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1491450

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	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: Agency Workers
	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 much his Department has spent on (a) agency workers and (b) agency retainer fees in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	41938
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>(a) agency workers</p><p>Agency workers (more commonly referred to as “contingent labour” or “temporary workers”) are subject to a Cabinet Office controls framework to ensure robust governance of spending in this area.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contingent-labour-spend-control</a></p><p> </p><p>Commentary on contingent labour usage, if applicable, is available in departmental annual reports.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments</a></p><p> </p><p>The Crown Commercial Service provides two frameworks specifically for the supply of Contingent Labour which are used by central government departments. These are:</p><p> </p><p>RM3749 - Public Sector Resourcing.</p><p><a href="https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749" target="_blank">https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/rm3749</a></p><p> </p><p>This provides a managed service for departmental use including low supplier margins, regular pay rate benchmarking, comprehensive tracking and reporting of contingent labour assignments, full timesheeting and approvals technology and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.</p><p> </p><p>RM6160 - Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff</p><p><a href="https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160" target="_blank">https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6160</a></p><p> </p><p>This provides access to a range of generalist, specialist and niche contingent labour agencies offering a wide range of suppliers, maximum margins, free transfer to permanent after 12 weeks and onboarding, contracting and payroll services.</p><p> </p><p>Use of these frameworks provides robust governance, visibility, value for money and flexibility in meeting departmental contingent labour needs.</p><p> </p><p>(b) agency retainer fees</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have interpreted agency retainer fees as the fees charged at the commencement of the provision of a search recruitment service. This is only applicable when recruiting for a permanent or fixed term post.</p><p> </p><p>Agency retainer fees are not applicable to the contingent labour market.</p><p> </p><p>There is no recorded expenditure on agency retainer fees.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 14:49:50 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1491319

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	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	Food Supply
	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 for the implications of his policy on food security of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report entitled Labour shortages in the food and farming sector, published 29 March 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
	uin	42187
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain which invests in its people and the skills they need is a priority for this Government</p><p> </p><p>The Government thanks the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for its report into labour shortages in the food and farming sector. We are aware that there are both short and long-term workforce challenges across the food and farming sector, particularly with respect to seasonal labour. It is with great concern that we have seen evidence of horticulture businesses reducing their plantings, ploughing in crops or considering offshoring production because of concerns over labour availability, all of which have food security implications.</p><p> </p><p>Defra continues to work closely with industry and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand and its implications, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce. We extended the Seasonal Worker visa route until 2024 and expanded the number of visas available through this route to 40,000 (now including 2000 visas for poultry workers to meet pre-Christmas demand) as a result of the clear evidence of need this year. Last autumn we delivered emergency, temporary visa schemes for the poultry, pork, and HGV food transportation sectors in response to specific challenges, and introduced an accompanying package of non-immigration measures to alleviate pressures in the pig sector, including Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment Schemes.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Government Food Strategy, the Government will soon be commissioning an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, covering automation, domestic labour and migration. The review will consider the challenges facing food and farming businesses to access the labour they require and will provide recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:24:13 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1491022

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	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: Red Diesel
	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 18 July 2022 to Question 35899 on Fuels: Prices, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in the price of red diesel on (a) farming and (b) other agricultural businesses; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Hemel Hempstead
	tabling member printed	Sir Mike Penning
	uin	40750
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Defra engages extensively with the farming sector and other agricultural businesses and continues to do so through various forums including the Agri-Supply Coalition and the Arable Chain Advisory Group. Through these forums, we closely monitor live issues, including the increase in the price of red diesel, and their impact on farming and other agricultural businesses. Defra also works closely with other Government departments, particularly HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, to relay the information gathered from industry.</p><p>In the Spring Statement 2022 and in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the Government announced a temporary 12-month cut to the full rate of duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre and an equivalent percentage cut on the rates for rebated fuels. This is a significant tax cut that will deliver considerable savings to consumers and businesses over the next year, including those that use diesel, and is the first time in over a decade that the main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:17:50 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning

1491394

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	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: Consultants
	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 much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.
	tabling member constituency	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
	tabling member printed	Neale Hanvey
	uin	42244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The department’s spend on consultancy is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p> </p><p>2020-21</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021</a> (page 100)</p><p> </p><p>2019-20</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020</a> (page 87)</p><p> </p><p>2018-19</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019</a> (page 64)</p><p> </p><p>2017-18</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</a> (page 51)</p><p> </p><p>2016-17</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017</a> (page 42)</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of this expenditure could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fcontracts-finder&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cemmy.clarkson%40dhsc.gov.uk%7C332dd3e59a5f4b1b1e5308da6b104a3e%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c%7C1%7C0%7C637940014946084226%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=EHT%2Bj9EH86g04c73Xn7YYL0Qyi3Lc4Dm8J%2F8B8YuCNE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Contracts Finder</a>. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on <a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>.</p><p> </p><p>All Government departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:03:44 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4782 label Biography information for Neale Hanvey

