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1128442

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Cannabis: Medical Treatments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the evidence (a) his Department and (b) the Department for International Trade holds on growing a market for prescribed medicinal cannabis.
	tabling member constituency	Hemel Hempstead
	tabling member printed	Sir Mike Penning
	uin	257706
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial"> <p><ins class="ministerial">The Department for International Trade and the Department of Health and Social Care are not specifically collecting data on the growth of the market for cannabis based products for medicinal use in the United Kingdom.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, data from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) shows growing numbers of import notifications for medicinal cannabis and the Home Office has received increased numbers of licence applications.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In addition, UK companies exporting these products and foreign companies looking to invest in the UK have full access to government support, where they have the necessary authorisations from the MHRA and Home Office and a relevant Export Licence.</ins></p></ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">An initial impact assessment was published alongside The Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2018. This can be viewed at the following link:</del></p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1055/impacts" target="_blank">http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1055/impacts</a></del></p><p><del class="ministerial">This set out the approach that the Government proposed to take in assessing the costs and benefits of the change in the law at a population level, with regard to the rescheduling of cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPM). This framework included potential savings in treatment costs, giving the example of patients with severe epilepsy for whom medicinal use of cannabis could reduce the frequency of seizures and reduce the number of related hospital admissions. This was an initial framework for assessing this policy and as we develop our knowledge in this area, both on the costs and the potential benefits, we can revisit and refine these assessments.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">In the meantime, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing clinical guidelines on the appropriate use of CBPM based on the best available evidence, and the National Institute for Health Research is funding further clinical research on this. More information is available at the following link:</del></p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/documents/themed-calls/cannabis-based%20products/cannabis-based-products-brief.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding-and-support/documents/themed-calls/cannabis-based%20products/cannabis-based-products-brief.pdf</a></del></p> answering member constituency South Ribble answering member printed Seema Kennedy question first answered 10/06/2019 13:18:03 question first ministerially corrected 11/06/2019 11:31:21 answering member 4455 label Biography information for Seema Kennedy previous answer version 121340 answering member constituency South Ribble answering member printed Seema Kennedy answering member 4455 label Biography information for Seema Kennedy
	tabling member	1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning

1128144

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) the apprenticeship levy has raised in total in each of the four jurisdictions of the UK, (2) levy-paying employers have reclaimed, (3) has been used to fund new non-levy payer apprenticeships, (4) has been spent on old-style apprenticeships, and (5) has been spent on the administration of apprenticeships, in each year since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	uin	HL15958
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy is collected from all UK employers through the PAYE system by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC publish information on levy receipts in the monthly Tax and National Insurance contribution receipts publication, and in their annual reports and accounts, available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, the first year following the introduction of the levy, £2.6 billion was collected from UK employers and HM Treasury (HMT) allocated £425m of the levy collected to the devolved administrations. Annual data on levy collected in 2018-19 will be published by HMRC, and data on 2018-19 spending will be available from Department for Education in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Skills spending is a devolved matter and HMT committed in advance to the share of the levy that would be passed to the devolved administrations in the three-year period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. HMT published these plans at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In England, levy-paying employers can use online apprenticeship service accounts to access their funds. In 2017-18, the total spend on apprentices employed with levy payers, and who started training after the levy was introduced, was £268 million. This figure represents more than the £170 million in training and assessment costs charged to levy payers’ accounts.</p><p>This is because these employers also benefit from additional payments to support certain types of learners, and extremely generous co-investment contributions for those employers that have exhausted their levy account funds. Such costs are not currently deducted from levy accounts. In 2018-19, levy-payers drew down a further £639 million representing the costs charged to levy-payers on the learners who started since the levy was introduced (and whose training is ongoing in 2018-19) as well as the costs of learners who started in the 2018-19 financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Employers’ levy funds are distinct from the department’s ring-fenced annual apprenticeship budget, which is set in advance by HM Treasury to fund apprenticeships in England. This budget has risen year-on-year, from £2.01 billion in 2017-18 and £2.23 billion in 2018-19 to over £2.5 billion in 2019-20, double what was spent in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, we spent £189 million on training and assessment (including additional payments) for apprentices with employers who do not pay the levy and who started their apprenticeship since the levy was introduced. This includes apprenticeships started on both frameworks and new standards.</p><p>The ongoing cost of training and assessment for apprentices who started their apprenticeship before the levy was introduced in May 2017 was £1,065 million in 2017-18 (including additional payments as detailed above).</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, £40 million (equating to less than 2%) of the £2.01 billion ring-fenced apprenticeships programme budget was spent on the cost of delivering and running the programme. This includes spending by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. The department is provided a separate budget for other administrative spending, and in 2017-18 total administrative spend was £44 million. These two budgets cover the cost of running the online apprenticeship service, employer engagement work, and the promotion of apprenticeships, in addition to staffing and other costs.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15959 question first answered 10/06/2019 10:54:07 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe

1128145

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	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 annual total cost of apprenticeships compared to the amount raised from the apprenticeship levy.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	uin	HL15959
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy is collected from all UK employers through the PAYE system by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC publish information on levy receipts in the monthly Tax and National Insurance contribution receipts publication, and in their annual reports and accounts, available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, the first year following the introduction of the levy, £2.6 billion was collected from UK employers and HM Treasury (HMT) allocated £425m of the levy collected to the devolved administrations. Annual data on levy collected in 2018-19 will be published by HMRC, and data on 2018-19 spending will be available from Department for Education in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Skills spending is a devolved matter and HMT committed in advance to the share of the levy that would be passed to the devolved administrations in the three-year period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. HMT published these plans at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In England, levy-paying employers can use online apprenticeship service accounts to access their funds. In 2017-18, the total spend on apprentices employed with levy payers, and who started training after the levy was introduced, was £268 million. This figure represents more than the £170 million in training and assessment costs charged to levy payers’ accounts.</p><p>This is because these employers also benefit from additional payments to support certain types of learners, and extremely generous co-investment contributions for those employers that have exhausted their levy account funds. Such costs are not currently deducted from levy accounts. In 2018-19, levy-payers drew down a further £639 million representing the costs charged to levy-payers on the learners who started since the levy was introduced (and whose training is ongoing in 2018-19) as well as the costs of learners who started in the 2018-19 financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Employers’ levy funds are distinct from the department’s ring-fenced annual apprenticeship budget, which is set in advance by HM Treasury to fund apprenticeships in England. This budget has risen year-on-year, from £2.01 billion in 2017-18 and £2.23 billion in 2018-19 to over £2.5 billion in 2019-20, double what was spent in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, we spent £189 million on training and assessment (including additional payments) for apprentices with employers who do not pay the levy and who started their apprenticeship since the levy was introduced. This includes apprenticeships started on both frameworks and new standards.</p><p>The ongoing cost of training and assessment for apprentices who started their apprenticeship before the levy was introduced in May 2017 was £1,065 million in 2017-18 (including additional payments as detailed above).</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-18, £40 million (equating to less than 2%) of the £2.01 billion ring-fenced apprenticeships programme budget was spent on the cost of delivering and running the programme. This includes spending by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. The department is provided a separate budget for other administrative spending, and in 2017-18 total administrative spend was £44 million. These two budgets cover the cost of running the online apprenticeship service, employer engagement work, and the promotion of apprenticeships, in addition to staffing and other costs.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15958 question first answered 10/06/2019 10:54:07 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe

1128208

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Hunting
	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 11 December 2018 to Question 199874 on Hunting, what criteria his Department applies to ensure that scientific evidence is sufficient to (a) demonstrate that trophy hunting is an effective conservation tool and (b) is independent of the trophy hunting industry.
	tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
	tabling member printed	Martyn Day
	uin	257507
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Imports of hunting trophies into the UK are subject to strict controls under the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, which apply in the UK. All applications for permits to import hunting trophies into the UK are assessed to make sure that the import would not have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species. In addition, the applicant must provide documentary evidence, in the form of an export permit that demonstrates that the specimens have been obtained in accordance with the legislation on the protection of the species concerned.</p><p> </p><p>There are import suspensions in place for countries where hunting of the species concerned is not considered to be sustainable. The need for any further suspensions is kept under active review.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State held a roundtable with stakeholders last month on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 257508 question first answered 10/06/2019 10:39:39 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1128209

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Polar Bears
	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 1 April 2019 to Question 236523 on Polar Bears, what progress he has made on holding a roundtable discussion with organisations from all sides of the debate on whether the six species that are protected by stricter trophy hunting import controls at EU level will be maintained or extended in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
	tabling member printed	Martyn Day
	uin	257508
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Imports of hunting trophies into the UK are subject to strict controls under the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, which apply in the UK. All applications for permits to import hunting trophies into the UK are assessed to make sure that the import would not have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species. In addition, the applicant must provide documentary evidence, in the form of an export permit that demonstrates that the specimens have been obtained in accordance with the legislation on the protection of the species concerned.</p><p> </p><p>There are import suspensions in place for countries where hunting of the species concerned is not considered to be sustainable. The need for any further suspensions is kept under active review.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State held a roundtable with stakeholders last month on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 257507 question first answered 10/06/2019 10:39:39 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1128212

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had their deductions under universal credit reduced from the maximum rate of 40 per cent of an individual's standard allowance in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	257510
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:52:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128257

	registered interest
	date	24/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Maladministration
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the winter fuel payment has been incorrectly paid; and what steps he has taken to recover those payments in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Moray
	tabling member printed	Douglas Ross
	uin	257526
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The DWP makes around 12 million Winter Fuel payments each year.</p><p>The DWP is working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring in the first place. However, these do sometimes occur due to a claimant failing to inform DWP of a change of household composition, or that they have moved abroad. Winter Fuel staff annually undertake an extensive Data Matching exercise to identify if any overpayments have occurred, and reduce the possibility of incorrect payments.</p><p>The table below shows the volume of Winter Fuel payments that were overpaid in the last 3 financial years rounded to the nearest 100. This represents less than 0.05% of the total Winter Fuel payments made.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Volume Of Winter Fuel Payments Overpaid</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>5,200</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>*The data in this response has been sourced from internal management information. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</em></p><p /><p>The DWP has an obligation to ensure that public money is administered responsibly. Therefore, where permitted under Social Security legislation, the DWP seeks to recover any overpaid benefit. Where possible, the DWP will recover through on-going deductions from a claimant’s benefit.</p><p>The DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. There are maximum rates of deduction that are set out in legislation, and if a claimant is struggling they can contact the DWP’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/06/2019 15:06:10 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4627 label Biography information for Douglas Ross

1128270

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Roads: Chatham and Aylesford
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has allocated to repair roads in Chatham and Aylesford.
	tabling member constituency	Chatham and Aylesford
	tabling member printed	Tracey Crouch
	uin	257532
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Local highway authorities are responsible for the maintenance of the local road network in their area. Chatham’s roads are the responsibility of Medway Council, as highway authority, and Aylesford’s roads are the responsibility of Kent County Council, as highway authority.</p><p>The funding provided by the Department for Transport for highway maintenance, including pothole repair, to Medway Council and Kent County Council since 2015 is shown in the table below. The table highlights the Department for Transport allocated Medway Council an additional £1.1m and Kent County Council an additional £12m funding in the 2018/19 financial year to support local highways maintenance services, including the repair of roads.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Funding Stream </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Funding £m </strong> <strong>Medway</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Kent</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>Highways Maintenance Block</p></td><td><p>2.54</p></td><td><p>27.27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element)</p></td><td><p>2.47</p></td><td><p>26.38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>Pothole Action Fund</p></td><td><p>0.13</p></td><td><p>1.47</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element)</p></td><td><p>2.45</p></td><td><p>26.35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>Pothole Action Fund</p></td><td><p>0.34</p></td><td><p>3.72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>Flood Resilience Fund</p></td><td><p>0.13</p></td><td><p>3.72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element)</p></td><td><p>2.47</p></td><td><p>25.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>Pothole Action Fund</p></td><td><p>0.14</p></td><td><p>1.56</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>Budget £420 million</p></td><td><p>1.12</p></td><td><p>12.09</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>Highways Maintenance Block (including Incentive Element)</p></td><td><p>2.47</p></td><td><p>26.52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>Pothole Action Fund</p></td><td><p>0.07</p></td><td><p>0.79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>Flood Resilience Fund</p></td><td><p>0.07</p></td><td><p>0.79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>14.40</p></td><td><p>156.21</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em> </em></p><p>The Department funds local highway maintenance in England, outside of London, through Highway Maintenance Block Funding (HMBF), worth about a £1 billion a year.</p><p> </p><ul><li>HMBF is paid through a formula based on the assets a local authority is responsible for such as: length of road network; number of bridges and; the number of street lighting columns</li><li>From 2015 – 2021 the Department is providing £6.6 billion for local highway maintenance in England, outside of London.</li><li>In the October Budget, the Chancellor announced he was providing an additional £420 million for local highway maintenance, in England.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 10/06/2019 12:10:31 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	3950 label Biography information for Dame Tracey Crouch

1128272

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Livestock: Antimicrobials
	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 effectiveness of a preventative approach to animal health in combating antimicrobial resistance; and whether it is his policy that reducing the effect of that resistance is a key public good.
	tabling member constituency	North Cornwall
	tabling member printed	Scott Mann
	uin	257534
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the need to use antibiotics through infection prevention and control in human and animal health is one of a number of cores principles in the UK’s 5 Year National AMR Action Plan and 20 Year Vision. Our Action Plan recognises antimicrobial resistance as a global public good. This is reflected in the high priority the UK gives to addressing the problem of AMR. Since 2014, the sales of antibiotics for use in food-producing animals in the UK have dropped by 40%. And in the Action Plan, the government has committed to working with vets and farmers to further reduce antibiotic use in animals by 25% between 2016 and 2020, with objectives to be refreshed by 2021.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 10/06/2019 16:56:41 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann

1128273

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Agriculture
	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 support the agricultural sector after the UK leaves the EU; and whether he plans to introduce a distinct and internationally recognised UK standard for agricultural goods based on a high level of animal health and welfare.
	tabling member constituency	North Cornwall
	tabling member printed	Scott Mann
	uin	257535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s plans for agriculture and for supporting the sector as the UK leaves the European Union are underpinned by the Agriculture Bill. The Bill is a central part of the Government’s programme of legislation to deliver as smooth a departure as possible and achieve a green Brexit. At the heart of our new policy in England will be a system that pays public money for public goods. Our future agriculture policy will help farmers continue to provide a supply of healthy, home-grown produce made to high environmental and animal welfare standards.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to putting in place a Gold Standard of metrics which will provide a framework of sustainability metrics, establishing a common vocabulary for environmental and animal welfare measurements in food and farming that can be used across public and private sectors.</p><p> </p><p>We already have some of the highest welfare standards in the world, as well as a number of voluntary labelling schemes which provide assurances as to the welfare of the animals, both of which ensure consumers are not misled by the labelling of products that contain meat or dairy products. Once we leave the EU, we will review food labelling to ensure that we have a framework that meets the needs of UK consumers and producers. Labelling for welfare outcomes is one area that the review will cover.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 10/06/2019 16:58:59 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann