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1699277

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2024
	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	Rights of Way: Scotland
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and the viability of introducing similar provisions for England.
	tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Ladyton
	uin	HL3660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2024 answer text <p>With regard to access to the countryside, England has a comprehensive network of public rights of way and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 currently provides the public with a right of access to areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. There are no plans to change this.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is committed to ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space. As part of this we are completing work on the 2,700 mile King Charles III England Coast Path, and delivering the £16m Access for All programme across our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 10/04/2024 11:07:11 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
	tabling member	620 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Ladyton

1699286

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2024
	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	Rights of Way: Islands
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why Natural England has not used its power to apply to the Secretary of State for creation orders to be made to create rights of way to inaccessible islands of public access land, under section 58 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
	uin	HL3682
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2024 answer text <p>By default, the power to create new public rights of way to reach open access land sits with local highway and access authorities, for use in any particular case where they consider there is a need for such a way and that making an order is expedient. The local authority is normally best placed to make these judgements in the light of all the local circumstances on the ground. We are aware though that the original mapping exercise under the 2000 Act focused on capturing areas as open country or registered common land, rather than on whether there was any legal way for members of the public to reach mapped areas in order to enjoy open-air recreation on them. We also recognised in a previous answer on 17 January that not all downland was mapped satisfactorily under the original exercise, and it appears that inaccessible ‘islands’ occur especially on that land type at present. Natural England will consider both issues when reviewing the open access maps. We have committed to ensuring that these are reviewed by the statutory deadline of 1 January 2031.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 08/04/2024 15:10:42 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
	tabling member	4297 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

1699317

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2024
	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	Fertilisers
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the regulation, or other oversight, of the sale of plant biostimulants, including consideration of their efficacy, safety and ecological impacts.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	uin	HL3653
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>The existing UK regulatory regime for the manufacture and placing of fertilisers on the market in the UK is fragmented and in need of modernisation. There are currently no specific requirements for plant biostimulants in domestic fertilisers legislation. However, Defra intends to improve on this by consolidating and streamlining the statute book and putting in place a conformity assessment framework for fertilisers. The framework will smooth the route to market for new and innovative products which are less polluting to the environment or are less resource intensive in their creation.</p><p>To support reform of fertilisers legislation Defra has funded a review of the evidence for the safe and effective use of plant biostimulants and a review of methods for evaluating methods for verifying the efficacy of plant biostimulants.</p><p>The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of HSE’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides. In our regulatory programmes we do not assess the impacts of chemicals specifically on human and animal microbiomes and are not currently considering the introduction of such measures.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 12/04/2024 10:10:43 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1699318

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2024
	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	Chemicals: Regulation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for incorporating into pharmaceutical, pesticide and other chemical regulation consideration of impacts on human, animal, plant and soil microbiomes.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
	uin	HL3654
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operates a robust programme of regulating and monitoring medicines to ensure patients have access to safe and effective medicines. While the microbiome is still an evolving field, the MHRA is working to further our understanding on the impact of pharmaceuticals on the microbiome. Experts in MHRA are leading on international efforts to improve understanding of this area, for example through the development of World Health Organisation reference reagents for the microbiome.</p><p> </p><p>The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation around veterinary medicines makes it clear that when considering the authorisation of antimicrobial substances for use in animals, there should be consideration of the impacts on the human, target animal, and environmental microbiomes, including plants and soils.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 09/04/2024 11:12:25 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1699093

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	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	Animal Feed and Fertilisers: Ukraine
	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 his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on the (a) supply and (b) price of (i) animal feed and (ii) fertiliser.
	tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
	tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
	uin	20812
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>i. The UK has a highly resilient food and animal feed supply chain which has coped well in responding to challenges in the past few years.</p><p> </p><p>Cereals and oilseeds make up a significant proportion of animal feed, most of which are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. These developments may be influenced by the war in Ukraine or additional factors unrelated to the conflict, such as weather conditions and currency fluctuations.Our high degree of food security is built on strong domestic production and imports from diverse sources. We recognise the essential role that domestic production plays in providing food security and resilience, which is why the government is committed to broadly maintaining the current level of food we produce domestically.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>ii. In 2022, nitrogen fertiliser prices increased to two to three times their recent nominal historic levels (imported ammonium nitrate prices were £870/t), due to increased global gas prices and conflicts around the world (including but not limited to the conflict in the Ukraine) as well as strong demand driven by high crop prices.</p><p> </p><p>The AHDB publishes a GB fertiliser price time-series for the most commonly used fertiliser products to increase transparency of market prices and show trends to growers. This shows a plateauing of fertiliser prices in GB from June 2023 until now. While this is a GB price series the same situation applies to the UK as a whole. This plateau in prices is partly due to global price factors, but also regional demand has been affected by poor weather and shifts in crop choices by farmers.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is continuing to monitor fertiliser prices and supply chains through regular engagement with key manufacturers and wider stakeholders. We are also working with other government departments to coordinate intelligence, and understand supply and pricing issues.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 15/04/2024 09:50:53 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1699094

