Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

77809

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2014
	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
	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 implementation of the European Union's Zoos Directive 1999 in the United Kingdom through the zoo inspection system.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL1106
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, which sets out comprehensive licensing and inspection requirements for zoos, implements the EC Zoos Directive in Great Britain. Responsibility for administering these requirements rests with local authorities, which have powers to check compliance with zoo licences, to impose conditions and to take action. Ultimately this could mean closing part, or all, of a zoo if the requirements of the legislation are not met. This in turn ensures our compliance with the Directive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In response to concerns about how local authorities were carrying out this role, Defra commissioned research into local authority implementation of the Act. The 2011 report, which looked at the period 2008-2010, found no serious problems and indeed there was evidence of significant improvements in a number of areas during this time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The report made suggestions for further improvements, such as updating guidance and zoo inspection report forms. These, together with the majority of the suggestions, have been actioned and we continue to work to make further improvements.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord De Mauley question first answered 22/07/2014 14:41:46 answering member 2202 label Biography information for Lord De Mauley
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

436746

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2015
	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	Zoonoses
	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 recent assessment she has made of the risk to the UK of (a) rabies, (b) the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm and (c) other zoonotic diseases.
	tabling member constituency	Cambridge
	tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
	uin	19290
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2015 answer text <br /><p>The quantitative rabies risk assessment carried out prior to harmonisation with the EU pet travel rules in 2012 took into account, amongst other things, a number of variables including a doubling in the number of cats and dogs entering the country. Pets entering on a UK pet passport (i.e. returning from an overseas visit) were not included in this analysis as they must be fully protected against rabies before leaving the UK. We are continuing to monitor the factors considered in the risk assessment and are content that the risk remains very low. The risk assessment was published in 2011 and is available here:</p><p><a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.395.143&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf" target="_blank">http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.395.143&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf</a></p><p><br></p><p>In 2010 we carried out an assessment of risk from the tapeworm <em>Echinococcus Multilocularis</em> in readiness for harmonisation and which confirmed continuing risk through the movement of pet dogs. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring</a> As a result, the UK continues to maintain its controls against <em>Echinococcus multilocularis</em>. Since 1 January 2012 import controls relating to this tapeworm have been implemented under EU Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011. This Regulation lays down the tapeworm import conditions which pet dogs must comply with when being moved into the UK from other countries. The European Food Safety Authority is currently assessing how the new regulation has been implemented in the free countries (Ireland, Malta, Finland and the UK) and this includes a new assessment of any change in risk. Experts from the UK as well as other Member States have been part of this working group and the opinion will be published in 2016 prior to the review of the legislation required in December 2016. We are continuing to monitor the factors considered in the risk assessment as we do for any notifiable disease and will take the EFSA opinion into account when it is finalised.</p><br /><p>Officials from the Department work closely with colleagues from public health and food safety to assess the risk posed to people by zoonotic diseases. While a number of mechanisms exist for this purpose depending on the specific disease, the main cross – Government group that identifies and assesses emerging infection risks to human health (non-food borne disease) is the HAIRS (Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance) group which meets on a monthly basis and includes veterinary experts from the APHA:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/human-animal-infections-and-risk-surveillance-group-hairs.%0d" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/human-animal-infections-and-risk-surveillance-group-hairs.</a></p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 15/12/2015 13:41:44 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

455793

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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, in the light of the dangers posed to trees and shrubs by Xylella fastidiosa, and the experiences of France and Italy in tackling that disease, what steps they are taking (1) to prevent it entering this country, and (2) to deal with any incursion should it occur.
	tabling member printed	Lord Framlingham
	uin	HL6483
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p><em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> is a regulated pathogen in the EU under the Plant Health Directive, with strengthened requirements now in place in response to the risk posed by this organism. This includes measures to protect against its introduction from countries outside the EU, as well as requirements to prevent infected material being moved from areas within the EU where it is present.</p><p> </p><p><em>Xylella fastidiosa</em> is currently not present in the UK and we are taking robust action to protect against its introduction, including restricting high-risk imports, inspecting host material from outside the EU and raising awareness, through publicity and direct interaction with growers and trade associations.</p><p> </p><p>Our aim is to prevent further introductions into the EU as a whole (thereby protecting the UK) and to prevent spread from areas of the EU where it is present. This includes engaging actively with our EU partners and the European Commission on ensuring we have the best possible protective measures in place.</p><p> </p><p>Imports of host plants from outside the EU can now only take place where the pest status of the country or origin has been confirmed and when stringent import conditions have been met. All such imports are inspected at points of entry. Plant species which have been confirmed as a host in the EU must now be accompanied by a Plant Passport, meaning they can only be moved into and within the UK by officially authorised businesses. Additional requirements apply to areas where the pathogen is present to prevent the movement of potentially infected plants from such areas.</p><p> </p><p>Through our delivery bodies we are applying the EU-wide provisions as well as carrying out surveillance visits of premises growing and trading host plants. In the event of an incursion, a full investigation would take place to determine the circumstances and the actions required. Should an outbreak occur, the requirements of the EU Decision would apply, including destruction of infected and potentially infected plants and demarcation of the outbreak area with restrictions imposed in line with the Decision. We are working closely with industry bodies to raise awareness and encourage good practice.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 08/03/2016 16:21:50 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
	tabling member	134 label Biography information for Lord Framlingham

170384

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 estimate she has made of the savings to her Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems her Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment she has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	218780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Core Defra has benefited from a modest improvement to time efficiency due to the greater automation provided by the Q&amp;A system.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to introduce or make improvements to any ICT systems that would not have been feasible without the Q&amp;A system.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It will be for the Procedure Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the new system in improving performance when it assesses the evidence following the end of the session.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 05/01/2015 14:19:54 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

90833

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 proportion of named day written questions were answered by her Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	208424
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Session</p></td><td><p>Percentage of named day written question answered within prescribed period</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td><p>64%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015 to date</p></td><td><p>95% 1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1. Figures for the 2014-2015 session cover questions for answer during the period 05 June to 05 September 2014, inclusive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 10:17:51 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

348082

	registered interest
	date	02/06/2015
	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	World Milk Day
	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 her Department took to celebrate World Milk Day on 1 June 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
	tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
	uin	736
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2015 answer text <p>Defra issued a number of supportive statements through social media to promote World Milk Day and highlight some of the key features of the UK milk industry, including the scale of UK production and the latest information on dairy exports. In particular, we celebrated the important contribution of UK dairying to the economy and as a key source of calcium in UK diets.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 08/06/2015 11:12:41 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

451488

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2016
	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	Wind Power: Seas and Oceans
	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 she will commission a study into the effect on bird and marine life of off-shore windfarms; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
	tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
	uin	26456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2016 answer text <p>The Planning Inspectorate is responsible for examining development consent applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, including offshore renewable energy installations over 100MW in English and Welsh waters and their adjacent offshore waters, and then making a recommendation to the Secretary of State at Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for the final decision.</p><p>As part of the planning process, the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations are considered through the requirement to undertake project level Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRAs). In order to improve the evidence on the extent of the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations, the Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP) was initiated by DECC, Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate. ORJIP includes a longer-term project to improve empirical evidence on the impacts of offshore renewables on marine species, such as birds and marine mammals. Further information is available at <a href="http://www.carbontrust.com/client-services/technology/innovation/offshore-renewables-joint-industry-programme-orjip/" target="_blank">http://www.carbontrust.com/client-services/technology/innovation/offshore-renewables-joint-industry-programme-orjip/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/02/2016 12:58:08 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

451590

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2016
	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	Wind Power: Seas and Oceans
	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 information her Department holds on the effects of offshore windfarms on the national habitats of migrating whales, seals and porpoises.
	tabling member constituency	Morecambe and Lunesdale
	tabling member printed	David Morris
	uin	26512
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2016 answer text <p>The Joint Cetacean Protocol (JCP) is the most comprehensive information source available on whales and porpoises in the UK. Information from the JCP is used to inform assessments of the effects of offshore windfarms on marine mammals. The information was also used to help assess the status of marine mammals as set out in the UK’s Marine Strategy Part One in 2012.</p><p>The assessment brought together a significant body of information on the distribution, abundance, trends, and status of whales, porpoises, and seals in UK waters, and a consideration of the pressures they face, including from renewable energy development. The Marine Strategy Part One concluded that the status for the five most abundant cetacean species in UK waters was ‘favourable’. Seals face a number of pressures in the UK, although where localised declines have been identified these have not been attributed to offshore wind farms. Further information can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-one-uk-initial-assessment-and-good-environmental-status" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-one-uk-initial-assessment-and-good-environmental-status</a>.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/02/2016 13:14:10 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4135 label Biography information for David Morris

65326

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2014
	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	Wind Power: Birds
	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 the Government's policy is on protecting migratory birds from the effects of offshore wind turbines; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Christchurch
	tabling member printed	Mr Christopher Chope
	uin	203543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The EU Wild Birds Directive provides a strong framework for the protection of birds in Europe. This includes migratory species, both on land and at sea.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The developers of major infrastructure projects such as offshore wind farms are required to assess their impacts on the environment, including birdlife, and mitigate or compensate for impacts that cannot be avoided. The results of these assessments are considered by the relevant decision makers in determining applications for development consent for such projects in accordance with their legal obligations.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 07/07/2014 14:57:41 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

177841

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2015
	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	Wind Power
	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 she has made of the environmental effects of the development of onshore wind power.
	tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
	tabling member printed	Iain McKenzie
	uin	223443
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>Wind power will make a significant contribution to the UK meeting its renewable energy and climate change targets. However, development has to be in the right place. Government planning guidance therefore makes it clear that the need for renewable energy should not automatically override concerns about local impacts. When applications for wind turbines are determined, the impacts on matters such as ecology, noise, landscape, heritage and amenity are considered.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 09/02/2015 16:32:36 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
	tabling member	4246 label Biography information for Iain McKenzie