can cause. It also demonstrated the need to establish resilience on UK shores to avoid supply chain disruptions which could have severe public health and economic consequences. While the future trajectory of the covid-19 virus is uncertain, delivering a consistent and resilient supply of covid-19 vaccines is critical in ensuring safe and effective vaccines are provided on at least an annual basis over the next decade, to protect those who are most vulnerable to covid-19.

    With these challenges in mind, in June 2022 Ministers signed non-binding heads of terms and a single tender case for a strategic partnership between HMG and Moderna. Since then, the Vaccine Taskforce and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has worked to negotiate a definitive agreement with Moderna. The execution of our contractual agreement for a 10-year partnership with Moderna was announced on 22 December 2022. The partnership will bring vaccine development onto UK shores, boosting our messenger RNA (mRNA) capability, strengthen our ability to scale up production rapidly in the event of a health emergency, and better equip the UK to respond to covid-19 and future health emergencies.

    Through this deal, Moderna will, at its own cost, establish a UK based manufacturing facility and global research and development (R&D) centre, as well as commit substantial investment into UK-based R&D activities over the 10-year period, bringing the UK a step closer to becoming the leading global hub for life sciences. The manufacturing facility will be capable of supplying up to 100 million doses of respiratory vaccine per year in normal circumstances, increasing to up to 250 million doses in the event of a health emergency. The UK will have priority access to these vaccines where they are demonstrated to be safe, effective, and authorised by the MHRA. These include both Moderna’s proven and highly effective covid-19 vaccine and others in its pipeline, including against flu and RSV, providing health resilience.

    Moderna has demonstrated expertise in mRNA development which has the potential to be a transformative breakthrough technology in several disease areas, including cancer, respiratory illnesses and heart disease. Also, mRNA vaccines have the potential to treat multiple pathogens in a single shot and be delivered in rapid timeframes.

    The new Innovation and Technology Research Centre will look to unlock this potential by developing revolutionary treatments in the UK, which will benefit NHS patients and people worldwide. This will include running a significant number of clinical trials in the UK. Moderna has also pledged to fund grants for UK universities, including PhD places, research programmes and wider vaccine ecosystem engagement. The industry-leading, future-proof design of the plant will permit the addition of capability to manufacture a wide range of medicines and will be a massive boost to the UK’s R&D capability, as well as creating more than 150 highly skilled jobs.

    The partnership, secured by the Vaccine Taskforce, will be taken forward by the Covid Vaccines Unit in the UKHSA. This will see the UKHSA working with Moderna to ensure early vaccine development, supporting the G7 mission to get from variant to vaccine in 100 days. Construction is expected to commence in early 2023, with the first mRNA vaccine expected to be produced in the UK in 2025.

  • Steve Barclay – 2023 Statement on the BioNTech Strategic Partnership

    Steve Barclay – 2023 Statement on the BioNTech Strategic Partnership

    The statement made by Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    The UK’s response to the covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the power of Government collaborating with industry to accelerate life sciences innovation. We want to take this innovative approach to tackling the other major healthcare challenges we face, such as cancer.

    The Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Germany-based company BioNTech. This MoU aims to build a strategic partnership which will bring innovative immunotherapy research to the UK, with the potential to transform cancer patient outcomes and develop new vaccines for infectious diseases. This agreement will pave the way for a multi-year partnership between the Government and BioNTech, accelerating trials into the company’s ground-breaking pipeline of products targeted at major global diseases such as breast, lung and pancreatic cancer, malaria and tuberculosis.

    BioNTech is a biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of cutting-edge immunotherapies—including mRNA-based vaccines and therapies. The company became a household name in 2020 after developing a covid-19 vaccine in partnership with Pfizer, which went on to become the world’s first licensed vaccine to use novel mRNA technology.

    Through this partnership with BioNTech, the Government aim to ensure trials into further promising vaccines and therapies are accelerated, to reach our patients faster. The agreement means cancer patients will get early access to trials exploring personalised mRNA therapies, like cancer vaccines. No two cancers are the same and mRNA vaccines will contain a genetic blueprint to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells. The collaboration will aim to deliver 10,000 personalised therapies to UK patients by 2030 through a new research and development hub, creating at least 70 jobs and strengthening the UK’s positions as a leader in global life sciences.

