Speeches by Dollimore.

“You referenced profit. No one on this Committee would think profit was a dirty word, but we are very aware of how the farming sector has become less profitable in recent years. I know we have seen 12,000 farms close in the last decade. I just wondered if the panellists could comment on what they see as the main drivers…”

“Just before I bring in Tom on the wider sector issues, you touched on that issue around who is owning the land. If you look at the top 10 recipients of subsidies from DEFRA in recent years, many of the people on that list often are a surprise. For example, Oxbridge Colleges or huge multinationals. Do you think that is …”

“One of the big issues that has been raised with me by a local farm in my constituency, which was growing potatoes for hundreds of years and then stopped last year, is the big supermarkets. They simply cannot compete with the way that the big supermarkets are running their procurement, and the prices that they are payin…”

“Would you welcome changes in the area of the big supermarkets and how they conduct themselves?”

“We know from the evidence Arun has submitted that 56% of those qualifying for APR under the current regime had not received any income from farming in the last five years. Do you think that reflects very wealthy individuals who are not genuinely farming and paying for very expensive legal advice in order to take advant…”

“Just to touch on those points, Stuart you mentioned expensive legal advice that people might be taking. I will not ask you what your hourly rate is.”

“Just finally, you did not touch on energy prices and the impact they have had. Has that been a big issue?”

“David, Arun, any reflections on that?”

“Jeremy, you also mentioned that the changes we are talking about today have not impacted those institutions that do not die. I was quite surprised when speaking to local farmers to learn that a lot of farmland in my constituency in Hastings and Rye is owned by an Oxford college: All Souls College. I understand this is …”

“Does that happen often in your experience, Jeremy?”

“The land is genuinely being farmed. Yes, that is clear.”

“I am hearing from you that when various different claims have been bandied around about a percentage that may or may not be affected by these changes, some have rebutted those figures by saying that those who are not impacted are those people with pony paddocks or whatever, but what I am hearing from the panel is that …”

“I just want to bottom out this point that has been touched upon around pony paddocks and whether there is a bit of a myth around that at present. Colleagues have referenced that perhaps if somebody had a house, two fields and some ponies, they might currently be on the list of people benefiting from APR. Can the panel …”

“Would that not be, on the previous discussion, about institutions that do not die holding much of that land?”

“So why would they be paying APR?”

“We know from the evidence Arun has submitted that 56% of those qualifying for APR under the current regime had not received any income from farming in the last five years. Do you think that reflects very wealthy individuals who are not genuinely farming and paying for very expensive legal advice in order to take advant…”

“Parents, teachers and students in my constituency were horrified to find out that the University of Brighton Academies Trust has been taking a whopping 20% of the Government grant meant for our local schools and education. What is the Minister doing to resolve these issues and make sure that every child in Hastings and…”

“rose—”

“The right hon. Lady talks about the figures. Does she accept that her Government’s record was one of leaving £300 million of the farming budget unspent in the Treasury coffers, not helping farmers?”

“My colleague on the Select Committee has great expertise on the farming industry. He will therefore know that, for the last 14 years, the record of his party in government has been one of failure for our farming industry, with 12,000 farms closing since 2010 and energy bills skyrocketing because the Conservative party …”