WEDNESDAY 18 JULY 2007

Mr Peter Kendall, Mr Martin Haworth and Ms Carmen Suarez

  Q140  Chairman: You have indicated that you signed up to the 2003 reforms generally, and you see the Health Check as an opportunity of achieving some of the strategy behind the reforms. I suppose the crunch question is: to what extent is that view shared by your colleagues in Europe?

  Mr Kendall: That is a very interesting one. As I have said, in my new role as a Vice-President of COPA, it is a difficult one to try and get consensus on. But there are a significant number of countries which are engaged in and wanting to have an open and sensible debate about the way forward. Denmark and Sweden, for example; Italy are quite good partners of ours; and I think that the Germans want to have a proactive debate in a number of these areas. Also, some of the Accession countries want to see a simplified model having some resonance round the rest of Europe. As I said, the chairman of COPA-COGECA is currently a Frenchman; so how proactive COPA can be on that will be interesting to see. We certainly intend to be actively involved in not saying, "We can't do anything" but, rather, "How can we move forward?", and we want to be positive and engaged.

  Chairman: So "Non" becomes "Peut-être"!

  Q141  Lord Palmer: Going back to the question asked by Lord Brookeborough, would you agree that, under our obligations for the RTFO, it is relatively complicated having to deal with four different ministries, ie Defra, Department for Trade and Industry, Department for Transport and, finally, the Treasury? Have you had any experience that these ministries are perhaps not talking to each other on the same wavelength?

  Mr Kendall: I think that it has made for very, very complicated discussions on the RTFO because of the way that it has been spread. We have been advocating for some time that there should be one ministry taking the lead on many of these issues. I know that you have had a very active role in helping on some of these areas. Even if it is something that we do want to see simplified, we do need to see some sensible drivers. I do think that the way the RTFO is now in place is giving some certainty. What I am concerned about is some of the drivers that are being put on the accreditation schemes that will be put in place. We do want sustainable standards in place. We do want to make sure that we are not adding to environmental degradation in other parts of the world. We have to make sure, however, that we deliver an industry in the UK that is realistic. If, for example, our counterparts in France accept that cross-compliance provides environmental protection, we have to be careful that we do not raise the bar too much so that, again, this start of the journey of evolving to second-generation is not curtailed because of getting that wrong. I think that some of the conflict between the different departments is slowing that process of putting that accreditation in place.

  Chairman: I think that is it, unless there is something we have missed that you think we desperately ought to know. If not, thank you very much indeed for your time.