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Thank you so much, Tom, thank you for that very, very kind introduction. Ministers often say they are really pleased to be here. I think you will understand I鈥檓 really, really pleased to be here.

And let鈥檚 start by thanking you Tom, David, Rachel, Abby and Aled for the advice and help you have given me in learning this brief over the last four or five years. I suppose I鈥檓 in a slightly fortunate position in the sense of having done the shadow brief for four and a half years. I鈥檝e always said, I was always finding out how much I didn鈥檛 know. And now I鈥檓 in the department, that鈥檚 really quite clear. It鈥檚 a learning process but you and all your staff have been hugely supportive in providing support for me.

Can I just start by saying that the Secretary State would have loved to have been here today. He鈥檚 actually visiting one of our key facilities in terms of protecting our biosecurity, which I think you will be pleased to hear. He sends his very best wishes and we were delighted to first meet Rachel at the Great Yorkshire Show last week. We wanted to send a very clear message in our first few days. And I listened very closely to the wise words of Lord Carrington and your wise words, Tom. And let me say, absolutely at the outset, I recognise the pressures that so many people are under - very much echoing your points. The climate issues, which have led to flooding in an unprecedented way, is a real challenge. The threat of disease, which we know is all too real. And of course, the cost pressures. And we know that, put together, they鈥檙e putting a huge toll on people鈥檚 mental health. And let鈥檚 be frank, uncertainty. Uncertainty about policy direction and change - all of which contributes to making life really, really hard.

Now, some of those things are big things that we must address but the policy uncertainty, it is my responsibilities to address. So, I keep coming back and I will keep coming back to the key point the Prime Minister has been making. That it鈥檚 about public service, it鈥檚 about stability. And this job isn鈥檛 actually about us. It鈥檚 about you and the people you represent. For a long period of time now, my boss, Steve Reed, the Secretary of State, has been saying 鈥渨e鈥檙e not going to upset the apple cart鈥�. I always thought it鈥檚 a slightly interesting phrase really; I鈥檓 not sure there are that many apple carts anymore. All those Australian Pink Lady apples, I doubt they come by apple cart.

But the point is an important one, we absolutely recognise the need for stability. I鈥檇 also say that in terms of public service, I look around and I see some familiar colleagues from the last Parliament. And I say, welcome back to all of those. But I also see many, many new people, and a really warm welcome to all the new colleagues. Let me make an offer to all of you.

In the last Parliament, I think it鈥檚 fair to say that some of us enjoyed many a happy day in Westminster Hall or at Defra questions on a Thursday morning. Sometimes it was a slightly small, select band. But I think we always tried to work in in a friendly, positive and collegiate way. And it鈥檚 true that some of the big characters have left. Jim Shannon is still here and I鈥檓 sure he鈥檒l be making his voice heard. But what I want to say is, I will try and make sure that the debates will continue to be conducted in a spirited, collaborative manner. And I鈥檒l try and work it out in a cross-party way wherever I can because these challenges are bigger than just one particular party or one particular government.

I鈥檓 going to say a little bit about where the current government is coming from. You鈥檝e heard the words: food security is national security. This is absolutely at the centre of Labour鈥檚 mission to grow the economy and actually underpins the agendas of multiple government departments and constituencies. So, food security is a shared mission of this government. Absolutely, we share it with you. And to get there, we鈥檝e pledged a number of things and this will be familiar to many from the manifesto.

We鈥檙e absolutely determined to boost rural economic growth and enhance Britain鈥檚 food security with a new deal for farmers. We really, really want to seek a new veterinary agreement with the EU to get our food exports moving and absolutely want to make sure that farmers aren鈥檛 undercut by low welfare and low standards in trade deals. We want to cut people鈥檚 energy bills by switching on GB Energy. We absolutely want to speed up the planning decisions to allow farmers to rapidly plug renewable energy into the grid.

Whenever I鈥檝e gone around - I鈥檝e done many, many visits over the last couple of years - I鈥檝e always been shocked by crime. It鈥檚 a horrible thing. It鈥檚 unsettling. In some cases, it鈥檚 more than unsettling. It鈥檚 downright vicious. I鈥檓 talking about people which are not easily intimidated. But some of the stuff people face is really horrible. So, we鈥檙e absolutely committed to the first ever cross-government rural crime strategy. Of course, this will cover agricultural theft, fly-tipping and livestock worrying but also that personal sense of people feeling anxious.

More positively, we want to empower agricultural businesses to upskill the workforce through a reformed apprenticeship levy. Going back to my earlier point, we want to tackle mental health and loneliness, with a mental health hub in every rural community and 8500 more mental health professionals.

Let me go back to the point about stability and continuity. That鈥檚 one of the ironies of the election campaign - the change was the change to stability. And I think that鈥檚 an absolutely key point. It鈥檚 what many of you need most of all because remember, you are businesses. You鈥檝e got to be able to run effective businesses. And every sector, it鈥檚 the same - business needs stability. So, that will be our goal. So, when people have asked me about whether we鈥檙e committed to the ongoing transition to the environmental land management schemes - absolutely, we are committed. Of course, there will be tweaks, changes; it鈥檚 been an iterative process so far and that will continue to be the case. But we鈥檙e absolutely committed to working with you to make sure that this system works for farmers and delivers both food security and also provides the protections we need for our environment.

And let me conclude on one of the most difficult issues which you raised with me the other day, Tom. We are determined to eradicate bovine TB. The goal is 2038. That鈥檚 quite a long time away. But we鈥檙e absolutely determined to do it. It鈥檚 a complicated issue. Everybody knows that. We absolutely believe we can do a lot through biosecurity, herd management, and speeding up the development of a vaccine that works with an effective test and all the things that need to come in terms of trade and so on. And I know the culling debate is a really, really hard one. Very, very contentious. Huge passion on both sides of the argument. But let me tell you, the Secretary of State has been clear: the current round of licences will be honoured. I absolutely believe we鈥檙e only going to eradicate bovine TB by working closely and constructively together to use all the science and everything that we鈥檝e got to beat it. We are going to beat it. I tell you, I鈥檝e already said to the department, that is my top priority. So, you have my assurance.

In conclusion, we鈥檙e committed to supporting farmers and rural communities to boost Britain鈥檚 food security, protect and enhance the environment and grow the rural economy. We absolutely want to increase confidence and build trust between farmers and government. And I so look forward to working with you, Tom, and everyone else here throughout this Parliament to deliver the practical policies that are needed to achieve that mission. Thank you very much.