That Toy Parliament

If anyone is in any doubt at how impotent our parliament has become, here's the list of debates from yesterday's Hansard, on the topic of Environment, Food And Rural Affairs:

• Pitt Review
• Fish Quotas (Thanet)
• Farm Animal Welfare
• Circuses (Wild Animals)
• Food Procurement (Public Sector)
• Flood Defences
• Regulatory Burden
• Mackerel Quota
• Food Labelling
• Non-departmental Public Bodies
• Waste And Resources Action Programme
• Laying Hens
• Supermarkets (Food Sourcing)
• Unsold Food
• Topical Questions

Out of the above list the following were dominated in Parliament by references to EU legislation or policies such as the Common Fisheries Policy:

• Fish Quotas (Thanet) CFP
• Food Labelling
• Mackerel Quota
• Regulatory Burden
• Topical Questions

Then these below are constrained by EU competences, which was not acknowledged in the House:

• Supermarkets (Food Sourcing); 'Origin Labeling' is an EU competence. Also Tory MP Mark Menzies asked the following question:
  
  "I thank the Minister for her answer, but if small food producers are to be able to grow and supply the big supermarkets they must be able to develop their business, and one factor that holds them back is regulation and bureaucracy. What steps is the Department taking to strip out regulation in order to make it easier for such producers to grow?"
  
  Regulation and bureaucracy also comes under the EU where food production is concerned
  
  
• Farm Animal Welfare; This is an EU competence also, the question of de-beak or not de-beak ultimately lies with them.
  
  
• Laying Hens; See above.
  
  
• Circuses (Wild Animals); Banning wild animals in circuses could be challenged under free movement EU rules.
  
  
• Waste And Resources Action Programme; This is part of the Courtauld commitment, aimed at reducing supermarket packaging waste and encouraging recycling, in part fueled by the Landfill Directive.
  

So that leaves these 5 (mostly) short questions, which do have some EU element about them but are not relevant to the specific questions asked:

• Pitt Review
• Food Procurement (Public Sector)
• Flood Defences
• Non-departmental Public Bodies
• Unsold Food

So 2/3rds of all questions and the vast majority of Parliamentary time was dominated by our membership of the EU. It's now nothing more than a living museum.