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	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	Agriculture: Procurement
	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 ensure an adequate supply of (a) animal feed, (b) fertiliser and (c) CO2.
	tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
	tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
	uin	20813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>a) Animal feed: The UK has a highly resilient food and animal feed supply chain which has coped well in responding to challenges in the past few years. Cereals and oilseeds make up a significant proportion of animal feed, most of which are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. These developments may be influenced by the war in Ukraine or additional factors unrelated to the conflict, such as weather conditions and currency fluctuations. Our high degree of food security is built on strong domestic production and imports from diverse sources. We recognise the essential role that domestic production plays in providing food security and resilience, which is why the government is committed to broadly maintaining the current level of food we produce domestically.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.</p><p> </p><p>b) Fertiliser: In 2022, nitrogen fertiliser prices increased to two to three times their recent nominal historic levels (imported ammonium nitrate prices were £870/t), due to increased global gas prices and conflicts around the world (including but not limited to the conflict in the Ukraine) as well as strong demand driven by high crop prices.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is continuing to monitor fertiliser prices and supply chains through regular engagement with key manufacturers and wider stakeholders. We are also working with other government departments to coordinate intelligence and understand supply and pricing issues.</p><p> </p><p>CO2: Defra works closely with stakeholders across the food industry, to encourage CO2 contingency planning and resilience. The tightness in supply of CO2 has eased and shown more stability recently and the industry has taken steps to make efficiencies and use alternative CO2 sources where possible. The stable supply of CO2 is vital to several CNI sectors including food and water. We recognise the importance of CO2 supply for our key sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Over the past few years we have completed extensive work to build resilience into the sector including: monitoring and encouraging further diversification of production and supply in the UK; providing clarity on various regulatory questions, including through the Environment Agency’s publication of a Regulatory Position Statement on the capture, treatment, storage and use of carbon dioxide (CO2) from anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste; and working with industry on this supply chain through various forums. The diversification of this supply chain is being demonstrated through a series of recent industry announcements, such as British Sugar’s recent reopening of the CO2 capture plant at their Wissington site.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 15/04/2024 09:44:46 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1699099

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	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	Flood 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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 18569 on Flood Control, how many schemes which have been through an appraisal process have been cancelled; and when he plans to publish more information on those schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
	tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
	uin	20753
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government has doubled its investment in flood defences to a record £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. Since April 2021, over £1.5 billion has been invested in over 200 flood protection schemes, better protecting over 71,000 properties.</p><p> </p><p>As stated in the recent National Audit Office report, the Environment Agency forecasts that 1,500 projects will provide better protection to 200,000 properties by the end of the programme in March 2027.</p><p> </p><p>The capital investment programme is annually reviewed and updated to accommodate changes, including the introduction of new schemes or urgent works. This means the programme is dynamic and evolves over time. Projects are not typically cancelled but deferred until funding and resources allow them to progress.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 15/04/2024 09:41:21 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1699251

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	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	Agriculture
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will undertake an assessment of the impact of the agricultural transition on food production and farm business viability.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL3641
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>We very recently published a detailed impact assessment of a long list of actions considered for inclusion in the Environmental Land Management schemes. Actions were rated against a large number of ecosystem services and their impact on food production. An executive summary is attached.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided information on the potential impact of our farming reforms. For example, the farming evidence compendium was most recently updated in September 2022 and the Agriculture in the UK Dashboard was published in November 2023. These set out the contribution of Direct Payments to Farm Business Income, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure.’</p><p> </p><p>We also publish regular statistics on farm profitability, agricultural productivity and food production, including a recent statistical publication (attached) looking at how Farm Business Income has changed since the start of the agricultural transition. This publication also provides an overview of changes to the Basic Payment Scheme and agri-environment payments.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the agricultural transition, we monitor baskets of relevant metrics to maintain insights into general sector trends. The Government has recently committed to producing an annual Food Security Index to capture and present the key data to monitor food security.</p><p> </p><p>We will of course continue to carry out appropriate timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller attachment 1 file name QEIA_1_Executive_Summary.pdf title Qualitative Impact Assessment of Land Management 2 file name Monitoring the agricultural transition_2022_23.pdf title Monitoring the agricultural transition period question first answered 12/04/2024 10:07:23 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1699253

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	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	Agriculture: UK Trade with EU
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following concerns raised by farmers regarding changes to the standard of food imports, what steps they are taking to address the impact of post-Brexit trade deals on British farmers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL3643
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>All food and drink products imported into the UK, including those from countries we have trade agreements with, must comply with the UK’s import requirements and standards. The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission concluded that our Free Trade Agreements with Australia, New Zealand and CPTPP are consistent with the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to animal and plant health, animal welfare and the environment.</p><p>Supporting UK food and agriculture is an integral part of the UK’s trade strategy. The Prime Minister made this clear at the Farm to Fork Summit in May 2023 and in his open letter to farmers. This letter, alongside the 2022 National Food Strategy, sets out the principles that guide our approach to agriculture and trade. We are putting farmers at the heart of British trade by delivering new export opportunities, protecting our sensitive sectors and our high food safety standards, upholding UK production standards and removing market access barriers.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 12/04/2024 10:02:43 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1698269

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	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	Bridleways and Public Footpaths: Motor Vehicles
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the scale of damage to public footpaths and bridleways caused by four-wheel drive vehicles and scrambler bikes.
	tabling member printed	Lord Birt
	uin	HL3573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2024 answer text <p>The recreational use of motor vehicles on footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways is not permitted, therefore no such assessment has been undertaken. Any damage caused by illegal activity is a matter for the appropriate authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is aware of damage and disturbance caused by excessive use of off-road motor vehicles on highways where such activities are legal, such as byways open to all traffic and on other unsealed roads which carry motor vehicle rights, often referred to as ‘green lanes’. This issue was included in the consultation on the recent Landscapes Review. The results of the consultation concluded that the current Traffic Regulation Order process is legally robust enough to protect green lanes with targeted local action in sensitive areas, while allowing vehicle users to responsibly enjoy the countryside.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 05/04/2024 10:57:11 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
	tabling member	2533 label Biography information for Lord Birt