Speeches by Lowe.

“This is a question for Philip and Marian. Given my somewhat hackneyed view of DEFRA, and my experience of it over my 40 years of farming, the question is this: what do you need from DEFRA to work more effectively together? What do you need, Philip, and what do you need, Marian? Tell the Committee what you need that you…”

“We do need to make sure that we look after that.”

“The question was about food production, though. Are we prioritising it enough?”

“Can you reassure me that that is the case?”

“Very quickly, may I underline what the Chairman says? I am very concerned. You say that you put food production at the top of your agenda. I do not agree; I do not think that you do put food production at the top of your agenda. I watch in horror as farms are rewilded. I watch grade 1 land being given over to beaver re…”

“Thank you.”

“I think the headmaster would say, “Could do better.””

“It was in 2006.”

“That took five years, yes.”

“It took you five years.”

“Thames Water.”

“Sir Geoffrey, there is a lot that needs to be dealt with.”

“Equally, the other issue was that there was a fire at a chemical store on the banks of the river. There was hydrochloric acid, and the fire brigade could not therefore put the fire out. This hydrochloric acid got into the river. It took you five years to deal with it.”

“I have one more question on this for Philip. I find that, at the Environment Agency, you all trip over each other, so I do not think DEFRA is giving you the leadership. It is not entirely your fault; you come in under its umbrella. Giving you a personal example, I have had two problems. Part of the River Colne runs thr…”

“Are you? You are giving me lots of aspiration—”

“I hear all that. I declared my interest as an active farmer, and I have to tell you that my experience of DEFRA is a very poor one. Most farmers would agree with me that DEFRA is not fit for purpose. Your rulebook mutates like a virus. Half the time you shut your schemes within 24 hours because you have got it wrong, a…”

“Do you think they are setting them correctly?”

“You say that, but at the beginning you said you were driven to improve an outcome-based sort of situation, which I agree with; that is what you need. However, I read, as you say, three pieces of legislation increasing the complexity of the regulatory landscape. Then I read that DEFRA is largely reactive to “short-term……”

“Is that what you are telling me?”

“Is this a long way of saying, “We don’t need to start with a clean sheet of paper?””