    BioNTech will also be the first industry partner in the new cancer vaccine launch pad which is being developed by NHS England and Genomics England. The launch pad will help to rapidly identify large numbers of cancer patients who could be eligible for trials and explore potential vaccine across multiple types of cancer. The partnership will aim to help patients with early and late-stage cancers.

    If successfully developed, cancer vaccines could become part of the standard of care.

  • Mark Spencer – 2023 Statement on Farming Payments Policy

    Mark Spencer – 2023 Statement on Farming Payments Policy

    The statement made by Mark Spencer, the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    We are undertaking the most significant reform of agricultural policy and spending in England in decades as we take England out of the common agricultural policy. We are phasing out unfair and environmentally damaging farm subsidies, radically improving our services to farmers, providing one-off grants to support farm productivity, innovation, research and development, and developing and expanding our schemes to pay farmers to provide environmental goods and services alongside food production.

    The reform is enabled by our manifesto commitment to guarantee an average of £2.4 billion to farmers and landowners in each year of this Parliament, with all funding released from direct payments reductions to be made available through our new grants and schemes.

    The changes we are making are essential to help us grow and maintain a resilient, productive agriculture sector over the long term and at the same time achieve our ambitious targets for the environment and climate, playing our role in tackling these huge, global challenges. These reforms are about food and nature going hand in hand for all farmers, with environmental goods and services playing a key role in all farm businesses.

    We have reviewed our plans for the agricultural transition, considered feedback from the sector, and lessons learned from the early stages of the agricultural transition. We are moving ahead with the transition, on the same timescale, and pressing ahead with our environmental land management schemes, fine-tuning them to make sure they help to deliver our ambitious outcomes on the environment and support a thriving farming sector.

    As I confirmed at the Oxford farming conference last week, farmers will receive increased payments for protecting and enhancing nature and delivering sustainable food production.

    Farmers could receive up to a further £1,000 per year for taking nature-friendly action through the sustainable farming incentive (SFI). This new management payment will be made for the first 50 hectares of farm (£20/ha) in an SFI agreement, to cover the administrative costs of participation and to attract smaller businesses—many of whom are tenant farmers—who are currently under-represented in the scheme.

    Farmers with a countryside stewardship (CS) agreement will see an average increase of 10% to their revenue payment rates—covering ongoing activity such as habitat management. DEFRA is also updating capital payment rates, which cover one-off projects such as hedgerow creation, with an average increase of 48%. We expect there to be 32,000 countryside stewardship agreements live at the start of this year, a 94% increase from 2020.

    Meanwhile, capital and annual maintenance payments for the England woodland creation offer (EWCO) will also see an increase this year.

    We will evolve the existing countryside stewardship scheme instead of inventing a new “local nature recovery” scheme, to get to the same destination of supporting farmers to contribute towards net zero and biodiversity among other outcomes. This will include expanding the scope of the scheme to pay for a wider range of actions at a greater ambition, further improving the service so that it is easy for farmers to apply and get paid and targeting our funding through the scheme to where it will have the biggest impact.

    Taken together, these changes will mean we will support farmers and landowners for making space for nature alongside sustainable food production, contributing towards meeting the UK’s legally binding environment targets such as halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, agreed at COP15 in December last year.

    Later this month we will be publishing detailed information about what we will pay for in our schemes, both this year and in future, and how farmers will be able to get involved.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2023 Statement on Channel 4

    Michelle Donelan – 2023 Statement on Channel 4

    The written statement made by Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023. This was separate to the verbal statement made on the same day by the Secretary of State.

    Channel 4 is a great British success story. It is an integral part of our public service broadcasting system—contributing to the UK’s creative economy, providing greater choice for audiences, and supporting the booming British production sector. In fact, independent production in the UK is a now mature £3 billion industry, up from £500 million in 1995.

