Tag: Steve Reed

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London on 15 July 2025.

This is a moment for Government and industry to join together to unlock the potential of our water sector and grow our economy in every region of this country.

We need water for economic growth.

Communities can’t function without it. Water is essential for every household and business across the country. We need it to grow the food that feeds our families. To build 1.5 million new homes, hospitals, schools and roads. To cool power stations that supply our electricity and the data centres to run our IT systems.

Water flows through our breathtaking countryside, boosting our tourism and leisure industries.

The public were not aware at the time of the last general election, this country was facing water rationing within ten years.  There was not enough water to meet the growing demands of our population. As David just said, no new reservoirs had been built in 30 years.

Water infrastructure was outdated and crumbling. Leaking pipes wasted valuable water supplies. Record levels of sewage polluted our waterways.

In just one year, we’ve introduced tough new measures to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. Including ringfencing customers’ money so it can only be spent on what it was intended for: upgrading and improving water infrastructure.

Our Water Special Measures Bill became law in February, giving the regulators new powers to hold water companies to account.

And Sir Jon Cunliffe, the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, will soon complete the biggest review of the water sector in a generation to ensure we have a robust regulatory framework to clean up our waterways, build the infrastructure we need for a reliable water supply, and restore public confidence in this vital economic sector.

He will publish his full findings next week, and the Government response will follow quickly afterwards.

This strong action has laid the groundwork for the sector to move forward.

Today is the start of a new partnership between the water sector and government.

Turning the page on the past to begin a new chapter of growth and opportunity.

The water sector is a priority for economic growth.

We’ve worked together and secured £104 billion pounds of private sector investment in the water sector over the next five years.

That’s the biggest private sector investment into our water sector in its entire history, and the second biggest investment in any part of the economy over the lifetime of this parliament – and getting this investment right matters.

It will build and upgrade infrastructure in every region of the country – cutting sewage in half by 2030 and cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas.

So, parents don’t have to worry about letting their children splash about in the water. So, we can experience the majesty of national treasures like Lake Windermere. Or enjoy a moment of calm by going for a swim in nature.

It will fund nine new reservoirs and nine large-scale water transfer schemes, and reduce leaks from water pipes.

So families – like those in Guildford –   don’t have to rely on bottled water when their water supply is disrupted. So businesses don’t lose profits when they’re forced to shut because the taps have run dry. So farmers can keep growing food in the face of increasingly unstable and unpredictable weather patterns.

This vast investment will fuel economic growth.

Over the next 5 years, it will create 30 thousand good, well-paid jobs in every corner of the country.

Jobs that are rooted in the communities they serve.

Money to upgrade roads, schools and hospitals. Encouraging businesses to invest in the area. Attracting more visitors to support rural tourism.

This investment will make sure we can build 1.5 million homes this Parliament, construct major infrastructure projects to support the green energy transition, and power new industries such as data centres that can unlock the UK’s AI potential.

This is what we mean when we talk about the Government’s Plan for Change.

We must work together to make sure that £104 billion is spent in the best way to secure the improvements we want to see, and in the timescales we want to see them.

Earlier this year, my colleague the Water Minister Emma Hardy and I toured the country to see how this investment will be spent.

Around Cambridge, one of the UK’s fastest growing economies, investment in water infrastructure will support 4500 new homes, community facilities such as schools and leisure centres, and office and laboratory space in the city centre.

On the River Avon, Wessex Water are investing £35 million pounds to expand the Saltford Water Recycling Plant, increasing their wastewater treatment capacity by 40% to meet rising demand, and creating local jobs near Bath.

And in Hampshire, work’s begun on the Havant Thicket Reservoir, the first reservoir to be built in the South East since the 1970s and when it’s full, this will supply water to around 160,000 people and, during construction, it will generate more than £10 million a year to the South East economy,  with construction jobs and apprenticeships.

We need to get spades in the ground in every region.

I’ve set up a Water Delivery Taskforce to bring together Government, regulators, and water industry representatives, to ensure water companies complete their planned investments on time and on budget – providing value for money for customers.

The Taskforce will make sure we have the water, wastewater and drainage needed for the new developments and infrastructure that will drive long-term economic growth.

Energy and Utility Skills estimate 43,000 people will be needed to take up jobs in the water industry over the next five years.

That’s good, skilled, well paid jobs such as bioresources technicians, hydraulics specialists, engineers, construction workers, and surveyors.

It’s imperative we have the skilled workforce in place.

Because without it, all this investment will not be possible.

That’s why we’re here today. To work together to ensure the industry and supply chain have the capacity to meet our shared ambitions for a successful, growing water sector underpinning a successful, growing economy.

This demands a whole Government approach.

Torsten Bell, the Minister for Pensions, and Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills, will both be here today, will give more details on how we plan to do this via our employment and skills programmes.

And I’m delighted that later today I’ll sign our ‘Water Skills Pledge’ with Alison McGovern, the Minister for Employment – affirming our commitment to ensuring the water sector has the skills and workforce it needs to succeed.

We will work together to show people that a career in the water industry and its supply chain is something they can be proud of for a lifetime.

Something that gives you new skills, exciting challenges and can set you up for life – wherever in this country you live.

These are jobs that make a difference. Making sure people have a reliable, clean water supply, protecting our food security, cleaning up our waterways – and stimulating economic growth in every part of the country to raise living standards and wages and improve people’s lives.

This is a fresh start, a moment to build new partnerships and set the direction for the water sector of the future.

We are working together to bring about the change that people in this country voted for last year. It’s an exciting time for the water industry, and I’m proud to stand alongside you as we chart the journey forwards to success.

