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487020

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2016
	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	Animals: 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 the preparedness is of the Animal and Plant Health Agency to react to and control a potential future animal health outbreak similar in scale to the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	32500
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2016 answer text <p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), compiles the UK contingency plan for exotic notifiable disease that sits above plans designed by Defra and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments.</p><p>These are key documents that describe the strategic, tactical and operational responses required to any incursion of exotic notifiable disease, such as foot and mouth disease. These plans are complemented by specific GB disease control strategies and APHA work with the Government Departments in each administration to produce the necessary operational instructions.</p><p>To ensure the plans and instructions are fit for purpose, the UK runs a national animal disease exercise roughly every other year on various exotic diseases and we regularly include foot and mouth disease in those exercises.</p><p>The next national exercise will be in June 2018 and will be based on a foot and mouth disease scenario.</p><p>APHA also create and manage an annual programme of regional or country exercises designed to identify best practice and any gaps in existing plans or procedures. They also run table-top exercises for APHA’s policy customers to identify issues that may arise from new and emerging threats such as African Horse Sickness.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/04/2016 10:58:53 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

993564

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2018
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Universal Credit
	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 he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in his Department in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	182816
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2018 answer text <p>Defra does not record or collate information on staff in receipt of universal credit.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 31/10/2018 14:59:23 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1029343

	registered interest
	date	20/12/2018
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff
	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 staff were employed in his Department on (a) 20 December 2018 and (b) 23 June 2016.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	204541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2019 answer text <p>The total number of staff employed by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 31 May 2016, 30 June 2016 and 30 November 2018 are shown below;</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month/Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Headcount</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 May 2016</p></td><td><p>1,693</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 June 2016</p></td><td><p>1,693</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 November 2018</p></td><td><p>4,168</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Staff in Post Data is only run as at the end of each month in order to provide information for published statutory returns. The data provided is in line with the figures published at <a href="https://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-defra" target="_blank">Data.gov.uk - https://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-defra</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Along with other public sector employers, the department provides data to the Office of National statistics for the “Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey”. The most recent publication was 11 December showing data as at the end of September 2018 and can be found here - <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2018" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/september2018</a> .</p><p> </p><p>ONS data for earlier reference dates can be found here – <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/previousReleases" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/previousReleases</a></p><p> </p><p>The Staff in Post data has to go through a lengthy resource intensive verification process to eliminate a high proportion of errors. To provide data as at 20 December would incur disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/01/2019 13:00:36 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

419996

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2015
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Pressure Groups
	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 meetings her Department has had with representatives of (a) the Taxpayers' Alliance, (b) the Confederation of British Industry, (c) the Institute of Economic Affairs, (d) the Adam Smith Institute, (e) the Freedom Association, (f) the Politics and Economic Research Trust and (g) the Midlands Industrial Council in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	11073
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2015 answer text <p>Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published up to 31 March 2015 and can be accessed on Gov.uk at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-quarterly-transparency-information-january-to-march-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-quarterly-transparency-information-january-to-march-2015</a></p><p>Further publications of Ministerial meetings will be published in due course</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 19/10/2015 15:21:41 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1150577

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2019
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equal Pay
	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 equal pay reviews there have been in her Department since 2010; what the dates were of those reviews; and whether her Department plans to undertake an equal pay review in 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	1728
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2019 answer text <p>Since 2010, Defra has undertaken two equal pay reviews. These were in April 2010 and February 2015. Defra is currently undertaking an equal pay review, and this should be completed in 2019.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/10/2019 16:03:12 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1150585

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2019
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the pay system in her Department has been changed to take account of the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Mr G Willetts and Others on holiday pay and voluntary overtime; and whether affected workers in her Department have been given back pay as a result of that ruling.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	1734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Following the Tribunal ruling, Defra made backdated payments to eligible staff and is currently working with a number of other Government Departments to change the pay system for the future.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 29/10/2019 12:23:34 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1170985

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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: Trade Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation affects the right of recognised unions in her Department to bargaining information as set out in Section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	3812
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in Defra to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/01/2020 12:54:17 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1170986

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department complies with the requirement set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	3813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>Defra, as with other Government Departments, has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.</p><p>Defra Health and Safety representatives can use their paid facility time for the following TU duties (this list is not exhaustive):</p><ul><li>Representing employees in consultation and discussions with the employer on health, safety or welfare,</li><li>Investigating accidents, near misses and other potential hazards and dangerous occurrences in the workplace</li><li>Investigating a complaint made by an employee they represent about their health, safety or welfare in the workplace</li><li>Undertaking training relevant to the role of H&amp;S representative, beyond “Stage One”</li></ul><p>Defra makes the following provisions to enable Health and Safety Representatives to discharge their duties effectively, without using facility time.</p><ul><li>Undertaking “Stage One” Health and Safety training, as this course is recognised as providing good basic standard training and the department wants to ensure those carrying out Health and Safety functions are properly qualified</li><li>Carrying out inspections where they form part of an agreed joint program</li><li>Attending Joint Health and Safety Committee meetings</li></ul><p>In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time in Defra for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “Regulations made under Section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.</p><p>The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/01/2020 12:40:03 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens