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1506513

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food Banks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that foodbanks have access to sufficient food to meet demand.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51785
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>While foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Government does not have any role in their operation, we are in regular contact with major foodbank networks to better understand their needs and asks of Government.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. In addition to the energy support announced by the Government this month, we have committed £37 billion to tackle the increased cost of living this year. This includes: cutting the Universal Credit taper and increasing work allowances giving 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year (on average); raising the National Insurance threshold resulting in a saving of over £330 a year for a typical employee; and £1.5 billion to help households with the cost of essentials, including food.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 28/09/2022 15:38:50 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506595

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food: Labelling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including information on water and energy usage expended in the production of food products as part of food labelling those products.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>Across current voluntary industry schemes a wide range of metrics on environmental information are used. The Government Food Strategy announced the Food Data Transparency Programme (FDTP) to address this.</p><p>The FDTP will develop consistent and defined metrics to objectively measure the health, environmental sustainability and animal welfare impacts of food, by providing access to rich, standardised, high-quality data so that the Government can track progress towards our shared health and environmental goals in order to make effective policy.</p><p>We will work with stakeholders to create a common framework of metrics which the food and drink industry must follow when making voluntary information to consumers regarding their foods emission and sustainability claims.</p><p>This mandatory methodology will be for participating companies to consistently follow, providing a common standard where eco-information is voluntarily used should they choose to include such information on their products.</p><p>No decisions have yet been made on the metrics to include in the guidance. We will work with stakeholders through the FDTP to agree the inclusion of suitable metrics.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 28/09/2022 15:40:05 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506646

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legislation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2022 to Question 4537 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legislation, for what reasons 62 post-implementation reviews are currently outstanding; and what steps he is taking to undertake those reviews.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	51590
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The number of Defra's outstanding post-implementation reviews (PIRs) is acknowledged. Similarly to many other departments, a number of reviews are outstanding owing to the essential reprioritisation of resources to manage the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union and the Government response to the Coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>Processes have been strengthened to ensure that a higher proportion of PIRs are completed on time. The department is developing plans to complete them as soon as possible.</p><p>Currently there are 57 overdue PIRs at Defra. Since January this year, 30 new Action Plans have been put in place to complete overdue reviews. The remaining 27 are being coordinated and planned.</p><p>The Permanent Secretary has committed to updating the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee with more detail about the steps being taken to progress PIRs at the end of the year.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 28/09/2022 15:37:11 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1506676

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Avian Influenza: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent outbreaks of avian flu.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	51936
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2022 answer text <p>We advise all bird keepers that high standards of biosecurity should be maintained as good practice for the health and welfare of their birds, and that they must remain vigilant and report immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) any suspicion of avian influenza in their birds.</p><p> </p><p>Good biosecurity is an essential defence against diseases such as avian influenza and is key to limiting the spread of avian influenza in an outbreak. In light of evidence of escalating findings of avian influenza in wild birds and cases in poultry and other captive birds, an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) was declared on 31<sup>st</sup> August 2022 in Cornwall, Devon, Isles of Scilly and part of Somerset and remains in force until further notice. In this area it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers (whether they had pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) to follow strict biosecurity measures to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease. Definitive requirements are set out in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101441/Regional_AIPZ_Declaration_31_August_2022_Cornwall__Devon__Somerset.pdf" target="_blank">regional AIPZ Declaration</a>, and biosecurity guidance and a biosecurity self-assessment checklist have been published by Defra to assist all bird keepers in instigating and maintaining good biosecurity, including compliance with the mandatory AIPZ measures which, together with further updates on the latest avian influenza situation, can be found via <a href="https://gov.uk/bird-flu" target="_blank">GOV.UK/Bird-flu</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The need for a national AIPZ or further regional AIPZs with or without mandatory housing measures will be kept under regular review as part of HM Government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of avian influenza. Any decisions on when to reintroduce a national or further regional AIPZs will be based on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu#risklevel" target="_blank">risk assessments</a> containing the latest scientific, ornithological evidence and veterinary advice.</p><p> </p><p>When avian influenza is confirmed in poultry or other captive birds, swift and humane culling of birds on infected premises coupled with good biosecurity is used to prevent the amplification of avian influenza and subsequent environmental contamination and to reduce the risk of disease spread from infected premises. In addition, disease control zones are put in place surrounding the infected premises. Within these zones the movement of birds and things associated with their keeping, e.g. poultry litter, are restricted to prevent the spread of disease. Disease control zones are only lifted when all disease control activities and surveillance within the zones are successfully completed.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, alongside HM Government’s continued investment in the National Reference Laboratory and APHA’s Weybridge site, earlier this year we launched an eight-strong consortium that received £1.5 million in funding to develop new strategies to tackle avian influenza outbreaks. This research will help build our understanding in a number of key areas, including why the current virus strains have formed larger and longer outbreaks and understanding transmission and infection in different bird populations.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Scott Mann question first answered 03/10/2022 10:55:45 answering member 4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1506677

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Avian Influenza: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to develop an urgent response plan to respond to outbreaks of avian influenza.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	51937
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>Effective animal disease control is one of Defra’s key priorities. Defra’s approach to avian influenza disease control is set out in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-avian-disease-control-strategy" target="_blank">Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain</a> supported by the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mitigation-strategy-for-avian-influenza-in-wild-birds-in-england-and-wales" target="_blank">Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales</a> and in line with the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingency-plan-for-exotic-notifiable-diseases-of-animals-in-england" target="_blank">Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England</a> and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-and-northern-ireland-contingency-plan-for-exotic-notifiable-diseases-of-animals" target="_blank">UK contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals</a>. Defra’s disease control measures seek to contain the number of animals that need to be culled, either for disease control purposes or to safeguard animal welfare. Our approach aims to reduce adverse impacts on the rural and wider economy, the public, rural communities and the environment (including impact on wildlife), while protecting public health and minimising the overall cost of any outbreak. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of exotic animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Scott Mann question first answered 30/09/2022 13:07:04 answering member 4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1506678

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Birds: Conservation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of seabird conservation in preventing outbreaks of avian influenza in UK seabird populations.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	51938
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2022 answer text <p>The United Kingdom’s seabirds are an important part of our natural heritage, and we continue to support actions to address the range of threats they are facing. We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the United Kingdom’s seabird populations and the role conservation can play in increasing the resilience of seabird populations in the face of avian influenza outbreaks.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has commissioned Natural England to assess the vulnerability of seabird species in light of the pressures they are facing and to propose actions to address them. We will work closely with stakeholders to understand the best way to implement and prioritise these actions in early 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is working with Joint Nature Conservation Committee to establish an Advisory Group to advise, recommend actions and develop guidance on minimising the impact of HPAI on wild bird populations in England and Wales and recovering populations.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Scott Mann question first answered 30/09/2022 13:14:06 answering member 4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1506745

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food: Packaging
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) food packaging producers, (b) food manufacturers and (c) food and drink retailers on their preparedness for meeting the requirements of the extended producer responsibility regulations from 1 January 2023; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that the requirement on producers to take responsibility for the environmental impact of single use plastic packaging does not result in increased food costs for consumers.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	51592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has had introductory meetings with some representatives from the listed categories of businesses. Given that Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (packaging EPR) will place new obligations on these businesses, this was discussed at this meeting. I am also aware that in preparing to implement packaging EPR, Defra officials and previous ministers have engaged extensively with the relevant stakeholders, including those from the food and drink sector. This has included the Food and Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium.</p><p>Packaging EPR will see a transfer of costs from local taxpayers to the obligated producers who make and use packaging. It will, however, be for those obligated producers to decide if they will pass the costs on by increasing prices or reduce their costs by improving and reducing their packaging.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 28/09/2022 12:24:02 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1506748

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Food: Prices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to ensure that every person living in the UK has a legal right to access to sufficient affordable food; if he will conduct a public consultation on the potential role that Government policies on (a) land ownership and access, (b) sustainable food production, (c) access to good-quality food, (d) protection of natural resources and (e) ensuring decent and secure livelihoods for food producers could play in delivering such a legal right; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	51594
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of food security and access to food. Whilst not incorporated into domestic law, the UK recognises the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which includes the article on the right of everyone to adequate food.</p><p> </p><p>To support food security, we published the Food Strategy earlier this year. The Food Strategy puts food security at the heart of the Government's vision for the food sector. It aims to broadly maintain the current level of food that we produce domestically and boost production in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities. We are seeking to deliver as much as we can on our limited supply of land, to meet the whole range of Government commitments on food, housing, climate, and the environment. To help achieve this, we will publish a Land Use Framework in 2023 which will set out land-use change principles to balance these outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>The Future Farming &amp; Countryside programmes are providing farmers with two ways of receiving payments. Farmers can apply for one-off grants, for example, the Farming investment fund, which offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity. Farmers can also receive regular payments through ongoing schemes such as our 3 environmental land management schemes: Sustainable Farming Incentive; Local Nature Recovery; and Landscape Recovery, which will pay for more sustainable farming practices, improving animal health and welfare alongside food production. Farmers can pick and choose from the offers to find a package that works for them. In 2021, we published an update to the Agricultural Transition Plan, which included information on how we are co-designing our new schemes, including through engagement groups, tests and trials, and formal consultations.</p><p> </p><p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, of which food costs are a contributing factor. These are global challenges and that is why the Government provided over £37 billion in support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421 million of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, and at least a third (£140 million) will be spent on families with children.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 28/09/2022 15:48:44 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1506753

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Work Experience
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many young people aged eighteen or younger have undertaken work experience in his Department in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those young people were (a) girls and (b) boys from state schools.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	51686
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Civil Service aims to increase opportunities for people of all backgrounds and create a Civil Service fit for 21st century Britain through work experience, internships and apprenticeship schemes.</p><p>The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs, as the department would have to ask each of the individual business areas for their local records of people on work experience.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 28/09/2022 15:56:25 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1506764

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Biodiversity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made in protecting against biodiversity loss; and what steps he plans to take to encourage global partners to take steps to reverse biodiversity loss.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	51640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2022 answer text <p>Alongside our world-leading Environment act, which introduces ambitious measures to address the biggest environmental priorities of our age, the 25 Year Environment Plan set out clear goals for habitats and species in England. To help meet these ambitions, in the last year we have created a new Somerset Wetlands super National Nature Reserve that will protect 6,140 hectares of precious habitats, completed the Back from the Brink programme with 96 priority species moving towards recovery and launched 5 more landscape-scale nature recovery projects, including the G7 Nature Recovery Legacy Project in Cornwall.</p><p> </p><p>The United Kingdom works across a number of geographies and partners to support global ambition. For instance, the United Kingdom is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal during December this year.</p><p> </p><p>The United Kingdom will be advocating for ambitious global targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030. This includes targets to ensure at least 30% of the land and of the ocean is protected, ecosystems are restored, species population sizes are recovering, and extinctions are halted by 2050. The United Kingdom is calling for this ambitious set of targets to be supported by increased finance for nature from all sources (public and private) and at all levels (domestic and international), and for strengthened reporting and review mechanisms to facilitate the achievement of targets and hold Parties to account to their commitments.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 29/09/2022 09:17:56 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy