§ 2. Mr. Christopher Chope (Christchurch)When he last met representatives of the National Farmers Union in Wales to discuss the impact of fuel duty upon hill farmers. [136863]
§ The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Paul Murphy)In the past few weeks, I have met representatives of both the main Welsh farming unions and discussed a wide range of issues, including fuel duty. I have also met a delegation of farmers, hauliers and others, led by Mr. Brynle Williams.
§ Mr. ChopeIf, as he claims, the Secretary of State has been meeting hill farmers, why was he not able to secure a better deal for them in the Chancellor's recent statement? Did he read the evidence to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry from Mr. Pratt, a hill farmer in the Brecon Beacons, who said that his total net income last year was £1,600 and that, as a result of extra taxes on fuel, his costs have already increased by £2,654 this year? Why should Mr. Pratt have to pay the highest fuel taxes in Europe so that the national health service can be subsidised?
§ Mr. MurphyThe hon. Gentleman's last comment was unworthy, as I am sure that all the farmers in Wales are conscious of the need to make sure that the NHS and all our public services are properly funded.
To answer the hon. Gentleman's first question, using figures that are based on cash income—the best reflection of the genuine day-to-day position of Welsh farmers—the estimated cash income for Welsh hill farmers for this financial year was £20,000. That figure is down by 5 per cent. on that of the previous year. However, I appreciate that that is an average and that, within those figures, there are considerable difficulties for individual farmers. I must say that, thanks to the Conservative party's 923 economic policies, many of my constituents were forced in the 1980s and much of the 1990s to live on incomes that were well below the level that I have cited.
§ Mr. Win Griffiths (Bridgend)In my right hon. Friend's talks with hill farmers on the impact on their livelihood of fuel duty, was there any discussion of the decisions of the previous Government, with their totally London-centric, overbearing attitude of omniscience? They pushed aside the advice of the chief medical officer of the then Welsh Office that there was something badly wrong with the handling of the BSE crisis. If they had listened to Wales, hill farmers would not have half the trouble that they have today.
§ Mr. MurphyAll of us have read the report and are conscious of the fact that officials in the Welsh Office at the time were extremely diligent in the advice that they gave. As it turned out, their advice was timely but, unfortunately, it was not followed by their colleagues elsewhere in Whitehall—although I guess that is a matter for another debate.
§ Mr. Robert Walter (North Dorset)Mr. Speaker, as this is your first Welsh Question Time as Speaker, I echo the personal good wishes of the Secretary of State.
Hill farmers and all those who live in rural Wales have been severely affected by the 34 per cent. increase in fuel duty that has occurred since the Government came to power. Hill farmers cannot take their sheep to market by public transport, and those who live in isolated rural villages have to use their car to go to work, to take their children to school and to go shopping. The Chancellor has not cut the duty on fuel—he has created the mirage of ultra-low sulphur fuel. How many filling stations in Wales stock ultra-low sulphur petrol, and how many does he estimate will have it by April next year?
§ Mr. MurphyThe hon. Gentleman seems to forget that Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom were governed for two decades by the Conservative party. Many of the difficulties that are now facing us in Wales are a direct consequence of decisions taken by the hon. Gentleman's colleagues.
On the availability of low sulphur fuels, the hon. Gentleman knows that low sulphur diesel is generally available and that decreases in the duty on low sulphur petrol will come into effect in March next year. We are assured by the industry that that fuel will be available throughout the United Kingdom, including Wales.
§ Mr. Paul Flynn (Newport, West)After 50 years of generous and very large subsidies for farmers in this country, how is that farmers in New Zealand, who have not received a penny in subsidies for the past 15 years, can produce meat, have it transported across the world and offer it on the British market at a lower price than that charged by farmers in Wales? Is not the truth that subsidies are not the answer to but the cause of farmers' problems?
§ Mr. MurphyHappily, it does not fall on my shoulders to answer questions on New Zealand agriculture. Although I accept my hon. Friend's point, I am sure that he is aware that the farming community in rural Wales faces genuine problems, which the Government are doing their best to overcome.