Speeches by Zeichner.

“That is a very big question, and I will probably call on my colleagues to give you the more detailed answers. But the overall view is that we very much follow the scientific advice, which is a starting point. That 46% level is broadly similar to the level the year before. Basically, I rely very heavily on the advice fr…”

“First, I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, because he did a lot of this work before he came into Parliament, and he and I used to discuss it. It is relatively early days for the ASCA, and we will see what is needed, but at the moment I am confident that he is happy with the resources that he has to do the job. There i…”

“You raise a very interesting issue, and I know your interest; indeed, I remember talking about this when in opposition. I am very happy to talk about the land use framework; in fact, I shall be meeting stakeholders later this afternoon to discuss it. The same principles apply in many ways, but the marine spatial priori…”

“As you will appreciate, this is a matter for the Treasury, and the Treasury Minister has been in constant dialogue over the last few months. There was a measure introduced in the Budget, and we stand by it.”

“I have not had any communication so far.”

“A lot of time has been spent discussing pollack over the last few years, and I will probably bring my expert colleagues in. But immediately I would say that part of the problem is that the advice is that it is not necessarily thriving, and that is what we have to follow. That then leads us into the complex issue of cho…”

“I think you will find there have been a lot of debates in this place.”

“As I say, Chair, I believe we have robust supply chains, and I encourage people to have a reasoned dialogue, very much as we have had this morning, about the way forward for the future. The overwhelming message should be that this is a really important sector all the way through the food chain. It does a magnificent jo…”

“That is a very good question, which I will go away and see if we can find the answer to. I suspect, as in so many other things, that there is always more that we can do, but of course we are dependent to some extent on international advice.”

“I really appreciate how strong the feelings are. I have been down and spoken to people, and I can absolutely see how difficult this has been, but I genuinely think we have to follow the scientific advice. On the recreational side, yes, again, I understand the frustration that people in the commercial fleet feel. Volunt…”

“From data being given? Well, quite a lot of data comes my way, but the question—”

“As always with data, you need to understand the context it is within.”

“Thank you for inviting us this morning. I am Daniel Zeichner. I am the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs.”

“To tax and subsidies?”

“It does not tell the whole story, because we are working, as I say, within the legislative framework that was agreed by Parliament under the Fisheries Act. Our task is to make those judgments.”

“It absolutely does, but it shows the complexity of the decisions that are being made. As a Minister, I can only follow the scientific advice we are being given.”

“May I look to you for that one, Mike?”

“We will probably come on to the individual sector arrangements that are being made. It is at that level that we can have closer dialogue.”

“I understand the point you are making, and I too see that discrepancy between the anecdotal accounts and what comes through in the scientific advice. Colin may be able to add a little more.”

“Well, the first thing I would say is that I would not believe everything that is rumoured around an issue like this, because there is obviously lots and lots of speculation. Of course we have discussions, because the transitional period comes to an end in the middle of next year, but no decisions have been taken and th…”