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1061347

	registered interest
	date	14/02/2019
	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	Zoos: Safety
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the safety systems and processes in UK zoos to protect staff, customers and animals.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL13727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that zoos are safe places to work and visit, and that there are high standards of welfare for all animals.</p><p> </p><p>The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 sets out comprehensive licensing and inspection requirements for zoos. Responsibility for administering these requirements rests with local authorities. Defra supports this by providing the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice, which sets out minimum standards that zoos are expected to meet, covering welfare and safety.</p><p> </p><p>The standards are kept under review by Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee, a group of independent experts that advises Defra on zoo issues. Zoos must also comply with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 which ensures the safety of staff.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 27/02/2019 12:54:42 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt

792918

	registered interest
	date	21/11/2017
	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	Zoos: Licensing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the adequacy of the provisions of (1) the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, and (2) SI 2002/3080 which implemented EC Directive 1999/22/EC.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL3442
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>Under zoo licensing legislation zoos are subject to an annual inspection and must comply with the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. These are detailed standards for zoo management, including animal health, welfare and husbandry. The standards are kept under review by Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee (ZEC) which includes leading animal welfare experts.</p><p> </p><p>Ministers have tasked the ZEC with considering whether any changes need to be made to the zoo licensing system. The Department will consider the recommendations when they are received in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 30/11/2017 15:08:36 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

757235

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2017
	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	Xylella
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa is capable of infecting tree and plant species in the UK; and if so, whether they are taking steps to ban the importation of any goods, produce, plants or other species that could bring the disease into the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
	uin	HL1220
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2017 answer text <p>Certain subspecies of <em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> could be damaging to tree and plant species in the UK. We are pressing, at an EU level, for protections to be strengthened and will continue to keep this issue under review nationally. This includes taking account of the most up to date scientific information, including that published by the European Food Safety Authority, which has helped to inform the development of measures to protect against the disease and actions in response to findings within the EU.</p><p> </p><p>On the basis of the current evidence, Defra’s Secretary of State has written to the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytensis Andriukaitis to raise concerns about EU protections against the disease and urge stronger action. The letter also highlights that national measures could be introduced in the event that the appropriate level of protection is not forthcoming through the EU review. The Chief Plant Health Officer has written to businesses growing and trading host plants to encourage good biosecurity and careful sourcing of plants. Copies of these letters will be placed in the library.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble attachment 1 file name letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis.pdf title Letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis 2 file name 'Act now to keep the UK Xylella free' letter.pdf title 'Act now to keep the UK Xylella free' letter grouped question UIN HL1221 question first answered 20/09/2017 16:06:05 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

757236

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2017
	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	Xylella
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the EU Food Safety Agency's plans to stop the spread of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
	uin	HL1221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2017 answer text <p>Certain subspecies of <em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> could be damaging to tree and plant species in the UK. We are pressing, at an EU level, for protections to be strengthened and will continue to keep this issue under review nationally. This includes taking account of the most up to date scientific information, including that published by the European Food Safety Authority, which has helped to inform the development of measures to protect against the disease and actions in response to findings within the EU.</p><p> </p><p>On the basis of the current evidence, Defra’s Secretary of State has written to the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytensis Andriukaitis to raise concerns about EU protections against the disease and urge stronger action. The letter also highlights that national measures could be introduced in the event that the appropriate level of protection is not forthcoming through the EU review. The Chief Plant Health Officer has written to businesses growing and trading host plants to encourage good biosecurity and careful sourcing of plants. Copies of these letters will be placed in the library.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble attachment 1 file name letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis.pdf title Letter to Commissioner Andriukaitis 2 file name 'Act now to keep the UK Xylella free' letter.pdf title 'Act now to keep the UK Xylella free' letter grouped question UIN HL1220 question first answered 20/09/2017 16:06:05 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

984284

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2018
	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	Wood-burning Stoves: Air Pollution
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission research into the contribution made by different types of domestic wood burning stoves to the presence of Ultrafine Particles and other air pollutants in urban areas.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
	uin	HL10492
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2018 answer text <p>Measuring emissions of particulate matter from wood stoves is a recognised challenge.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s draft Clean Air Strategy identifies a range of actions targeted to reduce emissions from these sources. Defra is working with industry sectors and test houses to review different methods for testing stove emissions to determine what test methods are most reliable</p><p> </p><p>EU Ecodesign regulations that come into force in 2022 will mean all new stoves will need to meet agreed emissions standards, regardless of where they are used.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/10/2018 14:26:58 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4297 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

1050779

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2019
	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	Wildlife: Smuggling
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
	tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Belmont
	uin	HL13204
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>Combatting the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a priority for the UK Government and the UK plays a leading role globally. We are investing over £36 million from 2014 to 2021 on action to counter IWT, including work to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods.</p><p> </p><p>The UK initiated and supported a series of international conferences, starting with the first conference in London in 2014, to drive the fight to eliminate IWT and in October last year brought together global leaders at the latest and most ambitious of these. The conference brought a new focus and determination to tackle IWT as a serious organised crime, to build coalitions and to close markets for illegally traded wildlife products. Sixty-five countries, including the UK, have reaffirmed their commitment to counter the illegal trade and have declared what further action they will be taking. Full details of all the commitments made at the conference have been published in the 2018 London IWT conference declaration.</p><p> </p><p>New UK pledges made at the conference which complement our existing initiatives in this area include the following commitments:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>an additional £6 million for the UK’s IWT Challenge Fund;</p></li><li><p>£900,000 of new funding to develop a British military counter-poaching taskforce;</p></li><li><p>£2.1 million for public-private partnerships in Indonesia, to secure and extend critical habitats for species including the Sumatran tiger and Asian elephant;</p></li><li><p>£50,000 to support a new WILDLABS Tech Hub, which has since partnered with the Open Data Institute to reduce the level of illegal trade of wildlife by sharing data to develop innovative technologies;</p></li><li><p>up to £40,000 to create education packs for children in multiple languages which will teach them about key conservation and IWT issues, in partnership with Tale2Tail, a citizen ivory action group, and the WWF;</p></li><li><p>to establish a new global consortium made up of specialists in demand reduction and behaviour change, to make sure that our future work on IWT is as binding and effective as possible.</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>At home we have passed tough new legislation to close our domestic ivory market. The Ivory Act 2018 effects a total ban on commercial dealing in elephant ivory that could directly or indirectly fuel poaching, with five narrow exemptions. When the ban comes into force it will be the toughest in Europe and one of the toughest in the world, with some of the strongest enforcement provisions.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 05/02/2019 12:43:49 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	3801 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Belmont

1052387

	registered interest
	date	31/01/2019
	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	Wildlife: Conservation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) China, (2) Vietnam, (3) India, and (4) other countries in Asia about banning the trade in endangered species and their products including (a) elephants, (b) big cats, (c) rhinoceroses, and (d) pangolins.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
	uin	HL13332
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2019 answer text <p>The UK is committed to the conservation and protection of wildlife. We work closely with other countries to promote wildlife conservation through our membership of international agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). CITES is an international agreement between 183 Parties, including China, Vietnam and India, to promote sustainable trade in wildlife and to ensure that no plant or animal species becomes extinct through overtrading.</p><p> </p><p>CITES prohibits nearly all international trade in wild caught specimens of species considered to be threatened with extinction. These Appendix I species include pangolins, most elephant and rhino populations, and some big cat species. Species not currently threatened with extinction, but for which uncontrolled trade would not be sustainable, are included on CITES Appendix II and can only be traded internationally with the correct permits. Permits will only be granted if trade is considered not to be detrimental to the survival of the species.</p><p> </p><p>Domestic trade is regulated by national laws and falls outside the scope of CITES. CITES cannot oblige Parties to prohibit domestic trade but it can encourage them to do so. In 2016 Parties were encouraged to close their domestic ivory markets.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016 Dr Thérèse Coffey MP met the Chinese minister and attended the CITES Conference of the Parties, where she had further meetings including with the Vietnamese minister. The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP represented the UK government at the 3<sup>rd</sup> global Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) conference in Hanoi in 2016 and had bilateral meetings with Vietnam and China. Last October the UK hosted the 4<sup>th</sup> global IWT conference in London. Sixty-five of the seventy countries which attended, including China, India, Vietnam and the UK, reaffirmed their commitment to counter illegal trade and declared what further action they will be taking. The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP and Dr Thérèse Coffey MP met with a number of countries at the conference including Burma, China, Japan, Indonesia and Nepal.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018, the British Embassy in Beijing ran a highly visible campaign, “End Wildlife Crime”, with public events delivered across China, some in conjunction with the local government authorities, and attended by 19,250 members of the public.</p><p> </p><p>Embassies and High Commissions in many Asian countries play a key role in raising IWT issues with host governments. Officials and ministers discuss IWT with these countries in the margins of international meetings and during visits to the region. Most recently the Rt Hon Mark Field MP discussed IWT with senior members of the Vietnamese Government on a visit to the country.</p><p> </p><p>China has taken positive action on closing its domestic ivory market, co-hosting a session on combatting the ivory trade at the 2018 IWT conference. However, last year China decided to adjust its 1993 legislation to allow the use of farmed tiger and rhino products in traditional medicine; following discussions with the UK and others the Chinese Government is reviewing that decision. We regularly discuss IWT with the Chinese authorities and will continue to raise our concerns with them.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 14/02/2019 17:06:14 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

772444

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2017
	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	Wild Parsnips
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what dangers wild parsnips pose to the environment and the public.
	tabling member printed	Lord Moonie
	uin	HL2137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2017 answer text <p>Wild parsnip, <em>Pastinaca sativa</em> subspecies <em>sylvestris</em>, is the wild ancestor of the cultivated garden parsnip. It is part of our native flora and poses no risk to the environment. Some members of the public experience skin irritation or blisters after contact with the plant’s sap and sunlight but the health risk is limited.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 30/10/2017 12:19:03 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	621 label Biography information for Lord Moonie

1052388

	registered interest
	date	31/01/2019
	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	Whales: Japan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Japan about its decision to resume whaling; and whether they intend to impose sanctions on that government if that practice goes ahead.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
	uin	HL13333
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>During Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe’s, visit to the UK on 9 January, the Prime Minister expressed her disappointment at Japan’s decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and reiterated our opposition to commercial whaling practices.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with other likeminded countries to assess the implications of this decision and will be using all appropriate opportunities to urge the government of Japan to rethink its decision.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 11/02/2019 14:34:17 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

830501

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2018
	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	Water: Theft
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the problem of water theft in the UK’s water industry.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL5109
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2018 answer text <p>Based on information provided by water companies, the Environment Agency assesses that around 3% of water put into public supply is used and not paid for. This includes water taken legally and water that is stolen. Water taken legally includes public supplies for which no charge is made, such as firefighting and training.</p><p> </p><p>The ratio of the 3% taken legally to illegally is unknown.</p><p> </p><p>Companies can take action through the courts against water thieves. For example, in September 2017, Thames Water took Kilgannon Street Care to court, who admitted 12 offences under the Water Industry Act 1991 and was ordered to pay more than £5,000 in fines and costs.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 02/02/2018 12:59:02 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark