Speeches by Reynolds.

“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I am happy to respond. We issued a written ministerial statement yesterday. I have done oral statements on big issues such as the water White Paper. I note that when my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Streatham and Croydon North (Steve Reed), made an oral sta…”

“We are keeping in touch with all sectors that are affected by the agrifood deal, but I recognise my hon. Friend’s work, particularly with the fishing industry. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs would be very happy to attend a meeting of her APPG, and to talk to it.”

“The right hon. Lady had 14 years to do what she is talking about.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. Like the viewers of “Dirty Business” and my hon. Friend, I share the public’s anger about the decades of failure and neglect in our water system. The programme was very distressing and upsetting. I have extended an invitation to Heather Preen’s mum, Julie, to mee…”

“The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs is more than happy to meet the consortium. As the right hon. Gentleman said, there is a big prize here, because we do more trade with our nearest trading market and, as he knows, there have been significant delays at the border, and administrative costs. That means that …”

“As outlined in our manifesto, this Government are committed to bringing an end to the use of snare traps. We set out this commitment in our animal welfare strategy, and are actively looking to bring a ban on snares into force as quickly as possible.”

“A successful SPS deal will bring huge benefits to the shellfish industry, which was, as my hon. Friend said, very badly affected by the botched Brexit deal that we inherited from the last Government.”

“I thank the hon. Member for his interest, and share his view that the use of snare traps is cruel and indiscriminate. We are looking at and consulting on whether we can introduce a closed season for hares.”

“I set out further details of the 2026 sustainable farming incentive offer at the National Farmers Union conference last month. We are streamlining action and reducing complexity, so that more farmers can access funding. The offer will be simpler and fairer, with priority access in June for small farms, and farms not al…”

“I do not know which one to answer! I reassure the shadow Minister that the Government are absolutely committed to maintaining high animal welfare standards, and we made it clear to the United States when we were doing the deal with them that we will not tolerate hormone-treated beef and certain other products.”

“Let me gently point out to the right hon. Lady that on Monday the Prime Minister announced a £53 million package to help rural communities that are reliant on heating oil. On waste crime, I will take no lectures from the right hon. Lady, because the Conservatives had 14 years in government to address waste crime. In 20…”

“It was a pleasure to meet my hon. Friend and farmers from Buckinghamshire at the farm in his constituency for our rural summit, at which we discussed SFI and other issues. At the end of last year, the Government decided to extend expiring mid-tier agreements. I understand that farmers are concerned about any gap in the…”

“Yes.”

“I am all for selling the Government’s policies. It will depend on what it is. Sometimes we take the view that it is more suitable to have a written ministerial statement; sometimes it is more for an oral statement. I will take on board what you have said today, and we will reflect on it.”

“I don’t think I would put it like that. I think there are some interim targets where we are probably not where we would want to be, and we need to make more progress in those areas. I would not accept that we are way off track. No, I would not describe it like that.”

“No, I do not accept that. As I said at the beginning, the EIP and the interim targets are driving a lot of what we do as a Department. We are making progress, but there are certain areas where we are making more progress than others. We are looking at areas where we need to make more accelerated progress, but I am conf…”

“I am happy to take that back. That is not something I have heard from the OEP directly, but I am happy to take it back and see what we can do.”

“I think that is a fair challenge. We held an event that we invited ENGOs and other stakeholders to. It was a very successful event indeed, but that is something I will take back. We always have to think carefully about whether an announcement is made via a written ministerial statement or an oral statement. We have don…”

“I think it should be collaborative, but it is independent. There is a balance. For example, we sight each other on our reports. That is not to say that we have a hand in its reports or that it has a hand in our reports. It does not and we do not. That is where the independence is. However, if the OEP is going to publis…”

“I tend to take quite a calm approach. We have set ourselves some very challenging interim targets in the EIP. We have some challenging targets overall in the Environment Act. We are by no means complacent about that. Do I convey that to the Prime Minister in Cabinet? Yes, I do. I am not going to divulge exactly what I …”