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Energy and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The hon. Gentleman was in the House when we spent 700 hours of legislative time dealing with the Fox Hunting Act, and I am sure that he will appreciate that those of us who bear the scars of that have no desire to devote huge amounts of parliamentary time to that when we have inherited a legacy containing a huge hole in the nation's finances. I want to talk about practical measures that the Department will proceed with in legislation contained in the Queen's Speech. They include measures to roll out fast broadband, which will create the opportunity for us at DEFRA to ensure that it is provided in rural areas, enabling better communication with the rest of the country and the world, and breaking the isolation that many individuals and businesses in rural areas often feel. The measure will also provide an opportunity for many to reduce their need to travel, reducing carbon footprints and helping to create jobs in rural areas. We are particularly keen to support community-led broadband in rural areas, as another real example of the big society in action. At the Department for Communities and Local Government, too, the communities Bill will create a platform for DEFRA to demonstrate the priority that we attach to both market rate and social rural housing. With planning being returned to the local level, we hope that many rural communities, through their parish councils and other forums, will seize the chance to shape local plans for the homes that they need. All Departments are going to have to think about how they can drive down their carbon footprints and contribute to the new green economy. We will be challenging them from DEFRA, as well as challenging all the arm's length bodies under our umbrella. At DEFRA, for example, we know that the food and farming sectors account for 14% of the UK manufacturing sector and provide the same percentage of jobs. Our urban and rural communities depend on the services and opportunities that those sectors provide, so my Department will be seeking to build on the strong foundations that we have already laid in our early meetings with EU member states for genuine reform of the common agricultural policy, to ensure that it reflects this Government's fourfold approach to good value for farmers, taxpayers, consumers and the environment alike. We will also await the outcome of Rosemary Radcliffe's report, which my predecessor commissioned, before proceeding to recommendations. We know, too, that climate change and the global race to industrialise are reducing the biodiversity and ecosystems of our planet at an unsustainable pace. We must act now to reverse that trend, so the Government will be offering and seeking firm commitments to address the global loss of biodiversity at the UN General Assembly meeting on biodiversity in New York in September, at the Nagoya biodiversity summit the following month in Japan, and at the meeting of Environment Ministers in Cancun at the end of the year. There is no "either/or" when it comes to climate change and biodiversity; they are interdependent and interlinked. We must act together at those conferences, because to do otherwise would be to rob future generations not only of the infinite variety of landscapes and species that we have been lucky enough to enjoy, but of the natural resources on which we depend for the quality of our lives and, indeed, our very livelihoods. We will act as a Government, with the publication of a White Paper on the natural environment to promote just that. This debate was elegantly opened by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. His Department proposes an energy Bill explicitly linking the threat of climate change to both the need to ensure that our energy supplies are secure and the opportunities that a green economy can provide. I believe that the Bill will be welcomed by all, particularly after a winter that brought home the realities of the current cost of energy to the economically vulnerable. All too real, too, has become the threat of floods, which destroy homes, businesses and tragically, as we saw last November, even lives. We will therefore maintain an increase in the money that taxpayers spend on flood defences this year, with no impact on the number of households that we protect. For too long, families have been exhorted to do their bit to drive down greenhouse gas emissions without being offered any support to do so. "Pay as you save", a central part of this Government's green deal, will directly help householders to benefit from greater energy efficiency, saving money and cutting emissions. In its current form, the Bill is unprecedented in its domestic impact, and we are also exploring how businesses can benefit from it. The Bill proposes the most significant energy framework yet, to bring about our green recovery and build our low-carbon future. That is something to which we surely all aspire. The energy Bill will be presented by my right hon. Friend, clearly demonstrating this coalition's commitment to be the greenest Government in the country's history. For the first time, we are developing an integrated strategy across Government, and across the public, private and third sectors, to tackle the loss of biodiversity, address the way that we use resources, adapt to climate change and grow a greener economy that provides the clean, green jobs and industries of the future. The Gracious Speech looks to that dynamic future, and I commend it to the House. The debate stood adjourned (Standing Order No. 9(3)). Ordered, That the debate be resumed on Wednesday 2 June.