In May last year we were under no illusion about the scale of the challenge we faced.
There were three immediate priorities:
-
Reconnecting the countryside with the Government.
-
Better protecting the natural environment.
-
Playing our part in generating economic growth.
They’re all linked.
A strong, competitive farming sector is essential for the conservation of our countryside.
A thriving, healthy natural environment provides us with fresh water, clean air, good food and much more.
Think what it would cost to substitute what nature provides for free.
If insects likes bees stopped pollinating – it would come at a cost of £430m each year to the economy.
Costs that would quickly show up in higher food prices.
If our wetlands no longer improved water quality – it would cost £1.5bn a year to replace that service.
Again, a cost that would fall to us.
So we all have a shared interested in protecting our natural environment.
That’s why ‘rural prosperity’, ‘environmental action’ and ‘economic growth’ must be part of the same virtuous circle.
That makes mine an especially rewarding job to do in government.
And I have a great team to do that job.
A team with genuine rural credentials.
A team whose understanding of the countryside is forged in where we live, as well as by constituency post bags.
And this is a Government promoting “rural renaissance” – where previously there was just Labour’s “urban indifference”.
And when I talk of Labour’s “indifference” to the countryside, that’s seriously underplaying the legacy they left rural Britain.
Post Offices closing at the rate of 5 every week...
Unemployment increasing at twice the rate of urban areas...
A quarter of households in sparse rural areas living in poverty...
And years of opportunities squandered in the absence of modern-day basics like broadband.
With that litany of failure is it any wonder the countryside gave their verdict on Labour and put them where they belong – in the electoral mire.
RECONNECTING WITH THE COUNTRYSIDE
So it falls to us to clear up their mess – once again.
To help:
Farmers who can’t make a living;
Pensioners faced with the closure of their village post offices;
Young people unable to live in the village where they grew up.
Neglected by Labour, it’s up to us.
-
For years farmers have been telling Jim to cut the red tape that stopped them getting on with their job.
Well, Jim came in, set up the Red Tape Taskforce and set to work with his shears.
The Taskforce came back with over 200 recommendations and we’re well on our way to implementing them.
This means we are the first in Europe to tackle red tape burden on farmers.
-
People living in the uplands told us they needed real support if farming, and upland communities were to remain viable.
So six months ago we launched an Uplands Support Package.
A package which specifically targets support at the communities which are the lifeblood of our uplands.
-
Consumers told us they really want to support British food producers, but they needed honesty in labelling to do so.
We now have a country of origin labelling regime in the UK, so that people can have confidence in buying British.
-
People said they wanted a Government who would get on the side of people who play by the rules.
Our farmers play by the rules, with high levels of animal welfare.
So it’s about time we got tough on the imports of those that don’t.
I was the first Minister in Europe to call on the Commission to take a tough line with countries that ignore the welfare of egg laying hens.
And I am not going to let it rest there.
This is a government that is on the side of our farmers, and on the side or our countryside, and on the side of plain old-fashioned ‘fairness’.
-
And who could forget one of the most urgent pleas from farmers up and down the land?
“Please sort out the mess of Labour’s Rural Payments Agency.”
Now there is plenty left to do, but for the first time it’s more accountable, more efficient and making more payments on time.
-
And when it comes to stopping the relentless march of Bovine TB...
...after a decade of dither, this government is proposing a tough, new package of measures to finally control this disease.
A disease which has brought with it a terrible personal and economic toll.
Labour oppose the package we’ve put forward.
But like everything they oppose, they’ve no credible alternative.
When it comes to the countryside, they just don’t get it.
The only time they encounter it is when they are desperately chasing a bandwagon through it.
We get it, we value and we are here to serve it.
ENHANCING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
-
That’s why, despite having to make cutbacks elsewhere, we increased funding for environmental stewardship schemes.
-
We’re funding over £100m to clean up our rivers.
-
We’re putting £7.5m into the set up costs for 12 new Nature Improvement Areas which will transform rural and urban areas into special wildlife habitats.
We’ve had 80 bids to be part of that, and at the end of this month I will announce the initial shortlist.
-
We’re also introducing new measures to protect and bolster our precious wildlife sites alongside the new development we need.
-
And we’re introducing new a “Green Area Designation” so people can protect nearby pockets of green space from unwanted development...
...something vital in urban areas where green space is at a premium.
Many of these innovations are the result of this Government producing the first Natural Environment White Paper for over twenty years.
A paper borne of Richard Benyon’s personal passion for the natural environment...
...and his close work with experts like the National Trust, the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts - to name but three.
But it’s not just about land...it’s about waters too.
-
So on that note, we’re drawing up new Marine Conservation Zones which will safeguard large areas of our marine habitat.
-
And we’re launching a new waterways charity - complete with an endowment of assets and funding to give our canals and rivers a bright future.
A bright future for our natural environment is not a given, it is hard-won.
It can’t have escaped your notice that many of our native trees are dying.
Bleeding canker in chestnuts, sudden oak death syndrome and a rampant disease...
...skipping from species to species causing whole plantations to be felled.
These exotic diseases have escalated the last ten years
-
And we have to grip the problem – otherwise those trees and the habitats they support will be lost.
So this month I will be setting out exactly how we are going to combat the scourge of these diseases.
Diseases which threaten to change our landscape forever unless we act.
EXPLANATION AS TO WHY WE ARE DOING ALL THIS
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is a Government is prepared to act.
And act in the interests of the long term.
Nowhere is it more vital than for the environment.
Our generation has a duty to restore it for the next.
Our children and theirs depend on us getting it right.
And what’s more, this government and this country should be leading by example.
We are the 6th largest economy in the world.
We have enjoyed the riches of economic growth over the last century – without fully understanding the cost.
It’s a cost we can ill afford.
DEFICIT REDUCTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Jobs, investment, savings and economic growth all rest on the green agenda.
For those who think investing in our environment and taking measures to protect it are “nice to have” but “not essential”...
...I have to say you’re wrong.
Failing our environment brings with it a high price tag.
Helping the environment can bring real cost savings.
Businesses are already onto this.
Marks and Spencer saw £70m of additional profit last year thanks to measures like cutting packaging, reducing energy and recycling more.
Across Britain there’s the potential for business to save around £23bn each year.
£23bn which can be reinvested and used to stimulate more economic growth.
Economic growth our country is relying on.
Green goods and services are now worth over £110bn a year to the UK economy.
A figure set to grow by 4% a year over the next five years.
The UK food and drink Industry is worth £90bn a year.
That is a vital export opportunity for us.
The term “Made in Britain” matters.
It conveys quality and ethics - which is what consumers want.
RURAL GROWTH
And its central to unlocking the potential of our rural economy.
For far too long the economy of this country has been unbalanced.
Not just ‘north-south’, but ‘rural-urban’.
It’s one of the factors that’s brought us to where we are today.
And we need to fix it.
-
That’s why we’re investing £530m in rural broadband.
-
We’re refocusing grants and funding streams so that they actively promote new kinds of rural enterprise.
That means using rural grants to generate new business start-ups, new tourism opportunities; new markets for local produce...
...and we want to help existing businesses become more competitive, more innovative, and more prosperous...
With new sources of income such as renewable energy;
With a more sympathetic planning system...
Which, as the Prime Minister has said;
“We should cherish and protect our beautiful landscape for everyone’s benefit.”
That is why we will maintain protections for the green belt, for National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
And for our countryside to flourish, it has to be a thriving and prosperous part of the economic recovery.
That’s vital to sustaining the services and quality of life that rural communities need.
-
And that’s why the next Growth Review will have its own rural strand - specifically targeting the growth in our countryside.
Our economic seniority in the world order is not a given, we have to fight for it.
We’re up there against the best and we need to win those contracts, win that investment and get those jobs.
-
And to supercharge that process we’ve asked Ian Cheshire, CE of Kingfisher Group, to chair a team of industry leaders who will help UK plc expand business opportunities from green products and services.
CONCLUSION
Ladies and gentlemen,
I passionately believe going green is both a moral and economic imperative.
Twenty years ago world leaders committed to making the world sustainable with the landmark Rio Agreement.
Two decades on, the mission of Rio +20 is for countries around the world to meet the challenge of being “green and growing”.
In two hours time I will be on a flight to Delhi so that I can make sure the UK is at the heart of those negotiations.
Alongside 50 other countries.
Our country has to be at the forefront of that agenda.
And with this team, in this Government, I am more certain than ever we can do exactly that.
Thank you.