§ 8. Mr. Phil Hope (Corby)If he will make a statement on Government support for developing new rural enterprises. [107887]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Ms Joyce Quin)The England rural development plan, on which we propose to spend £1.6 billion, explains how we propose to use the rural development regulation to support the development of rural enterprises over the next seven years.
§ Mr. HopeI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Farmers in my constituency and the National Farmers Union recognise that agriculture faces structural problems which require fundamental change, as well as short-term measures to help with current difficulties. I welcome the Government's rural development plan, which signals a new direction for farming and the rural economies. Will my right hon. Friend reassure me that the proposed transfer of wasteful subsidies to new environmental schemes and farming enterprises will mean real cash and support for farming communities in my constituency?
§ Ms QuinYes, I can reassure my hon. Friend about that, because we have been able to get extra spending from the Government to match the modulation system that 397 we are introducing, and because there have been increases in some specific schemes to help the transition to organic farming, as well as marketing and enterprise schemes. Real new money is available and my hon. Friend is right to say that it represents a new way forward.
The regulation is important because it allows support to be given to some of the sectors that do not receive mainstream support from the subsidised common agricultural policy. It allows pig farmers, poultry farmers and others to apply for assistance. It thus provides for a better, more flexible system in future.
§ Mr. James Paice (South-East Cambridgeshire)Following the Prime Minister's successful tour of the south-west last week, when he managed to convince any remaining doubters that he knows nothing and cares less about the true state of the rural economy and of rural enterprise, why did he not tell farmers about the proposed closure of two thirds of MAFF regional offices? That could mean the end of the Exeter office, which is the only MAFF office in the south-west. Does the Minister understand the impression that that will give to farmers, who are in the middle of an agricultural crisis, and who need the support from, and the face-to-face contact with, excellent MAFF officials? If the Minister goes ahead and closes two thirds of the network of offices, it will simply confirm to farmers that the Government are all talk and no action and that they do not care.
§ Ms QuinThat was an extraordinary question, given the launch last week of the rural development plan and the extra money that we have put into agriculture. As well as the Prime Minister's visit to the south-west, during which he spent two days in the region, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and other Ministers from the Ministry and from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions visited rural areas throughout the country.
The launch of the rural development plan was important to show that we are keen to ensure that the new measures benefit all regions of the country. In the Ministry's regional review, we are trying to ensure that the service to regions is enhanced, not reduced. The hon. Gentleman's alarmist claims are therefore completely wide of the mark.