Damien Moore MP welcomes the Government’s plan to back British Farmers with measures to boost food security across Southport and the Northern Parishes.

Local Member of Parliament Damien Moore MP has welcomed the Government’s second annual food security summit and the launch of the plans to boost domestic food production and improve food security across Southport and the Northern Parishes.

The plan builds on the Government’s strong measures to support British farming, including maintaining the annual £2.4 billion Farming budget, Country Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Schemes, and the introduction of the new UK Food Security Index (UKFSI). This index will allow the Government to monitor supply stressor events across the UK while supporting the sector to grow more food domestically.

The Government has responded to and addressed the Shropshire Review findings, ensuring that the domestic farming sector has the temporary labor it needs, and the investment funding to support enhanced industrial automation. This includes a tapered extension of the seasonal visa route for 5 years, while investing £50 million into the industrial Packhouse Automation Funding programme.

The Government has also published the Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector, introducing plans to build the resilience of the UK’s fresh produce sector to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on imports. Further measures in the plan include cutting 60 pieces of redundant Retained EU Law red tape and unlocking the opportunities of precision breeding with £15 million invested into Genetic Improvement Networks.

Furthermore, the Government is also supporting farmers in getting a fair price for their products by announcing the next steps in the supply chain reviews for eggs, fresh produce, and pigs. In all three sectors, the Government will introduce legislation to enhance fairness and transparency, ensuring the integrity of our food industry.

Finally, the Government is also providing grants of between £500 and £25,000 to farmers affected by exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk. It is also putting in place flexibility through temporary adjustments to agreements in Sustainable Farming Incentives (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship so farmers who have been unable to carry out requirements do not miss out on income in the transition from the EU Basic Payment Scheme to SFI.

Commenting, Member of Parliament for Southport, Damien Moore, said:

“Farmers across Southport and the Northern Parishes work tirelessly to supply our communities and grow our regional economy.

“I am therefore delighted that the Government have announced further plans to support British farmers, including introducing the UKFSI, flood remediation scheme, and food supply review, while maintaining the annual farming budget to support our farming community and grow our rural economies.

“However, to ensure sustainable economic growth and diversification for our rural farming communities, I am formally calling for the expansion of the exceptional flooding scheme to allow for the rapid distribution of repair funding within flooded communities.

“Moreover, I will continue to campaign for the establishment of a regional Internal Drainage Board (IDB) for the Northern Parishes, devolving watercourse and flood response management to our local communities to better regulate outflows, infrastructure, and flood prevention measures.”

Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries said:

“Supporting British farmers is a priority for this government. Farming is the lifeblood of our rural communities, and offers huge economic benefits to the whole of the UK. But, we need to go further in improving farming resilience, increasing food security, and boosting domestic food production.

“We are determined to continue supporting British farmers in this – and this plan will help ensure that farmers have the support they need to increase domestic production and ensure a strong farming sector for generations to come.

“The long-term decisions we are taking will help ensure the future of British farming and of domestic food production and security.”

Originally Posted by editor

Damien Moore MP welcomes the Government’s plan to back British Farmers with measures to boost food security across Southport and the Northern Parishes......“Farmers across Southport and the Northern Parishes work tirelessly to supply our communities and grow our regional economy.

Eh? Just how many farms do we have 'across Southport'?

Originally Posted by The PNP

Eh? Just how many farms do we have 'across Southport'?

Quite a few, I thought you cycled everywhere, do you not see the fields ?

Originally Posted by The PNP

Eh? Just how many farms do we have 'across Southport'?

It would appear we have quite a few if the past is anything to go by - but I don't think they are eligible for grants.

Originally Posted by Ric

Quite a few, I thought you cycled everywhere, do you not see the fields ?

Plenty in W Lancs, but where are farms in Southport?

Originally Posted by The PNP

Plenty in W Lancs, but where are farms in Southport?

Birkdale Cop is classed as Southport, as are the fields off Crowland St, Pitts House Ln, Moss Lane, Cow Fields either side of Marine Dr just to name a few.

Originally Posted by Ric

Birkdale Cop is classed as Southport, as are the fields off Crowland St, Pitts House Ln, Moss Lane, Cow Fields either side of Marine Dr just to name a few.

W Lancs begins adjacent mini-roundabout at the junction of Benthams Way and Moss Rd, so Birkdale Cop is well into W Lancs. No active farms by Crowland St on our side of Boundary Brook, unless you want to include the defunct P & R.

I'll let you have Pitts House Lane, though technically a 'farm' it comprises little more than a handful of horse paddocks. Moss Lane to the Three Pools Waterway has the only truly commercial operation that could be classified as a farm - a tree farm! The 'cowfields' aren't a 'farm', just a patch of grazing land.....Whereas W Lancs does have actual farms, where fields are ploughed, crops are grown and sheep grazed prior to going to abbatoir.

Originally Posted by The PNP

No active farms by Crowland St on our side of Boundary Brook. I'll let you have Pitts House Lane, though technically a 'farm' it comprises little more than a handful of horse paddocks. Moss Lane to the Three Pools Waterway has the only truly commercial operation that could be classified as a farm - a tree farm! The 'cowfields' are not a 'farm', just a patch of grazing land.....Whereas W Lancs does have actual farms, where fields are ploughed, crops are grown and sheep grazed prior to going to abbatoir.

It's grazing farm land, oh and there's either two or three in Ainsdale too.

Originally Posted by The PNP

No active farms by Crowland St on our side of Boundary Brook. I'll let you have Pitts House Lane, though technically a 'farm' it comprises little more than a handful of horse paddocks. Moss Lane to the Three Pools Waterway has the only truly commercial operation that could be classified as a farm - a tree farm! The 'cowfields' are not a 'farm', just a patch of grazing land.....Whereas W Lancs does have actual farms, where fields are ploughed, crops are grown and sheep grazed prior to going to abbatoir.

You clearly have no idea what a farm is, there is arable, sheep, cows, pigs hell they even have Alpaca now too. Think Banks and Hesketh bank now come under Southport and northern parishes too, loads of farms up there.

Originally Posted by Ric

It's grazing farm land, oh and there's either two or three in Ainsdale too.

Ainsdale isn't 'Southport', though as it fell within the old County Borough we'll let it in. But again, farmland there falls on the W Lancs side of the boundary, i.e. Sandy Brook which runs closely along the back of the residential properties on Sandbrook Rd and Heathfield Rd.

Originally Posted by The PNP

Ainsdale isn't 'Southport', though as it it fell within the old County Borough we'll let it in. But again, farmland there falls on the W Lancs side of the boundary, i.e. Sandy Brook.

Splitting hairs already, your trait when you know you're wrong. Article says Southport not boundaries into west lancs. Scarisbrick is Southport.

Originally Posted by horse

You clearly have no idea what a farm is, there is arable, sheep, cows, pigs hell they even have Alpaca now too. Think Banks and Hesketh bank now come under Southport and northern parishes too, loads of farms up there.

Sorry mate, Southport/Sefton ends at the pumping station on Banks Rd. Everything beyond is in W Lancs.

Originally Posted by The PNP

Sorry mate, Southport/Sefton ends at the pumping station on Banks Rd. Everything beyond is in W Lancs.

Sorry mate not only is Sefton not mentioned in the article but my wife lived on a farm in Scarisbrick for 22 years and the address was Scarisbrick Southport.

Originally Posted by horse

Splitting hairs already, your trait when you know you're wrong. Article says Southport not boundaries into west lancs. Scarisbrick is Southport.

'Scarisbrick is Southport'? Since when, lol? I lived in Scarisbrick for many years and we paid our Council Tax to W Lancs, had the bins emptied by them too! Even the road nameplates in Scarisbrick have the W Lancs coat of arms on them.

Originally Posted by horse

Sorry mate not only is Sefton not mentioned in the article but my wife lived on a farm in Scarisbrick for 22 years and the address was Scarisbrick Southport.

Both Southport and Sefton share a common boundary at the pumping station, the other side of that boundary is all W Lancs.

That address may have got your post delivered, but is incorrect....The correct Postal Town for Scarisbrick, i.e. the one you write in caps on the envelope, is ORMSKIRK.