It is my view that, as smoking is the number one cause of avoidable death in the UK, steps should be taken to discourage the take-up of smoking, particularly among under-18s, and to assist anyone who wishes to quit… (continue reading)
Category Archives: Business
Local MP “price cuts are milking farmers dry”
Local MP Norman Baker has joined calls from the NFU to give local dairy farmers a better deal and not price them out of production, as the recent milk price figures show that farmers will be further squeezed with a reduction of up to 2pence per litre (ppl) in August.
In the last two weeks, Robert Wiseman Dairies, Arla Foods UK and Dairy Crest announced cuts to their milk prices paid to farmers as of the 1st of August of 1.7ppl, 2.0ppl and 1.65ppl, following further cuts in recent months. The cuts will result in the average farmer making an annual loss of £40,000 as the average cost of production is running at about 30ppl, yet the prices paid to farmers is just 25ppl.
The coalition government’s Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill, which will shortly reach Report Stage in the House of Lords, will address the market dominance of the large retailers and ensure that suppliers are treated fairly and lawfully. It will create an adjudicator to arbitrate disputes between retailers and suppliers, investigate anonymous complaints, and take sanctions against retailers who break the rules. However, the local MP is calling on supermarkets that do not have direct payment arrangements with farmers to take steps now to work with the dairies and help local farmers.
Farmers who supply Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer or Waitrose will be unaffected as they are paid directly by the supermarkets.
Norman says:
“While the coalition government’s Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill will provide some much needed strength to suppliers and producers to fight against unfair pricing, we must ensure that our local dairy farmers are given a fair deal now. It is clearly unsustainable for farmers to be making a loss on each litre they produce and the only inevitable result from these ongoing pressures will be farmers being priced out of the market.
“To be frank, Morrisons, Asda and the Co-op have got to step up to the plate, as have the dairies and work with each other to give farmers a decent price. I appreciate that food retail is a competitive industry, but these supermarkets must recognise that farmers are feeling the pinch and must work across the industry to come up with a reasonable deal.”
Good news for Newhaven’s fishermen
Local MP Norman Baker has warmly welcomed reforms to EU fishing policy which will end the ridiculous practice of fishermen having to discard fish, in a move which the MP has called “good news for Newhaven’s fishermen”.
On Wednesday, the 13th of June, EU Fisheries Ministers reached a break-through agreement to reform the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The reforms include a ban on discarding fish, ending overfishing by 2020 and a new ‘regionalisation’ approach that will end centralised micro-management.
The local MP has lobbied government Ministers on a number of occasions to reform the out-of-date EU fishing policy that was set up over two decades ago. The reforms have also been welcomed by the Lib Dems nationally as it was the Lib Dems that first called for the setting up of Regional Advisory Councils 10 years ago. The reforms agreed are a decisive step further by giving these Councils management and executive powers.
Norman says:
“The banning of discards in particular is a huge step in the right direction. It was frankly ridiculous that fishermen had to throw good stock back into the sea, often when the fish had already perished. These reforms are taking a more commonsense approach and will localise decisions in a way that should benefit local fishermen. However, they also bring responsibility and it will be for fishermen to work with scientists to ensure that fisheries become more sustainable.
“I think that this also highlights the influence that the UK has when inside the EU tent – working with and positively influencing our EU partners, rather than being a lone voice on the sidelines.”
The conclusions of the EU Fisheries Council meeting today can be found here: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/agricult/130884.pdf
The draft reform package must now be agreed by the European Parliament under the EU’s co-decision procedure.
Water companies urged to mend leaky taps and tap into the skills of local small businesses
Local MP Norman Baker has today written to Southern Water and South East Water to encourage them to tap into local small plumbing businesses to cut water leakage from households’ dripping taps.
The first hosepipe ban of 2012, which is the first in the area for over five years, came into effect on the 5th of April, and while many will acknowledge that it has been a dry period over the last half year or so, many are also quite rightly asking the question: “Why are water companies not doing more to stop water leaking out of the system, rather than just forcing people to cut consumption?”
In 2010/11 Southern Water failed to meet its leakage targets and leaked 96 megalitres or water per day. South East Water fared a little better by meeting its target, but still leaked 95 megalitres a day. However, this does not paint the full picture as these figures do not consider the vast amounts of water that is wasted through leaking household taps. Indeed, research from the water efficiency organisation Waterwise has estimated that a dripping tap can waste over 5,500 litres per year – enough to fill up a paddling pool every week for the whole summer.
So what is the solution to the leaky taps problems? The local MP believes that the water companies should work with local plumbers to provide a subsidised tap fixing service where the customer and water company shares the cost. A broad estimate would suggest that this could save over 10,000 litres of water for every two leaky taps and when one considers that the average daily water use is around 150 litres per person, fixing just two taps could supply 66 days of water use. Not only that, but the idea could help to support local plumbers in tough economic times.
Norman says:
“Most of us have experienced a leaky tap in our homes, but I do not doubt we would all be surprised by just how much water a leaky tap wastes. When we currently have a local hosepipe ban I think water companies should be looking at all the possible ways that we can prevent waste and fixing leaking taps is most certainly one of those ways. I am therefore encouraging the local water companies to tackle this problem and do so in a way that supports local small businesses. I am very hopeful that they will take forward my suggestion.”
Click here for a table of water leakage for all water companies for 2010/11
Below is also a link to Waterwise’s website.
