Tory pledge to unravel red tape

SHADOW farm minister Jim Paice has pledged to unravel the burden of red tape should the Tories win the general election.

The Conservative MP for south-east Cambridgeshire made the pledge during a breakfast event at the Rivenhall End, Essex.

The Tories would adopt a common-sense approach to agricultural policy, Mr Paice told the Savills annual farmers’ breakfast at the Rivenhall Hotel on Friday (5 March).

Food producers would be given greater support were a Conservative government elected in less than nine weeks time.

A Tory government would halt and reverse the decline in UK food production, Mr Paice promised.

“We need to trust farmers to know their land and product,” he said.

“There needs to be a shift from concentrating on process to concentrating on outcome in order to lift the burden of regulation currently experienced by the industry.”

A government review of Defra agencies would help to reduce paperwork and confusion within the rural sector, Mr Paice added.

A key matter for address was better communication between politicians, civil servants and farmers.

The government and farmers needed to work together to ensure a thriving agricultural industry.