PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

459WH
HMRC Closures
26 MARCH 2013
460WH
[Mr Gauke]
in December 2013. If the roll-out proceeds, the new
service is expected to be launched between February
and May 2014.
In conclusion, HMRC is making the changes in order
better to meet the needs of the 1.5 million customers
who need more help with their tax and benefits. HMRC
is modernising its approach to break free from the
outdated network of bricks and mortar and to provide
a more flexible and accessible face-to-face service for
people who really need it, including on the Isle of
Wight. The proposals will target help at those who need
it most, in a way that is better for them and more
cost-effective for both them and the taxpayer. As a
responsible employer, HMRC is taking all the right
steps to minimise the impacts that the changes will have
on its staff.
Mr Joe Benton (in the Chair): The sitting is suspended
until 4 o’clock.
3.34 pm
Sitting suspended.
Bee Health
4pm
Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con): It is a
great honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Benton.
This year’s Budget quite rightly supports those people
who are working hard and contributing to our economy.
Life is tough for many hard-working people, and we are
doing all we can to support them. Particular focus has
been directed at people investing in British businesses
and employing more people. The national growth strategy
has identified sectors of our economy that are strong,
that are growing and that have the opportunity to
generate increased wealth for our nation by making
more things and exporting them overseas. In the next
10 minutes or so, I would like the Minister to think
about another army of workers that needs our support
right now—Britain’s bees.
Agribusinesses, farmers, and food and drinks
manufacturers are quite rightly identified as significant
contributors to our economy and to our future prosperity.
In my constituency, this sector is helping to lead the way
towards sustainable, export-driven growth. Food, drink
and farming businesses employ nearly a third of working
people across Cornwall. Local products include the
iconic pasty, the native oyster, wine, cider, beer, soft fruit
and vegetables, and even tea, which is grown at Tregothnan
and exported to China.
Nationally, the agri-food and drink sector contributes
£85 billion a year to the UK economy and provides
employment for 3.5 million people. Without a strong
work force of bees, we will not be able to realise the
potential of this sector in the coming years. Nearly all
the drinks and food that I have mentioned need bees as
pollinators. Bees deliver that service better than anything
else in our ecosystem. It is estimated that manual pollination,
which is the only option if a catastrophic decline in bee
numbers takes place, would cost British farmers up to
£1.8 billion every year. Don’t get me wrong—like all
wildlife, the bee population is important in its own
right, and as part of a balanced ecosystem, which is
vital for our health and well-being. However, as we are
so rightly focused at the moment in Parliament on the
economy, the focus of my speech is on the economic
benefits of bee health.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs has done much to try to understand why the bee
population in Britain, the EU and the USA is declining.
In the UK alone, the number of managed honey bee
colonies fell by 53% between 1985 and 2005. I know
that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairsunderstands that
pollinators, including bees, are essential to the health of
our natural environment and to the prosperity of our
farming industry. DEFRA has estimated that pollination
is worth several hundred million pounds every year.
Also, bees are among our greatest allies in delivering
DEFRA’s twin priorities of animal health and plant
health. The Department is implementing the healthy
bees plan, working with beekeepers to provide training
and respond to pest and disease threats. Within that
plan, DEFRA’s national bee unit provides inspection,
diagnostic and training services to beekeepers. Before
I entered Parliament, I was a trainee beekeeper, and I
very much appreciated the helpful advice of those helping
me to learn the craft, particularly inspectors.