1490996

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	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	Food Supply
	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 he has made of the impact of trends in the level of food insecurity as a result of rising food prices on households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	40797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>We are working hard to support everyone facing cost of living concerns. We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation rise to 12.7% in July, up from 9.8% in June. Defra analysis, based on ONS data, shows that every one percentage point increase in food price inflation increases the average annual food bill of UK households by £34.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. For example, we have introduced labelling flexibility to reduce additional cost burdens resulting from the availability of sunflower oil. Defra is also holding regular discussions with industry to explore ways in which they can support low-income households by ensuring affordable food remains available, for example by maintaining value ranges, price matching, price freezing measures and the use of loyalty card offers.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We recently announced a new £15 billion support package to help families with the cost of living, bringing the total support for households this year to £37 billion. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Details of allocations to Upper Tier and Unitary Councils can be found at: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1072446%2Fhousehold-support-fund-grant-determination.pdf&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C9fe4598b05aa4eae5ada08da8c26d647%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637976395678378553%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=abpi%2FPVNqwlTOVj496tbCT%2FxsYB036U346gbIjd1h4I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Household Support Fund Grant Determination 2022 No 31/3096 (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a>.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 12:59:47 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1471851

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2022
	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	CF Industries: Ince
	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 he will publish the (a) number and (b) dates of times Ministers in his Department have met with officials at CF Industries to discuss the closure of its Ince manufacturing plant.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	21153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/08/2022 answer text <p>Defra Ministers have not met officials at CF Industries to discuss the closure of its Ince manufacturing plant. However, officials from Defra and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have both held meetings with CF Fertilisers to discuss Ince.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 09/08/2022 10:38:18 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1488392

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2022
	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: Government Assistance
	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 the Government is taking to support farmers in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK with rising costs.
	tabling member constituency	Chippenham
	tabling member printed	Michelle Donelan
	uin	35008
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2022 answer text <p>Farming in England is going through the biggest change in a generation. These unprecedented times mean that it is all the more important that the Government's approach to working with the farming sector changes too. Defra is continuing to improve its policies and services, making them more effective, fairer, flexible, accessible and more workable for farmers. The Government has announced a range of measures in England in response to the turbulence of the current market.</p><p>In response to the global rising costs around the price of fertiliser, Defra released new guidance to help farmers in limiting their use of slurry and other farmyard manure at certain times of the year.</p><p>Defra also announced changes to the use of urea fertiliser - delaying a planned industry farm assurance scheme which was due to start this year by at least a year. This will help farmers to manage their costs, giving them more time to adapt.</p><p>Defra has set up a Fertiliser Taskforce to address the impact of global supply pressures on farming, seeking to improve market confidence, whilst providing famers with the information they need to make business decisions on fertiliser use.</p><p>Additionally, Defra announced a permanent change to the way we make payments under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). We know that the price of agricultural commodities has always been closely correlated to energy prices - meaning farmers carry an increased risk on their profit and loss account, creating increased pressure on short term cash flow. We will now make BPS payments in two instalments (one from the end of July, the other December). This will give farm businesses an advanced injection of cash - with the hope of enabling farmers to make business decisions with more confidence in these uncertain times. To provide further support we have also increased Countryside Stewardship rates by an average of 30%.</p><p>Farmers are now able to apply for funding under the Sustainable Farming Incentive. The initial offer pays farmers for taking care of their soil or assessing the condition of moorland. We have to set out plans to rollout payments for actions related to nutrient management, hedgerows and integrated pest management, and will confirm the full details of these standards before the end of the year.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 02/08/2022 09:12:45 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan

1483679

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2022
	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	Horticulture and Poultry: Seasonal Workers
	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 evidential basis is for his Department's decision that the appropriate number of operators for the seasonal worker visa route is five horticultural operators and two poultry operators.
	tabling member constituency	Cambridge
	tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
	uin	25881
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2022 answer text <p>The appropriate number of operators is a collaborative decision made by Defra and the Home Office. It is based on operator capacity to source seasonal workers and uphold sponsorship responsibilities, ensuring the visa route is well managed and worker welfare and exploitation risks are mitigated.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 and 2020, the Seasonal Workers visa route had two operators for 2,500 visas and 10,000 visas respectively. In 2021 and 2022 there were four operators for 30,000 visas and, to accommodate for the release of the extra 10,000 visas (8,000 visas going to the horticulture sector and 2,000 to the poultry sector) several additional operators will be required.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 01/08/2022 10:11:00 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1667753

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	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	Cats: Theft
	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 plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to make the abduction of cats a criminal offence.
	tabling member constituency	Chatham and Aylesford
	tabling member printed	Tracey Crouch
	uin	156
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>We would be supportive of legislation on pet abduction when parliamentary time allows. We have listened carefully to views expressed on the pet abduction measures during the passage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill including adding cats. We will take this feedback into consideration when delivering any measure.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 13/11/2023 15:34:56 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
	tabling member	3950 label Biography information for Dame Tracey Crouch

1667762

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Wildlife: Nature Conservation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Fifth Special Report of Session 2022-23 of the Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on Species Reintroduction: Government response to the Committee's Fifth Report, published on 27 October 2023, HC 1931, on what criteria her Department decides when it is appropriate to support the reintroduction of recently lost former native species.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>The reintroduction of any species in England should follow our published guidance and Code for Reintroductions, which provides the best practice for assessing the benefits and impacts of releasing a species into the wild. The appropriateness of a reintroduction proposal will be highly dependent on the specific circumstances in which it is made, for example the surrounding environmental conditions, socio-economic circumstances, or species already present in that location. As such, Natural England assess applications for release licences on a case-by-case basis, ensuring that any applications align to the Code.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 13/11/2023 15:29:43 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury