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1701874

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2024
	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	Hedges and Ditches: 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, what estimate he has made of the number of miles of hedgerow that has been (a) created and (b) restored since January 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
	tabling member printed	Janet Daby
	uin	22388
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>We have made no such assessment regarding the <em>total</em> number of hedgerows created or restored since 2023, however, there are now approximately 56,000 miles of hedgerows being managed through 16,000 agreements in the Government’s Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes. Under Countryside Stewardship approximately 20,680 Miles of Hedgerow have been created and restored since January 2023.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 22/04/2024 15:00:02 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1701888

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2024
	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	Farmers: Floods
	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 rules apply to compensation payments made to farmers affected by flooding from the (a) Farming Recovery Fund and (b) other schemes; and what mechanisms are in place to allow for a review when such payments have been refused.
	tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
	tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
	uin	22256
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The following rules apply to farmers eligible for support from the Farming Recovery Fund. Farmers will receive payments for all land parcels which are flooded contiguous to a river with notably high river level gauge readings following Storm Henk during 2 to 12 January 2024. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will determine those farm businesses who are eligible and the amount of funding they could claim. If there are questions, then the farmer should write to the RPA.</p><p> </p><p>More details on the rules and eligibility guidance on implementation of the support available for other schemes activated under the Flood Recovery Framework was sent to Local Authorities, who manage the support provided by the Framework where it has been activated. Further review of the scheme is underway. Support available for farm businesses and residencies includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Where a farm operates a SME ancillary business which is severely impacted by flooding, they were eligible to receive up to £2,500 under the Business Recovery Grant in respect of the ancillary business. This scheme closed to new applications on 12 April.</li><li>They can receive up to £5,000 to eligible flood hit property owners to help make their homes and businesses more resilient to future floods under the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant; and</li><li>They may also be eligible for Business Rate Relief.</li></ul><p> </p><p>These schemes are run by the relevant Local Authorities and any decisions on appeals should be directed to them to review.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/04/2024 15:22:00 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

1701948

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2024
	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	Wildlife: 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, how many hectares of new wildlife habitats have been (a) created and (b) restored since 31 January 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Batley and Spen
	tabling member printed	Kim Leadbeater
	uin	22439
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>We do not currently have an estimate for habitat created and restored in 2023, the first year of the target.</p><p> </p><p>Data on habitat created and restored is not usually available by year end. We expect there to be a two-year lag before having a 'complete' count due to the time taken for data to be reported and the quality assurance process.</p><p> </p><p>In April, we published information about actions that will count toward our statutory habitat target, the list of wildlife rich habitats, and definitions of restoration and creation (available <a href="https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6427187599900672" target="_blank">here</a>).</p><p> </p><p>We are currently working with Natural England to set up a formal reporting system for monitoring progress towards our statutory habitat target.</p><p> </p><p>While we establish this formal reporting system, we are looking at whether we can collect a subset of data from Defra Group delivery mechanisms for ad hoc interim reporting.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/04/2024 15:31:29 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4923 label Biography information for Kim Leadbeater

1701951

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2024
	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	Water Supply: Sustainable Development
	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 make an assessment of the sustainability of the future water supply.
	tabling member constituency	Batley and Spen
	tabling member printed	Kim Leadbeater
	uin	22442
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies, consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. Within the plans, water companies consider all options, including demand management and new water resources infrastructure. The draft plans show how the Government’s water demand targets will be met, including reducing leaks, and contain proposals for multiple new water resources infrastructure schemes, such as reservoirs, by 2050.</p><p> </p><p>Further information on the water resources plans can be found in the Environment Agency’s <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fa-review-of-englands-draft-regional-and-water-resources-management-plans%2Fa-summary-of-englands-draft-regional-and-water-resources-management-plans&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C4b78e7043f6b4c04642e08dc5facae60%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638490442485583080%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ri%2BY5wEcXeIAtYINFeOSo5hM4hn0ioWNUNc0EnAXWTA%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Summary</a> of England’s draft regional and water resources management plan published in March 2024.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/04/2024 14:49:32 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4923 label Biography information for Kim Leadbeater

1701952

	registered interest
	date	17/04/2024
	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	Recreation Spaces and Water
	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 and what proportion of the population have access to (a) green space and (b) water within 15 minutes walk from home.
	tabling member constituency	Batley and Spen
	tabling member printed	Kim Leadbeater
	uin	22443
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The data we currently use on the number and proportion of people with access to greenspace is taken from Natural England’s Green Infrastructure (GI) Framework analysis. Natural England’s G3 Indicator report shows that as of October 2021, the proportions of the total population in England living within Accessible Greenspace Standards ‘criteria’ (straight line distances from the boundary of the greenspaces) are:</p><p> </p><p>• 1 in 3 people live within 200 metres of a doorstep greenspace of at least 0.5 hectares</p><p>• 1 in 4 people live within 300 metres of a local natural greenspace of at least 2 hectares</p><p>• 1 in 2 people live within 1 km of a neighbourhood natural greenspace of at least 10 hectares.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently working to establish a robust baseline of walkability to green and blue space, including working with NE and with the Rivers Trust to create data on blue space access points. In August we will publish an official statistic in development on walkability within England to the nearest green space. This will use network analysis to calculate travel time/distance rather than straight-line distances, and enhanced use of data on the rights-of-way network. For full details see <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fannouncements%2Faccess-to-green-space-in-england&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C93a1eb1daf5340966ca808dc5fb38bf9%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638490471947068177%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=bjtw1okd95IMoeOUg1YpNBZeCsiQGP1qPbNwrBJ60E8%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/access-to-green-space-in-england</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/04/2024 14:26:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4923 label Biography information for Kim Leadbeater

1701267

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	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	Marine Environment: Investment
	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 private investment in ocean recovery.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	21935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>Ocean conservation and the protection of marine biodiversity is a global challenge and one that is critically underfunded. Through the UK’s £500m UK aid Blue Planet Fund and in line with the 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity and the International Development White Paper, we are supporting innovative projects that aim to attract and scale up private investment in ocean recovery. These initiatives include restoration and protection of blue carbon habitats and increasing coastal community resilience, funded through programmes led by the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (£13.9m), the World Bank’s sustainable blue economies programme- PROBLUE (£37.5m), and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (£33m), amongst others. In June 2023, Lord Benyon hosted a joint UK-GFCR Investors Roundtable event, which showcased the GFCR as a viable investment opportunity and supported investor mobilisation for the GFCR Investment fund. At 28th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28), the GFCR Coalition announced the mobilisation of more than $200 million USD as an initial direct investment toward the newly established 2030 Coral Reef Breakthrough targets, these include mobilising $12bn for corals and protecting 125,000 km2 of corals (50% of ~250,000km2 global total) by 2030.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in Mobilising Green Investment: 2023 Green Finance Strategy, we are also taking action to meet our target to raise £1bn in private finance into nature’s recovery in England every year by 2030, both on land and at sea.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/04/2024 13:43:58 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1701268

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	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	Marine Environment
	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 (a) preserve and (b) expand blue carbon habitats.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	21936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the important role that blue carbon habitats such as saltmarsh and seagrass can play in climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. These richly biodiverse habitats also provide a crucial buffer from coastal flooding, benefit fish stocks and improve local water quality.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is a global leader in ocean protection and we have taken a number of steps to support blue carbon habitats. In England, we have established a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which cover the majority of our saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. MPAs are intended to protect designated features listed within the MPA target. While blue carbon habitats may not always be an explicitly designated feature, MPA protection may still yield benefits. Our focus is now on ensuring that these MPAs are effectively protected to allow the designated features to achieve favourable condition. The first three Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMAs) designations in English waters came into force in summer 2023. Two of the three designated sites, Allonby Bay and North East of Farnes Deep, contain blue carbon habitats. Defra is exploring identifying additional candidate HPMA sites.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore seagrass meadows, saltmarsh and native oyster reefs. Working in partnership with environmental non-government organisations, industry, community groups, and academia, the initiative aims to identify innovative funding opportunities, streamline regulatory processes, build capacity and share knowledge with partners to facilitate a larger programme of restoration.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with the Devolved Administrations to address evidence gaps that currently prevent the inclusion of blue carbon habitats in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI). Inclusion of these habitats in the GHGI will allow blue carbon to be marketed and traded as a carbon offset, leveraging private investment into these vital natural carbon stores.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/04/2024 12:45:39 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1701395

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	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	National Pig Association and National Farmers Union
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he last met representatives of the (a) National Farmers Union and (b) National Pig Association UK; and what the results of those discussions were.
	tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
	tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
	uin	21906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State regularly meets with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). In the last month he has met with the NFU President, Tom Bradshaw, during a visit to Dartmoor to discuss the Government’s response to the Fursdon Review. He also met with the NFU’s Deputy President, David Exwood, during a Farm Tenancy Forum in March to discuss the implementation of Kate Rock’s tenant farming review.</p><p> </p><p>As the Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries, I also have frequent engagement with the pig sector and officials meet with representatives of the National Pig Association on a regular basis.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 22/04/2024 13:36:35 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

1701523

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: ICT
	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 policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.
	tabling member constituency	Torfaen
	tabling member printed	Nick Thomas-Symonds
	uin	22074
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a frame-work to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025).</p><p><br> It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within Defra’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/04/2024 15:08:57 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4479 label Biography information for Nick Thomas-Symonds

1700742

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	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	Hornets
	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 spread of reported Asian hornet nesting sites in England since 2019.
	tabling member printed	Lord Patten
	uin	HL3781
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>A risk assessment for Asian hornet was completed in 2011. The <a href="https://www.nonnativespecies.org/assets/Uploads/RA_Vespa_velutina_Asian_Hornet.pdf" target="_blank">risk assessment</a> concluded that there were multiple pathways through which Asian hornet could arrive in England and therefore that entry was very likely. Several areas were identified where Asian hornet incursions were thought to be most likely and this included Southern English counties, coastal regions, open areas near fresh water and areas close to ports and airports.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2019 there have been 80 Asian hornet nests located and destroyed in Great Britain with 77 of these nests located in the South of England.</p><p> </p><p>In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of nests when compared to all previous years, with 72 nests located and destroyed. The majority of the nests were located in the South-East (62), while 8 were located in the South and South-West and 2 were located in the North of England.</p><p> </p><p>We ask all members of the public to be vigilant for sightings of Asian hornet during the peak season (June-October) as Asian hornets are known to be an effective hitch hiker and may be spotted anywhere across the country.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 19/04/2024 13:40:59 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon attachment 1 file name HL3781 attachment.pdf title Risk Assessment
	tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten