Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill

I wish to speak to Amendments Nos. 352A, 352B and 352C in the name of my noble friend Lord Livsey who is not well. He deeply regrets that he is not here to speak to them. We on these Benches feel that getting right the role of the levy boards, which, as the noble Baroness said, has been reviewed in the Radcliffe report, is critical now that CAP reform is being enacted. We fully support that reform, but now that producers and farmers must gain more of their income from the market, and less from subsidy, the role of the levy boards has become more critical. The Meat and Livestock Commission, for example, is one of the bodies that can make a considerable impact on behalf of the meat industry. Parliamentarians come across it at the annual barbecue. That barbecue is attended by every Defra Minister, and it is a great opportunity for the industry to lobby. The commission has become an able body at getting the important points across. In times of great uncertainty in the industry, the Beef and Lamb Executive is another example of a body that must have a future. There are issues of funding. As the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, said correctly, the association between the boards and those paying the levy is critical. I do not argue with her about that. I look forward with interest to the Minister’s reply on the issue of levy boards. We shall want to return to it on Report. I want to put on the record that the issue is particularly at the top of my mind because all west country lamb went to one supermarket for one contract through one major processor. That contract has ended; the processor is taking no more west country lamb; and the west country sheep farmers are in pretty dire straits at the moment. Those industry bodies are critical to them, and the future of west country sheep farming is something on which I have been reflecting. I know that the Minister has received a letter from Devon County Council about the beef industry. I declare an interest as my husband is a member of that council—the letter is probably from him. Both those issues have made me feel particularly strongly about the role of the levy boards and the future of our livestock industry.