    However, as the Government set out in their broadcasting White Paper last year, all public service broadcasters (PSBs) face challenges from structural changes in the broadcasting landscape. Channel 4, along with all other PSBs, is facing unprecedented competition for viewers, programmes and talent from overseas as well as new, rapidly-growing streaming platforms. It is important for the UK’s thriving creative industries and the wider economy that we support our PSBs to grow, compete and to make high-quality, original content that people all over the UK love, trust and learn from.

    Channel 4 is uniquely constrained in its ability to respond to these challenges. There are limits on Channel 4’s ability to raise capital and its current operating model effectively stops it from making its own content. Under current legislation it operates as a publisher-broadcaster, meaning that all its shows are commissioned or acquired from third parties—such as independent producers or other broadcasters—who typically retain the rights to those programmes.

    The challenges faced by Channel 4 are real. That is why the previous Government decided to proceed with a sale of the business in order to free the broadcaster from the constraints holding it back under public ownership.

    After careful examination of the business case for the sale of Channel 4 through the lens of this Government’s focus on economic stability and long-term sustainable growth and considered engagement, I have decided that pursuing a sale is not the best option to ease the challenges facing Channel 4, nor to support growth in the UK’s creative economy—especially the independent production sector. However, doing nothing also carries risks, and the Government believe change is necessary to ensure the corporation can continue to thrive now and long into the future, in a rapidly changing media landscape.

    After careful discussions with Channel 4, I am announcing a package of interventions that will ensure the broadcaster remains focused on sustainability and has new opportunities to grow while serving audiences in the decades to come with high-quality, innovative and distinctive content.

    When parliamentary time allows, we will, through the Media Bill, introduce a statutory duty on Channel 4 to consider its sustainability as part of its decision making. We are also working with Channel 4 to agree updated governance structures that assure the Government of Channel 4’s long-term sustainability, including an updated memorandum of understanding between my Department and Channel 4 which will be made publicly available.

    To assist in Channel 4 meeting its new obligation, we will provide them with new commercial flexibilities. While ensuring that Channel 4 continues to play its key role in incubating and supporting the independent production sector, which often includes new and highly-innovative companies, I will look to relax the publisher-broadcaster restriction to enable Channel 4 to make some of its own content, and exploit intellectual property as other public service broadcasters are able to.

    In determining how this relaxation should be designed and implemented, the Government will work closely with the independent production sector and others to consider necessary steps to ensure that Channel 4’s important role in driving investment into the sector is safeguarded. Any changes to Channel 4’s commissioning model would need to be introduced gradually, with appropriate checks and balances, and following consultation with the sector. For example, this will include increasing the level of Channel 4’s independent production quota, which is currently set at 25 per cent of programmes; and potentially introducing specific protections for smaller, new and innovative independent producers.

    As part of the package, Channel 4 has agreed to enhance its support for the independent TV production sector and regional roles and skills. It will increase its annual investment in 4Skills—its paid training and placement programme for young people—from £5 million to £10 million a year by 2025. It will double its number of roles outside London from its original target of 300 to reach 600 roles across the UK in 2025. This will include jobs in Channel 4’s national HQ in Leeds, as well as in Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and potentially elsewhere.

    To enable Channel 4 to make investments that could put it on a more sustainable footing, we will also make it easier and simpler for Channel 4 to draw down on its private £75 million credit facility. In the event it pursues more ambitious investment opportunities to promote the corporation’s long term sustainability, we will support Channel 4 to access more private capital under its current borrowing limit of £200 million set in law—while taking steps to minimise the risk to public finances. We will also consider future requests to raise the organisation’s borrowing limit if appropriate.

    This package does not impact Channel 4’s current “out of London” or “out of England” quotas, which are set in its broadcasting licence by Ofcom, and to which we would still expect Channel 4 to adhere.

    Channel 4 will also include a new section in its annual report assessing the due impartiality of its news service and how the channel’s content aims to demonstrate the highest editorial standards. This is important work that will add to transparency and focus and I look forward to seeing Channel 4’s findings

    Alongside the changes to Channel 4, the Media Bill will introduce a wide range of measures to modernise decades-old broadcasting regulations, including prominence reforms to increase the growth potential of the UK’s public service broadcasters and foster innovations in the way TV is produced and consumed. Further details on the Media Bill will be announced in due course.

  • James Cartlidge – 2023 Statement on the Energy Bills Discount Scheme

    James Cartlidge – 2023 Statement on the Energy Bills Discount Scheme

    The statement made by James Cartlidge, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    Following a review of the energy bill relief scheme (EBRS), the Government today announce a new energy support scheme for businesses, charities, and the public sector. The new energy bills discount scheme (EBDS) will provide all eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the EBRS in March 2023.

    This will help businesses locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.

    This further support follows the Government’s unprecedented package for non-domestic users through this winter through the EBRS, worth £18 billion per the figures certified by the OBR at the autumn statement.

    At autumn statement, we were clear that such levels of support, unprecedented in their nature and scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow businesses to adapt. Wholesale energy prices are falling and have now gone back to levels seen just before Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But to avoid a cliff-edge for businesses and provide reassurance against the risk of prices rising again, we are launching the new energy bills discount scheme, giving them the certainty they need to plan ahead.

    The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting businesses over the next 12 months and limiting the taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion based on estimated volumes.

    Through the scheme, from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, eligible non-domestic customers who have a contract with a licensed energy supplier will see a unit discount of up to £6.97/MWh automatically applied to their gas bill and a unit discount of up to £19.61/MWh applied to their electricity bill, except for those benefiting from lower energy prices. The relative discount will be applied if wholesale prices are above a price threshold of £302/MWh for electricity and £107/MWh for gas.

    A substantially higher level of support will be provided to businesses in sectors identified as being the most energy and trade intensive—predominately manufacturing industries. A long-standing category associated with higher energy usage, these firms are often less able to pass through cost to their customers due to international competition. Businesses in scope will receive a gas and electricity bill discount based on a price threshold, which will be capped by a maximum unit discount of £40.0/MWh for gas and £89.1/MWh for electricity. This discount will only apply to 70% of energy volumes and will apply above a price threshold of £185/MWh for electricity and £99/MWh for gas.

    This Government are committed to supporting UK business and the voluntary sector, and through this package we aim to give organisations the certainty they need to plan through next winter.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Statement on Gender Recognition – Approved Overseas Countries and Territories

    Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Statement on Gender Recognition – Approved Overseas Countries and Territories

    The statement made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, in the House of Commons on 9 January 2023.

    I would like to notify the House of the progress we are making in implementing our 2020 response to the Gender Recognition Act (2004) consultation. In particular, the House will wish to be aware that I will be updating the list of approved overseas countries and territories (provided for under section 1(1)(b) of the Gender Recognition Act) to make sure it does not compromise the integrity of the Gender Recognition Act. This follows previous periodic updates.

    The list of approved overseas countries and territories was last updated in 2011. A commitment was made to keeping the list under review.

    There are now some countries and territories on the list who have made changes to their systems since then and would not now be considered to have equivalently rigorous systems. It should not be possible for a person who would not satisfy the criteria to obtain legal gender recognition in the UK to use the overseas recognition route to obtain a UK gender recognition certificate. This would damage the integrity and credibility of the process of the Gender Recognition Act.

    We are finalising details of overseas countries and territories to be removed from the list via an affirmative statutory instrument. These comprise countries and territories where there is a clear indication that the country now no longer has a system at least as rigorous as those in the Gender Recognition Act 2004. We are undertaking a thorough checking system to verify our understanding of each overseas system in question.

    I will formally engage with other colleagues and Ministers from devolved Governments in advance of laying the statutory instrument. The Government are committed to ensuring that this outcome of the Gender Recognition Act consultation is followed through and upheld, and the overseas list will be updated via statutory instrument more regularly in future.

  • Johnny Mercer – 2023 Speech to the Veterans Trauma Network Annual Conference

    Johnny Mercer – 2023 Speech to the Veterans Trauma Network Annual Conference

    The speech made by Johnny Mercer, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, at the King’s Fund in London on 11 January 2023.

    The first thing I want to say is thank you.

    If you look at where we were and where we’ve come, we’ve made extraordinary progress for the people we’re trying to help. So thank you for everything you’ve done, and for the way everyones applied themselves to this, and congratulations on the Health Service Journal Award, which I know is an important moment as well.

    I want to reiterate this government’s position on veterans affairs after what was clearly a rather turbulent period last year. I hope that my appointment is an indication of what this Prime Minister wants to achieve in this space. I clearly would not have returned to Government if I did not think the Prime Minister was serious about achieving that combined ambition of making this the best country in the world to be a veteran. I intend to put the turbulence behind us and move on, and maintain my consistency in this role and what I want to see in turning that vision of the UK being the best country in the world to be a veteran, into a reality, an actual reality, for our veterans in communities up and down this country.

    I congratulate the entire NHS on their commitment to this mission. Locally in my constituency, I pay tribute to Jon Coates, for all his work, and his predecessor, Joe Kyo as well. And I know this is replicated in trusts up and down the nation. The NHS has always been a deep and close friend of veterans, and I pay particular tribute to Kate Davies and the work we’ve done together over the years, for her relentless commitment in this space, and I hope that we can continue to work closely in 2023.

    But I wanted to come along today chiefly to seek your help. I am in the process, at the moment, of building really clear pathways of veterans support across the United Kingdom.

    Of course, Op Courage, the one you’ve heard of, was the pioneer, a single clear defined pathway for veterans to access world-class mental health care. Rooted, commissioned and ordered by the NHS in England. During its first year, it had 19,000 referrals. Which is a massive unmet need and shows you what we can do in this space if we design good programmes where there’s room for everybody, everybody comes together and we deliver it.

    Last month, the Prime Minister launched Op Fortitude, something similar in the space of homelessness, for some of our most vulnerable veterans. This programme initially ran over Christmas last year, ensuring no veteran involuntarily slept rough over the Christmas period. We’re going to launch formally on the 1st of April this year, working with great partners, like Riverside and Stoll, we will end veterans homelessness in this country in 2023.

    It’s an extremely complex issue. It’s not as presented by many actors, but I’m confident by the end of 2023 with the money and the programmes that we’ll put in, there will be no veterans sleeping involuntarily rough in this country.

    It won’t surprise you that I want to do the same with physical health care needs this year.

    The number one challenge for veterans seeking help in this country remains navigating the various options available, and understanding the offers of help they receive.

    Standardising some of the excellent service they receive right across the country and removing the kind of lottery of postcode opportunities. Similarly, it is not right, that after so much money and effort has gone in, by a lot of people in this room, to improving where we were, from those early days of Iraq, or Afghanistan, or indeed, back in the 90s, that those of our most seriously wounded continue to have an opaque view of how their needs will be met in 2, in 5 or in 10 years time. I want to resolve these issues in quick time and launch a clear pathway for physical veterans care across the United Kingdom.

    The Veterans Trauma Network is at the heart of this. With the best of the NHS working in collaboration with wraparound care from our charity sector. I want this single pathway to expand nationwide and ensure that every veteran with physical and complex health care needs can benefit. I want to improve accessibility, increase innovation and have a system that is responsive to new data and evidence in ways that we haven’t seen before.

    Of course, a large part of this work will be increasing awareness. You do so much good work already and for 15 years you’ve pioneered combat medical innovations, ensuring that those with the most severe injuries are much more likely to survive and thrive. It’s about standardising that approach, it’s about formalising your work and crucially bringing government resource and commitment to your programmes, to ensure their enduring nature in the years to come.

    A real service innovation is the multidisciplinary approach you take, addressing not just physical health needs, but the wider health and social needs of the veteran so they can heal, recover and thrive. We need to build stronger collaboration with a wider range of partners in the state sector and charities to keep delivering this. Ensuring veterans receive the very best of British science and technology that healthcare has to offer. That is why the Government launched the Health Innovation Fund on which I will have more to say in the weeks ahead.

    That’s why Op Courage has been so successful.

    That’s why we’ve put so much effort into understanding the veterans picture, through data which we did not have in this country. So we could demonstrate the kind of openness and agility to meet the changing demands of our physically injured, as time progresses, from those who lost limbs, to those who suffer musculoskeletal injuries, or in need of pain management, through to the care needs of the aged veteran.

    The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has and continues to change what it means to be a veteran in the UK today. This Prime Minister has me around his cabinet table because he wants to get it right. There is political and public support, but professionalising veterans care and getting it onto a sustainable footing for the decades ahead like never before, so that we never return again to the days of the past that we know too well.

    But we must all play our role and that’s why I’m here today. I want everyone who has enduring physical health needs from their time in service to experience the benefit of the veterans Trauma Network. I want it to be easy to access on a standardised basis, not based on who you know, or where you live, but on a needs basis across the Nation.

    I want everyone to know about your great work. I want it to be a future focused on an enduring, ambitious footing, with full Government and Prime Ministerial support. And I’m determined we will get there, with Op Fortitude, Op Courage and this growing network – whatever you want to call it – we are building permanent strong foundations and pillars of support for veterans across the United Kingdom.

    Everybody has a role to play in that national duty – not mine or a few of us here – but that national duty towards this country’s armed forces veterans.

    I very much look forward to working with all of you in the months ahead.

  • Trudy Harrison – 2023 Speech on Snares

    Trudy Harrison – 2023 Speech on Snares

    The speech made by Trudy Harrison, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in Westminster Hall on 9 January 2023.

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers—for the first time, I believe. This is a very important debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) for securing it and the Members who are here listening to it. The petition secured more than 102,000 signatures. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley for requesting that this be a civil, polite and respectful debate in which we listen to the various views.

    It is of particular relevance that we have heard from two farmers with first-hand lived experience. I, too, have always lived in the countryside. As a farmer’s granddaughter I am aware of the devastation that can be caused by foxes in particular and the need for the control of predatory species. It is not just predation that is the cause of nature’s decline, as I am sure the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) will agree. There are many aspects. That is why at the end of this month we will bring forward our environmental improvement plan, which will fully explain DEFRA’s plans, along with those of many other organisations. It is a priority for the whole of society to ensure that nature recovers, and having a plan for predators is certainly part of that.

    The petition triggered today’s debate and has raised many concerns that free-running snares—the type that relax when the animal stops pulling—are indiscriminate, cannot ensure animal welfare, cause unnecessary suffering to mammals and should be banned. I want to set out what the current law on the use of snares is. Snares that have been set in position and that are of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause injury to any wild animal must be inspected at least once a day. In all the accounts I have heard today, I am pretty sure that the snares were not inspected, thereby breaking the law.

    It is illegal to use a self-locking snare. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the control of man—“man or woman” would be the inclusive term, I am sure. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that it is illegal to set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal included in schedule 6, such as badgers, otters, red squirrels and hedgehogs. The Deer Act 1991 makes it an offence to set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any deer coming into contact with it, or to use any trap or snare for the purpose of killing or taking any deer. It is also illegal to set in position any trap or snare calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal included in schedule 6 to the 1981 Act, or to use a snare for the purpose of killing, taking or restraining such an animal. So a number of laws are already in place that try to protect wildlife.

    It has been clear from today’s debate that although the laws are there, snares are used indiscriminately and are not checked, and that the code of practice that should be followed is clearly not being followed. In preparation for this debate, I looked into this issue to see the guidelines on our DEFRA website for the appropriate use of snares. I will be the first to admit that the information is not clear and must be improved. That will be done in very short order.

    Patricia Gibson

    The Minister talked about how the law, as it currently stands, would prevent the kind of suffering we have heard about today. Clearly, the law is not being observed. In her preparation for the debate was she able to find out any information about any prosecutions that have been brought as a result of the kind of suffering we have been hearing about?

    Trudy Harrison

    The hon. Member makes an excellent point. As I am sure she can imagine, I tried to find out that very information, but because wildlife crime is not a notifiable crime, it is nigh on impossible to find it out. Instead, I contacted the RSPCA today to request an urgent meeting, because I know that members of the public who find animals in distress often turn first to the RSPCA for assistance. That is why I will have that meeting.

    I hope that both the hon. Member and the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones), will be pleased to hear that I am reaching out to the devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales to see what lessons have been learned from the measures that are already in place in Scotland and to understand the rationale for the proposals in Wales. I am keen to understand how my counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are protecting wildlife.

    Rachael Maskell

    Will the Minister set a timeframe for when she will bring her piece of work to a conclusion and therefore move forward with legislation, hopefully to bring in a ban, which is what Labour Members at least want to see?

    Trudy Harrison

    There have been multiple calls for me to give further confirmation on the call for evidence that was identified in the animal welfare action plan. Although I am not able to provide any further information on that in this debate, what I can say is that the environmental improvement plan is being worked on pretty much night and day—I was certainly working on it over the Christmas period. I have every confidence that that plan will be published on time at the end of January. On the progress that has already been made on the animal welfare action plan, I would be happy to write to the hon. Member with a detailed explanation. I have one in front of me, but as it is 15 pages long I do not have time to go through it in detail now.

    Ruth Jones

    Will the Minister give way?

    Trudy Harrison

    One final time.

    Ruth Jones

    I will be very quick. The Minister just said that she would issue the call for evidence by the end of this month. I am just checking for correctness—is that correct?

    Trudy Harrison

    That is not correct, no. I was referring to the environmental improvement plan. It was a condition of the Environment Act 2021 to provide such a document by the end of January, and I am confident that that will be the case and am very much looking forward to that plan.

    Tracey Crouch

    Will the Minister give way?

    Trudy Harrison

    No, I am afraid I will not give way any further.

    There is no question but that if snares are used incorrectly they can cause significant injuries and suffering to the animals for which they were set and, through accidental capture, to non-target species for which snaring is entirely inappropriate.

    As I have said, in 2021 the Government published the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, with the commendable aim of ensuring high animal welfare standards. The programme of work has already delivered some outstanding outcomes, such as banning the use of glue traps and the introduction of legislation to crack down on the abhorrent practice of illegal hare coursing. Additionally, current legislation already provides strong protection for the welfare of trapped animals. Anyone using snares must act within the law to ensure that their activities do not harm protected species. As I have already set out, penalties include an unlimited fine or a custodial sentence. We urge those with concerns relating to the misuse of snares to pass them to the police for investigation, as we have to prioritise Government time.

    It has been many years since this issue was debated so thoroughly, so I thank my hon. Friends again for discussing it in so much detail. I am aware that Wales has recently taken the decision to prohibit the use of snares and note that Scotland is reviewing its approach. I reiterate that I will work with the devolved Administrations to understand the implications, but I am also aware that we must protect lapwings, curlew and other ground-nesting birds, so we will take a balanced approach. We will observe how friends in the devolved Administrations implement their proposed changes to snaring. I hope we can learn from the different approaches. I will certainly keep an open mind about whether any new rules and regulations are required in England in the future.

    Thank you, Mr Vickers, for your excellent chairmanship of this debate. I leave the last word to my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley, who has done a sterling job in bringing forward this debate.

    Nick Fletcher

    I thank all Members who spoke in this important debate. I thank the petitioners and the members of the public who have joined us today, and the Petitions Committee team, which works ever so hard throughout the year to bring debates to us in this Chamber.

    The hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) said that 75% of the animals that snares catch are not the target animal. She spoke of technology; perhaps we can do some work with that. My hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) said that we require action now; we just need to get on with it. The hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) spoke of the recent decision of the BVA, which called for an outright ban. The hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Olivia Blake) said that the break-away device does not operate as it should with smaller animals that are not the target animal.

    In respect of my right hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Sir Robert Goodwill) and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), we need to listen to the voice of experience. The Minister also comes from a farming background. We need to listen to what they say, because it is extremely important. The ratio of Members present who want to ban snares to those who do not is 3:1, which is similar to the ratio for the wider population, but how many of those who want to ban them have had a life dealing with foxes and the implications of this type of injury to curlew, lapwings, chickens and other things?

    We have had a civil debate today and it has been fantastic. We should have further debates, and I am glad that the Government are working on this issue. It is important that we take a balanced view. I will finish with what the hon. Member for Strangford said: this should be proportionate and justified.