Thank you.

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 3 June 2025.

I thank the right hon. Lady for securing this urgent question. I want to begin by making clear that Thames Water remains stable, and the Government are carefully monitoring the situation. Customers can be assured that there will be no disruption to water supply.

Thames Water is a commercial entity currently engaged in an equity raise, and KKR pulled out of that process earlier today. As Thames Water has said, the company will continue to work with its creditors as part of the equity raise to improve its financial position. There remains a market-led solution on the table, and we expect the company and its directors to continue the process that is under way and fix the financial resilience of the company in the interests of its customers. I want to be clear that the Government are prepared for all eventualities across our regulated industries and stand ready to intervene through the use of a special administration regime, should this be required to ensure the continued provision of vital public services.

The situation facing Thames is taking place within a wider context. Only last year, we saw record levels of pollution in our rivers, lakes and seas. It is clear that our water system is broken. We have already passed legislation so that the regulator can ban the undeserved multimillion-pound bonuses that so outraged the public, and we have further strengthened accountability through the introduction of up to two years in prison for polluting water bosses who break the law. We have increased the regulator’s resources and launched a record 81 criminal investigations into water companies, and we have followed the “polluter pays” principle, meaning that companies that are successfully prosecuted will pay for the cost of that prosecution so that further prosecutions can follow. We have worked with the water companies to secure £104 billion of private sector investment to rebuild our broken water infrastructure. That means new sewage pipes, fewer leaking pipes, and new reservoirs across the country, as we work to end the sewage scandal that we inherited from the previous Government.

I launched the Independent Water Commission, under Sir Jon Cunliffe, so that it could outline recommendations for a once-in-a generation opportunity to transform our water industry and ensure that it delivers the service that the public deserve and our environment needs, and today Sir Jon published an interim report setting out the commission’s preliminary conclusions. The Government will respond in full to the commission’s final report in due course, and will outline further steps to benefit customers, attract investment and clean up our waterways.

Whether we are talking about Thames Water or about other companies serving other parts of the country, the era of profiting from pollution is over. This Government will clean up our waterways for good.

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, at the Dock Shed in London on 27 March 2025.

Thanks to British Land and Mace for hosting us at the Dock Shed today.

The views up here are absolutely spectacular.

I don’t think any of us can ever tire of looking at that iconic London skyline. No matter how many times you’ve seen it before.

Or seeing the city shift and grow as buildings go up and down, as spaces are developed. As communities are created.

When I was Lambeth Council Leader, I was co-chair of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Redevelopment – that’s the biggest regeneration project in Europe.

But what people don’t always see is the waste that kind of development can produce.

62% of all waste generated in the United Kingdom comes from construction.

That’s resources lost from our economy.

Lost economic value.

As we meet our commitment as a Government to build 1.5 million homes, the infrastructure for clean green energy and a reliable and clean water supply, the datacentres to make the UK an AI superpower, we can and we must get better use out of our materials and eradicate waste.

Mace and British Land – and many others in the room – are already rising to the challenge.

In this building alone, thousands of tonnes of carbon were saved by smarter material choices, meaning every structure has a smaller carbon footprint.

The stone floor beneath your feet is completely recycled.

And in new buildings across the development, British Land and Mace are using material passports to digitally track all components so they can be adapted and reused in the future.

Later this morning I’m looking forward to visiting the Paper Garden, just a few minutes from here, transformed from an old printworks into an education centre and a garden, where 60% of materials have been retained or reclaimed, including railway sleepers and the logs of fallen trees from Epping Forest.

The principles of a Circular Economy are embedded in these designs.

That’s what I want to talk about today.

Not just in construction but across all sectors.

We have an opportunity to end the throwaway society and move to a futureproofed economy.

Where things are built to last.

Where products are designed to be reused and repaired. And materials given new life again and again.

This isn’t about merely modifying the way we currently manage waste.

I want to work with all of you to fundamentally transform our economy so we get more value from it.

When I was in opposition, this is what business leaders told me they wanted a Labour Government to do.

So when I became Secretary of State for Defra, I made creating a Circular Economy one of my five core priorities for that department.

British businesses want to make this change.

So now it’s part of the Government’s national Plan for Change.

But it needs long-term direction on how regulation will develop.

So you can plan with certainty, so we can build the infrastructure we need, and financial institutions and businesses can invest with confidence.

Today I want to set that direction so, together, we can make the Circular Economy a reality.

Turn back the years and the things Britain made were built to last.

Washing machines would be fixed, clothes mended, broken pieces of furniture repaired.

But in recent times we’ve become trapped in a throwaway culture.

It’s easier and quicker to replace something on Amazon than get it fixed.

Our lives follow a ‘take, use and throw’ model that is economically unsustainable, creates mountains of waste that we have to bury or burn, and leaves our supply chains vulnerable and exposed.

Yet we know the British public support change.

Carrier bags sold by the main supermarkets have reduced by over 98% since 2014.

We’ve cleaned up streets, rivers and beaches by banning single-use plastic items like cutlery and polystyrene cups.

Both policies had huge public support.

But we are falling behind the rest of the world.

This Government is changing that.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility will begin later this year, incentivising businesses to remove unnecessary packaging and make their products more recyclable and refillable.

Simpler Recycling for the workplace starts next week.

And a standardised, national approach to household recycling – paper, card, plastic, glass, metals and food waste – will be introduced next year so everyone understands more clearly what they can recycle and how they recycle it.

This will end postcode confusion about bin collections and make sure households, workplaces and businesses never have to deal with the madness of 7 separate bin collections which the previous Conservative Government legislated to inflict on us.

And this April, we will appoint the business-led organisation that will launch the UK’s first Deposit Management Scheme for drinks containers starting in 2027.

Less than 60% of waste electricals are collected for reuse or recycling.

4 in 5 of our plastic products are still made from virgin materials.

Our household recycling rates haven’t improved in 15 years.

UK landfill sites absolutely astonishingly cover an area almost as big as Greater London.

We burn 12 million tonnes of waste collected by councils every year.

We throw away £22 billion in edible food annually. Four and a half billion in clothes. 2 and a half billion in usable furniture.

This is bad for the environment, bad for society and it’s bad for the economy.

We are literally shovelling money down the drain.

Under Michael Topham’s leadership at the Environmental Services Association, our biggest recycling companies are stepping up to the challenge.

Our reforms are giving them the confidence to invest £10 billion pounds in the UK’s recycling infrastructure over the next decade, creating over 21 thousand jobs right across the country.

I know parts of the industry have concerns around the impacts of some of these reforms.

We are listening. And we’ll keep listening to make sure the changes work for businesses.

Based on businesses’ feedback, we’ll appoint a producer-led organisation to lead our packaging reforms, building on the successful business-led board that steered them to this stage.

We’ve published estimated base fees for year one of the scheme, rather than ranges, to give businesses more certainty.

And we have stopped mandatory labelling requirements to avoid any trade friction or increased costs within the UK and with the EU.

We’ve also worked with the Food Standards Agency to confirm they will take up the role of competent authority, carrying out the checks to verify the suitability of recycling processes producing food-grade recycled plastics for trade, so we can uphold the value of high-quality UK recycled plastics on export markets.

Beyond our packaging changes, our ban on disposable plastic vapes comes into force in June.

We are changing the law so online marketplaces and vape producers pay their fair share to recycle the electricals that they put on the market – encouraging them to consider other options like reuse.

We’ve set aside £15 million to reduce food waste from farms and ensure it reaches families in need.

And we’ve set strict conditions for new energy-from-waste plants so they work better for local communities and maximise the value of resources that can’t be re-used or recycled.

I’m proud of where we’ve got to so far. But I know these reforms are still not enough.

We need a bigger shift to an economic system that encourages repair, reuse and innovation, where resources are used again and again, and waste is designed out of the system right from the start.

I worked in business for 16 years, with responsibility for driving up profit and driving down cost.

To make this bigger shift, I know we must help you unlock innovation and technologies that will open new revenue streams.

Work with local government to ensure the right infrastructure is in place.

And show the public that the circular economy is not some abstract concept, but something that will bring real benefits to them, their families, small businesses and communities right across the UK.

A Circular Economy makes sense.

In the Netherlands, financial organisations like InvestNL and innovations such as the Denim Deal for textiles are stimulating innovation in every corner of their economy.

I want the UK to match this. And then go further.

Moving from our current throwaway society is vital to grow the economy and deliver our Plan for Change, so we can give working people economic security, and give our country national security.

Towns and cities in every region will benefit from new investment that keeps materials in use for longer, whether in manufacturing and product design, processing or recycling facilities, or in the rental, repair and resale sectors.

This will provide thousands of high quality, skilled jobs right across the country, getting more people into work, wages into pockets, and driving the regional economic growth this Government was elected to deliver.

If you want to put a figure on it, external analysis suggests circular economy policies have the potential to boost the economy by £18 billion a year, every year.

A Circular Economy is also a more resilient economy.

Recent disruptions to global supply chains from the Covid 19 pandemic to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine make it clear we can no longer rely on importing 80% of our raw materials from abroad.

These include the materials and components essential to our phones, computers, electric vehicles, hospital equipment and clean energy infrastructure. And that’s to name just a few.

To ensure our national security in an increasingly unstable world, we have no choice.

We must embrace circular, local supply chains to reduce our exposure to global shocks and prevent us running out of critical resources.

As the Chancellor has said, we need to remove barriers for British businesses, investors and entrepreneurs and grow the supply-side of our economy.

It’s not just the economy though.

Extracting resources and processing them is responsible for over half of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Moving away from the linear make, use and throw model is vital to meeting our Net Zero and Environment Targets.

It will mean less rubbish ending up in landfill. Fewer plastics under our feet and choking the seas, taking hundreds of years to break down.

We can make better use of that land, whether for agriculture, housing, nature or green energy infrastructure.

It will mean burning less waste. Less litter on our streets. Less fly tipping on the side of our roads.

It will mean people can feel more pride in their communities.

British businesses are already showing us what’s possible.

From innovative tech startups turning waste into valuable materials, to social enterprises giving used goods a second life.

Like SUEZ working with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to give hundreds of tonnes of pre-loved items like furniture, bikes and toys a brand new lease of life.

Reselling them to the local community at affordable prices or donating them to local charities.

Too Good to Go, established in Copenhagen and spanning multiple global cities including here in London, which has over 100 million users and saved over 400 million meals.

Low Carbon Materials in Durham, using alternative construction materials to decarbonise roads across the country.

Or Ecobat Solutions’ in Darlaston recovering valuable materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries through their innovative recycling plant.

I want to support businesses like these to succeed.

By facilitating the transition you told me this sector wants to make.

That’s why I set up the Circular Economy taskforce, bringing together experts from government, industry, academia and civil society to work with businesses on what they want to see so we create the best possible conditions for investment.

I’m delighted to have so many members of the taskforce here with us in the room this morning.

Under the leadership of Andrew Morlet and Professor Paul Ekins, the taskforce will work with businesses to develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England.

We will publish the Strategy in the coming Autumn.

It will include the long-term regulatory roadmaps that businesses asked for, showing the journey to circularity, sector by sector, so you have the certainty and direction to invest in the future.

We will start with five sectors that have the greatest potential to grow the economy: chemicals and plastics; construction; textiles; transport; and agrifood.

This includes exploring how we can protect our battery supply so we can electrify the UK’s vehicle fleet, working with the Chancellor to make sure levers including the Plastics Packaging Tax help support the stability and growth of our plastics reprocessing sector, or how we harness new technologies to stop burning materials like the plastic films on packs of strawberries or mushrooms, but instead give them a new life.

We’re already seeing innovation in plastic films by the company Quantafuel based in Denmark, and Viridor who are here today, alongside others, want to develop chemical recycling plants following that model here in the UK.

It includes how we build on the industry led coalition ‘Textiles 2030’ to transform our world-leading fashion and textiles industry, tackle food waste to improve food security and bring benefits for consumers, businesses and the environment, and lower construction costs and emissions as we build 1.5 million homes during the lifetime of the current Parliament.

In these roadmaps, we’ll learn from international best practice, including from the European Union.

Until now, countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have led the way on circularity.

Our Strategy will give British businesses the support they need so we can put the UK back in the race.

It will provide the freedom for businesses to harness the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation that Britain has long been known for.

Those of you here today are the champions for this change.

You were the first off the start line. You’ve battled to do what’s right for the environment, the economy, and the future of our country.

I want to thank you for that.

Businesses will lead the transition to a Circular Economy.

It’s up to us to work together to bring the wider business community and society with us.

We need to show the country that the Circular Economy is not just a diagram on a page.

It’s cleaner streets, greener parks, and less fly-tipping in communities we’re proud to call home.

It’s new income for businesses, thousands of skilled jobs, and economic growth in every region of the country.

It’s resilience in the face of global supply chain shocks, and it’s essential for our national security.

The Circular Economy is our chance to improve lives up and down the country. To grow our economy.

And protect our beautiful environment for generations to come.

I’m genuinely excited about what we can achieve together.

My ask from you is simple.

Please tell the taskforce, and tell me, what you need from us.

Then work with us so we can make it happen.

Thank you.

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, on 25 February 2025.

Thank you very much Tom for inviting me to speak today.

I’ve been to the NFU Conference before of course – but this is my first time attending as the Secretary of State for Defra. I want to personally thank Tom for our work together since I took up this role last July.

You were the first visitor to my office after the election and you’ve been back more since then than anyone else since. That conversation between us is invaluable as we navigate the farming transition together.

And I’m grateful for your views Tom – even where we’ve disagreed.

You set that out in your speech and I was listening to it, plain speaking as you always do. And I know it’s reflected here today, and the protests in Westminster and around the country. But even if the conversation gets difficult – I will always show up to have it. Because I respect this union and I respect British farming.

Now, I can’t give the answer I know many of you want on inheritance tax. But I want you to know that I understand the strength of feeling in the room and in the sector, we can see and example of that right in front of me right now. And I am sorry it’s a decision that we’ve had to take.

Like I said I am always going to turn up to have the conversation with you, there’s an opportunity to ask questions afterwards and it might be better to ask them in that way because I have an awful lot that I think will be of interest to other people who are here in the room today that might want to hear what I have to say about that.

Now I’ve heard many farmers describing that decision as ‘the final straw’ – and the truth is those straws have been piling up for many years. Tom you were outlining many of them in your speech.

This sector is facing high input costs, tight margins, and unfairness in the supply chain. You’ve struggled to get enough workers to pick your fruit and veg. Frankly, you’ve been sold out in past trade deals. Farmland is increasingly at risk from severe flooding and drought.

And this all comes as we face the biggest transition for farming in generations, moving away from the Basic Payment Scheme to more sustainable methods of farming.

The underlying problem in this sector is that farmers do not make enough money for the hard work and commitment that they put in.

I will consider my time as Secretary of State a failure if I do not improve profitability for farmers up and down this country.

Today I can announce I will set up a new farming profitability unit within the department to drive that goal. I want to outline what the Government is doing to tackle the deep-rooted problems holding the sector back. Because time and again, I hear farmers say that they do not make a fair profit for the food they produce. And it is only by overcoming these long-standing challenges that we can create the conditions for your farming businesses to succeed. Achieving this starts by treating farms as the businesses they are.

Farmers have repeatedly told me they want to stand on their own two feet. They are proud people and rightly so. But it is paternalistic and patronising for government to treat farmers as if they are not operating in a marketplace in which they need to turn a decent profit.

I worked in business for 16 years, with responsibility every year for driving up profit and driving down cost. British farming has some of the hardest working, most creative people anywhere in the British workforce. But a sector that isn’t profitable doesn’t have a future. I know that from my own long experience in business.

My focus is on ensuring farming becomes more profitable – because that is the best way to make your businesses viable for the future. And that’s how we ensure the long-term food security this country needs.

This approach will underpin our 25 Year Farming Roadmap and our Food Strategy, where we will work in partnership with farmers to make farming and food production sustainable and profitable. We will work with farmers and stakeholders to build the roadmap together, covering every part of the sector, and the first workshops will start next week.

The roadmap stands on three principles.

First, a sector that has food production at its core. The role of farming will always be to produce the food that feeds our nation. The instability we see across the world shows us why it’s so important we help farmers to get this right.

Second, a sector where farm businesses are more resilient in withstanding the shocks that periodically disrupt farming – severe flooding, drought, animal disease. We will help farmers who want to diversify their income to put more money into their business so they can survive these more difficult times when they come.

Third, a sector that recognises restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production, but is essential to it.

It is only by pursuing all three of these principles – and recognising that farms are businesses that need to be profitable, that we can guarantee national food security and a thriving food production and farming sector.

Our New Deal for Farmers is supporting farmers to produce food sustainably and profitably.

It won’t all happen overnight, but we are already making changes.

Tom has repeatedly told me farmers need certainty about seasonal workers. I’ve listened Tom, and I’m pleased to announce that we’re extending the Seasonal Worker visas for five years. That on it’s own is not the long-term solution. We will reduce the number of seasonal workers coming to the UK in the future.

But I recognise your business needs stability over the coming years as we work at pace to embrace innovation, develop the agri-tech and invest in farming practices so you can reduce your reliance on seasonal workers as quickly as possible.

We are making the Supply Chain fairer, with new regulations for the pig sector coming in by the end of next month in March to make sure contracts clearly set out expectations and only allow changes if they’ve agreed by all parties. We are engaging with industry on similar proposals for eggs and fresh produce.

For the first time ever, we are measuring where the public sector buys food from so we can use the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce wherever we can. I have worked with my colleague Pat McFadden in the Cabinet Office to create new requirements for government catering contracts to favour high-quality, high-welfare products that British producers are well placed to meet.

This means British farmers and producers can compete for a fairer share of the £5 billion pounds a year the public sector spends on food. That’s money straight into farmers’ bank accounts to boost turnover and boost profits.

Ours is an outward-facing trading nation. But I want to be clear, we will never lower our food standards in trade agreements. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage. British farming deserves a level playing field where you can compete and win and that is what you’ll get. We will use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors.

Innovation and technology will help farmers produce more food more sustainably and more profitably. I’m delighted to announce the legislation to implement the Precision Breeding Act for plants in England has been laid in Parliament today. This offers huge potential to transform the plant breeding sector in England by enabling innovative products to be commercialised in years instead of in decades, and we are reinstating the Precision Breeding Industry Working Group so the whole food supply chain can work together to bring new food and feed products to market faster.

We are investing in the UK Agri-Technology sector with a further £110 million pounds in farming grants being announced today. In Spring we will launch new competitions under our Farming Innovation Programme for groundbreaking research that will help the sector transition towards net zero, and unlock opportunities from the Precision Breeding Act.

This is not just for the biggest farms. We will help farms of any size access technology that makes a real difference to the bottom-line over the years ahead. Like the chemical-free cleaning for integrated milking equipment by Oxi-Tech – funded through FIP, which boosts profits by lowering energy costs and chemical use. Our new ADOPT programme will fund farmer-led trials that bridge the gap between these new technologies and their use in the real world, showing farmers that their investments in technology will deliver financial returns and boost profits. And once technologies and equipment hit the market, we are making them available through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. Products like the electric weeder developed by Rootwave to reduce chemical use. We will launch another opportunity this Spring to bring more products to the farmgate.

Farms must be resilient to future challenges if they are to remain financially viable and strengthen food security. That includes severe flooding and droughts through to animal disease, and geopolitical tensions that increase demands on our land for energy generation.

I know new tech doesn’t bring the same benefits for every type of farm. We are investing to help farm businesses build resilience against animal diseases that can devastate livelihoods and threaten our entire economy. Like the Bluetongue Virus, Avian Flu, or the recent case of Foot and Mouth that we saw in Germany.

That’s why we’re investing £208 million pounds to set up a new National Biosecurity Centre, modernising the Animal and Plant Health Agency facilities at Weybridge, to protect farmers, food producers and exporters from disease outbreaks that can wipe out businesses in a moment.

We are helping keepers of cattle, sheep and pigs in England improve the health, welfare and productivity of their animals by expanding the fully funded farm visits offer.

Tom had raised with me, and he just did in his speech, the risk from illegal meat imports. More than 92,000 thousand kilograms of illegal meat products were seized at ports across the UK over the last year. They carry huge risk of diseases such as African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth getting into the country. We can’t tolerate this.

I am working with the Home Office and Border Force on plans to seize the cars, vans, trucks and coaches used by criminal gangs to smuggle illegal meat into our country and crush them so they can’t be used again.

I’ve listened to your concerns about other forms of crime as well. Crime damages farm profitability as you are forced to wait for farm or construction machinery to be replaced, or clear rubbish that has been dumped in your gateways or on your land. The National Rural Crime Unit is already supporting forces to tackle rural crime around the country.

To strengthen our approach and protect your profits, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will lay the legislation this year to better protect agricultural equipment like all-terrain vehicles, by requiring immobilisers and forensic marking as standard.

At the Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year, I announced new ways to help farmers remain profitable and viable, even in a challenging harvest. We will consult on national planning reforms this Spring to make it quicker for farmers to build new buildings, barns and other infrastructure to boost food production. And ensure permitted development rights work for farms to convert larger barns into a farm shop, holiday let, or a sports facility if that suits their business planning. We will get red tape out of the way so you can invest to become more profitable.

I’m working with Ed Miliband and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero so more farm businesses can connect their own electricity generation to the grid much faster, so you can sell surplus energy and diversify your income.

The third element of our vision is nature. Restoring nature is vital to food production, not in competition with it. It is healthy soils, abundant pollinators and clean water that are the foundations farm businesses that they rely on to produce high crop yields and turn over a profit. Without nature thriving, there can be no long-term food security.

I want to thank everyone – upland, tenant, grassland farmers and others – everyone who is involved in our farming schemes. Almost 50 thousand farm businesses are now in schemes and around half of farmed land in England is being managed to enhance nature while producing food.

I recognise the frustration when we had to pause the Capital Grants offer last year without proper warning because of unprecedented demand. I promised to update you as soon as I could. And I can confirm today that every application submitted for capital grants before the pause in November will be taken forward, and following this, we will reopen the ELM capital grants offer this summer.

I’m also pleased to announce that we’re investing £30 million pounds to increase payment rates in Higher Level Stewardship with immediate effect to bring them more closely in line with our other farming schemes. Something the NFU and others have long called for. You just called for it again, Tom. These farmers are the pioneers of nature-friendly farming, often based in upland areas. They deliver high-quality environmental outcomes; now, finally, they will get a fair price for their work.

There’s a lot to be done to make British farming profitable and viable for the long term. I know we can only get there if we build the future together.

We will work with Tom, the NFU and farmers around the country to support farmers to keep producing the food we love to eat. This requires a new approach that recognises farms are businesses, and businesses need to turn a fair profit.

I’ll play my part in creating the conditions for that to happen. I know you’ll play your part in building resilient businesses that will innovate and succeed. Together, we will overcome the challenges this sector faces and give British farming the bright future this country knows you deserve.

The speech made by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 9 January 2025.

Thank you for hosting me here today.

A lot has changed since the first Oxford Farming Conference in 1936.

In the early twentieth century, facing an explosion in population growth, Britain faced food shortages. But farmers collaborated with scientists and yields increased. During the Second World War, food from our farmers sustained the war effort. In the following decades, armed with new technologies, farming became more productive than ever before. In just a few generations, many parts of the sector adopted automation and precision farming. And embraced technology and innovation – from robotic milking to genetic breeding.

Faced with global supply shocks during the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine War, farmers grew the food that kept us fed. The sector has continually evolved and changed, to make sure one thing remained constant: through thick and thin, farmers have produced the food that feeds the nation. In the spirit of the examination halls where we are today, year upon year, farmers have passed the test.

Thank you for that.

Today, we stand on the edge of an unprecedented global transition. Food security is national security but we face new challenges. Leaving the European Union was undoubtedly the biggest change for British farming for generations, moving away from the Basic Payment Scheme that simply paid you for the land you farmed, to our Environmental Land Management Schemes that pay for actions that support sustainable food production. We’re experiencing more frequent and severe flooding and droughts as the climate changes, affecting yields and, vitally, your profits. We’re seeing increasing pressures and competing demands on our land. Geopolitical events such as Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine are damaging global supply chains, causing costs of fertilisers and energy bills to soar.

Yesterday I visited D’Oyleys farm, just outside Oxford. Fi and Phil are two of many farmers around the country already transforming their business to meet future challenges.They are embracing sustainable and regenerative farming practices. They are one of almost 50 farms working together to restore freshwater and floodplains across the Ock and Thames catchment. They have a Saturday farm shop and a wild camping business. They are producing food, supported by nature and new sources of income. We want to make it easier for all farmers to meet the demands of the transition and run successful businesses. But what I’m hearing from so many of you is that the turmoil of recent years has made farming incredibly tough.

When farmers came to protest in Westminster last year, it wasn’t just about tax. Too many rural communities feel misunderstood, neglected and disrespected by politicians over many, many years. Farms are battling volatile input costs and tight margins. Imbalances in the supply chain are preventing fair returns for the food farmers produce. A shortage of skilled workers is putting the brakes on growing farm businesses. Farmers spend long hours in the fields, followed by an evening of paperwork. There are growing concerns about more extreme weather. The promised continuing access to European markets after Brexit was broken. Other trade deals have undercut British farmers. The straws are piling up and up – and the camel’s back is close to breaking.

The last few months in particular have not been easy. You’ve heard it before, but the £22 billion pound black hole left by the Conservatives was bigger than anybody could have expected. The previous Government is being investigated by the Independent Office for Budget Responsibility – which they set up – for covering up the true state of public finances. Our planning in opposition was done without knowledge of a hidden financial black hole greater than the cost of the entire police service in England and Wales. It meant we had to take immediate tough decisions across the economy to balance the books, including on APR. We were shocked by the size of the black hole we were left to fill. I’m sorry if some of the action we took shocked you in return. But stable finances are the foundation of the economic growth needed to get the economy growing again after it flat-lined through a decade of chaos.

Looking to the future, I will be frank about what’s coming down the line, delivering the news, good and bad, as and when it comes. I want our farming sector to succeed. I want it to be sustainable – financially and environmentally.  I know we can only get there by working together in partnership. I am a politician, not a farmer. My job is to listen to your expertise and use my role in Government to support you.

During my time as a politician – including as a council leader – I have taken on the issues that matter to people and found a solution by working together with people on the front line. I listened to them, then acted with them. Like reversing a rising tide of knife crime. Turning round the council’s children’s services from one of the worst to the best-rated in the country. Bringing in investment to regenerate once-declining neighbourhoods. It’s an approach based on working together that I’m offering to you. I can’t control the weather, pandemics or how other countries act. But I will ensure the Government is there with you to face those challenges. That requires a clear end goal.

The last Government talked about transition – but never said what farmers were transitioning to. Today I’ll set that straight. Our farming roadmap will be the most forward-looking plan for farming in our country’s history; the blueprint that will make farming and food production sustainable and profitable for the decades to come. It will be built on our vision for the future of the farming sector. A vision that depends on three strands. First, a farming sector that has food production at its core. Second, a sector where farm businesses can diversify their income to make a fair profit and remain viable in challenging times.Third, a sector that recognises restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production, but is essential to it. It is only through pursuing all three that we will achieve long-term food security. That is our destination.

Taking the first strand, the primary purpose of farming has – and always will be – to produce the food that feeds the nation. Whitehall too often loses sight of that fact. This Labour Government is putting food production back on the agenda. For generations, farmers have produced the food we love from the family favourites at the dinner table to world-renowned British classics. A resilient food system relies on domestic production.

At the NFU conference last year, the previous Prime Minister declared ‘farmers are not in it for the money’, words repeated by the Shadow Environment Secretary. They misunderstand that farms are businesses that deserve to thrive. Of course, farmers feel great pride in producing the food on our shelves and stewarding our beautiful countryside. Farming is in their blood. But farming is not some sort of hobby project. The food and farming sector employs over 4 million people, providing jobs in every corner of the UK. If we are serious that ‘food security is national security’, farming must be recognised as a serious business that needs to turn a decent profit.

Right now, too many farmers don’t make enough money for the food they produce. People feel we’re becoming too reliant on imports. Climate change and external shocks will keep challenging the sector. We’re offering a New Deal for Farmers to help address this.

Our manifesto committed to use the Government’s own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition for 50% of food in hospitals, army bases and prisons to be local or produced to high environmental standards. For the first time, Government will now monitor where food bought by the public sector comes from, the critical first step in helping the public estate buy more British food, and ensuring farmers get a fairer share of the £5 billion pounds a year spent on public-sector catering contracts.

Our New Deal will tear down the barriers to trade with a new veterinary agreement with the EU to get food exports moving again.  We will expand global trade opportunities, like increasing access for UK pork exports to China worth an additional £80 million pounds a year. And uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals.  Risks and rewards are not spread evenly across the food chain. We will act on supply-chain fairness so food producers and growers aren’t forced to accept unfair contracts. We will introduce new rules for the pig sector this Spring to ensure contracts clearly set out expectations and only allow changes if agreed by all parties. Regulations for the milk sector are in place, those for eggs and fresh produce will follow, and we’re working with all sectors to intervene where needed to guarantee fairness.

Technology and innovation are vital for farmers to produce food sustainably – and profitably – into the future. Through the Farming Innovation Programme, a farm in Kent is collaborating with the University of Greenwich and a Cambridge manufacturer to mount transparent solar panels on soft fruit polytunnels. Researchers in Lancaster, North Wales and London are developing a system that distinguishes and counts insects to help farmers manage pests. In Torquay and York, researchers are using sensors and AI to capture data on pollinators in the field and create land strategies that could improve crop yields.

We need to make it easier for farmers to take part in research and benefit from agri-tech, so that it is directed at the problems farmers face. The latest part of our Farming Innovation Programme, the ADOPT fund, will launch in the Spring. It will fund farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application. Some of those who worked with us to develop ADOPT are here today – your input is invaluable and a testament to what can be achieved through genuine co-design. Precision breeding offers huge potential to transform the plant breeding sector in England, enabling innovative products to be commercialised in years instead of decades.

I can today confirm we will introduce secondary legislation to Parliament by the end of March, unlocking new precision breeding technology that will allow farmers to grow crops that are more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease, resilient to climate change and benefit the environment.

As we’re seeing right now, flooding is becoming increasingly frequent, and can leave farmland under water for months on end, impacting crops and yields. We have paid out £60 million pounds to help farmers affected by unprecedented flooding last year, and are delivering a refreshed approach to bolster England’s resilience to flooding and protect crops in the ground. We’re investing £2.4 billion pounds to build and maintain flood defences, with a further £50 million pounds for internal drainage boards; our Floods Resilience Taskforce will ensure better coordination between government and frontline agencies; and we’re reviewing the existing flood funding formula to speed up new flood schemes and make sure funding goes where it’s most needed.

To make the most of new business opportunities and produce the food we need for long-term food security, farmers need to be able to be able to weather these storms of the future. Not only more severe and frequent flooding and droughts caused by climate change, but strains on our water supply, pressures on land use, changes to our ecosystems, and rising geopolitical tensions creating an unpredictable global economy. Food production will always be the primary purpose of the farming sector.

But for all farm businesses – tenants, uplands and others – to stay viable in an increasingly uncertain world, and make sure you can keep producing the food we need, you must be able to profit from other activities. This is the second strand of our vision. We will introduce reforms to support all farmers to innovate and diversify their businesses. Building business resilience so you can plan for the future, even if there’s a bad harvest or disease outbreak.

The Government will get Britain building again with the biggest planning reform in a generation. I am working with the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure farmers and rural businesses benefit from that.

In Spring we will consult on national planning reforms to make it quicker for farmers to build farm buildings, barns and other infrastructure they need to boost their food production. And we will shortly begin a series of planning roundtables with the sector.

Planning rules have got in the way for too long. We will speed up the system so you can grow and diversify your business. Like chicken producers who want a larger shed to boost the amount of food they produce. Or vegetable growers who want to upgrade or expand greenhouses, polytunnels, packhouses or other facilities so they can become more productive.

We will ensure permitted development rights work for farms so they can convert larger barns into a farm shop, a holiday let, or sports facility. And we will support farms to reduce water and air pollution, through improved slurry stores or anaerobic digesters that can lower business costs and increase resilience, or build small reservoirs to provide an extra water supply for crop irrigation.

Working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, we want to make it easier for farm businesses to connect to the energy grid. Whether a solar panel or wind turbine, small scale energy offers farmers the chance to diversify their income and reduce their bills. But too many farm businesses and rural communities are waiting too long for a grid connection. We are working with Ofgem to dismantle the queue so we can free up capacity for electricity generation in rural areas.

We have updated the National Planning Policy Framework so applications for renewable or low carbon energy are more likely to be approved.And our Onshore Wind Taskforce is tackling barriers to small scale renewable energy on farms. These reforms will enable more farm businesses and rural communities to connect to the grid from their own electricity generation, so you can sell surplus energy and diversify your income.

For farmers to invest confidently in measures that will make their business more resilient, you need to operate under clear and fair expectations. Just like any other business.  Currently many farmers are looking after their soil or cleaning up water, then look over the hedge and see others not upholding their side of the bargain.

Regulation as it stands is holding farm businesses back. In our latest farm opinion tracker, only 28% of farmers fully understood the purpose of regulations that applied to their farm. That’s no surprise, there are over 150 pieces of legislation covering animal health and welfare and environment regulations alone.

We need to move away from a patchwork of regulations to a coherent system that is less time-consuming and easier to understand. That allows farmers to focus on growing their business, rather than what forms they have to fill in. In some instances this means rules may have to change – and where that’s needed, I’ll ensure there’s time to adapt. It requires Defra keeping our side of the bargain too – and we are reviewing our own regulations and how we apply them, to ensure they’re fit for purpose.

The third strand of our vision is nature. Restoring nature is vital to food production, not in competition with it.

Healthy soils rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. They are the foundations farm businesses rely on to produce high crop yields and turn over a profit.

Without nature, we cannot have long-term food security. That’s why we’re investing in the biggest ever budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with a total of £5 billion pounds over the next two years, to help all farmers – tenants, commoners and landowners – transition to more nature-friendly farming methods.

More than half of farmers are now signed up to our farming schemes. Under the Sustainable Farming Incentive, almost 2 million acres of arable land will be farmed without insecticides, 700 thousand acres of low-input grassland will be managed sustainably, and 75,000 kilometres of hedgerows will be managed to support nature.

Through our Upland Farmers and Tenancy forums , we’re working in partnership with the sector to design solutions to the specific challenges they face.

Looking forward, we will work with all of you across our schemes to evaluate what’s worked, what hasn’t, and make improvements. I know you need our help to move off old Higher Level Stewardship schemes into Higher Tier. We’re making changes and getting more farmers into Higher Tier than ever. But the pace is lower than your ambitions and I am pushing to increase that.

A cast-iron commitment to food production, more resilient farm businesses, and nature as the foundation. These are the elements that will underpin our farming roadmap as we work towards a more sustainable sector with food production at the centre. It will not tell farmers what to do. It will be led by farmers. It will involve Government and farmers working together to find answers to the challenges we face. It will support farm businesses to succeed.

The road map won’t exist in isolation. We will deliver a land use framework that protects food security, working for farm businesses and for nature. It will also be part of a wider reform of the whole food system, with a food strategy encompassing economic growth, food security, public health and the environment.

We will work in partnership with farmers, growers, manufacturers, processors, supermarkets, and all those across a fairer supply chain, to shape a long-term plan for the future of farming.

Farms deserve to be successful, profitable businesses. The prize is long-term food security, resilient farm businesses, healthy ecosystems, beautiful countryside, and nutritious food on our plates.

We will work in partnership to achieve our vision for the farming sector. A sector with food production at its core. Where farm businesses can diversify their income to make a fair profit and remain viable in challenging times. And which recognises restoring nature is not in competition with sustainable food production, but is essential to it.

Change is coming. It won’t always be easy but it brings real opportunity. There’s a place for every farmer in that future. Farmers will lead us along the road that gets us there.

Let’s seize this opportunity together and give farming back its future.

The statement made by Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 18 July 2024.

The new Government will never look the other way while water companies pump record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we have outlined our immediate measures to begin the work to clean up our waterways.

First steps to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas

The Government have announced a series of initial steps towards ending the crisis in the water sector.

The new measures represent a step change to ensure the water industry cuts sewage dumping and attracts major private-sector investment to upgrade infrastructure while prioritising the interests of customers and the environment. The initial measures include:

Securing agreement from Ofwat that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.

Water companies will place customers and the environment at the heart of their objectives by changing their articles of association—the rules governing each company —to make the interests of customers and the environment a primary objective.

Consumers will gain new powers to hold water company bosses to account through powerful new customer panels. For the first time in history, customers will have the power to summon board members and hold water executives to account.

Strengthening protection and compensation for households and businesses when their basic water services are affected. Subject to consultation, the amount of compensation customers are legally entitled to when key standards are not met will more than double. The payments will also be triggered by a wider set of circumstances including boil water notices.

Water (Special Measures) Bill

Yesterday, the Government went further in the King’s Speech announcing the intention to introduce a new Bill to put water companies under special measures to strengthen regulation as a first step to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will:

Strengthen regulation to make water company executives criminally liable for severe failure.

Give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met.

Boost accountability for water executives through a new code of conduct for water companies, so customers can summon board members and hold executives to account.

Introduce new powers to bring automatic and severe fines.

Require water companies to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet with data independently scrutinised by the water regulators.

These measures will strengthen the enforcement regime and make clear that the new Government will not tolerate poor performance across the water sector.

The Government will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform and reset our water industry and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.