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1135836

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Zoos: Birds of Prey
	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 he is taking to extend Government guidance on the tethering of owls and vultures in zoos to all birds of prey.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	271369
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice already set clear requirements for the tethering of all birds of prey used for demonstrations in zoos. The zoo standards require that tethered birds of prey should be flown at least four times a week unless tethered for medical treatment; that no bird of prey should be tethered permanently, and that all birds of prey should be given the opportunity to fly or move around freely during part of the year. Resting birds of prey should also be provided with sufficient aviary space. Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee is currently considering revisions to the zoo standards as a whole.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 08/07/2019 15:17:23 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1167637

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Wildlife: Fireworks
	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 he is taking to protect wildlife from public and private firework displays.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	8199
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Government takes the matter of fireworks seriously. We understand the concerns that many people have about the potential for distress to be caused by fireworks to animals, including pets, livestock and wildlife. This is one of the reasons why there are existing laws in place to control firework availability and use by both the general public and professional display operators. Measures including age related restrictions, a curfew and a noise limit help to reduce disturbance to animals.</p><p> </p><p>It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal that is under a person’s control. The maximum penalty for such an offence is 6 months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:09:24 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140864

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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	Sewage: Pollution
	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 he is taking to ensure water companies reduce the number of pollution incidents.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	280130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2019 answer text <p>Since 1995 over £25 billion has been invested in improving sewage treatment and sewerage collection systems. This has achieved a 61% reduction in the amount of phosphorus and a 72% reduction in the amount of ammonia discharged to rivers. Bathing waters and rivers are cleaner than ever but there is still more to do. The recent deterioration in the environmental performance of the water industry, particularly in respect of pollution incidents is unacceptable. The Environment Agency (EA) expect the industry to minimise serious pollution incidents and approach a zero target by 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The EA has begun a new Improving Water Company Performance programme which will toughen regulation to encourage the companies to meet their environmental targets. The programme will include:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Enhancing the EA’s regulatory tools and approaches, including more inspections, increasing the number of in-depth audits and greater use of technology to remotely monitor operations twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.</p></li><li><p>Maximising the use of enforcement and sanctions powers so they act as a powerful deterrent.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Updating the Environmental Performance Assessment targets for the 2021-2025 period to include a broader range of measures with tightened standards where appropriate.</p></li><li><p>Working with Ofwat to develop greater links between environmental performance and financial penalties and incentives.</p></li></ul><ul><li><p>Requiring water companies to produce root cause analysis reports for serious pollution incidents and to learn from them.</p></li><li><p>Requiring water companies to produce a pollution reduction plan signed off at CEO level which they will be accountable for.</p></li><li><p>Requesting that they proactively share good practice as an industry wide response to the problems we are facing</p></li></ul> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 29/07/2019 16:43:20 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1141341

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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	Recycling: Sri Lanka
	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 she is taking to prevent the export of (a) hazardous and (b) medical UK waste to Sri Lanka as recycling.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	280906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>It is prohibited to export hazardous waste from the UK to countries, such as Sri Lanka, which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The export of non-hazardous healthcare wastes for recycling to countries outside the OECD is permissible when following a prior written notification and consent procedure, and would require the consent of the competent authorities in the countries of import and export prior to shipment. No such consent has been issued in respect of exports of healthcare wastes to Sri Lanka.</p><p> </p><p>The UK environmental regulators take a proactive, intelligence led approach to checking compliance with the legislation, targeting exports which pose a high risk and intervening to stop illegal exports. In 2017/18, the Environment Agency issued 158 stop notices, prohibiting the export of unsuitable waste. It stopped 367 containers of waste destined for illegal export at ports and intervened further upstream to prevent 8,974 tonnes of waste from reaching our ports. Any UK operators found to be illegally exporting waste can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to two years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 05/09/2019 15:17:29 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138134

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	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	Recreation Spaces
	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 merits of increasing green spaces in the UK to reduce the effect of flash flooding.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	275672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>As set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan, this Government recognises the importance of green spaces for health and happiness as well as for environmental benefits such as sequestering carbon, absorbing noise, cleansing pollutants, absorbing surface water and reducing high temperatures. In the right place, using green spaces in towns and cities to help divert or store flood water can be beneficial, including using sustainable drainage systems such as permeable surfaces and ponds or natural flood management techniques in towns and cities as well as upstream.</p><p> </p><p>As we build more homes, preserving and creating green spaces in towns is more important than ever. We want to encourage local authorities to consider all flood management opportunities and developers to take into account all the benefits when deciding how much land to allocate as green space.</p><p> </p><p>To support this we have worked with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to revise the National Planning Policy Framework to further encourage sustainable drainage systems, and published our Surface Water Management Action Plan which includes actions that will join up planning for surface water management and build local authority capacity. In addition, Natural England is developing a framework of national standards for green infrastructure in close consultation with stakeholders.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 15/07/2019 12:16:36 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1135842

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Plastics: Recycling
	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 effectiveness of the current plastic recycling system.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	271373
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>In England plastic is widely collected for recycling across local authorities. 45% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2017, exceeding the EU target of 22.5%.</p><p> </p><p>As part of our Resources and Waste Strategy, the Government analysed the challenges currently facing the recycling industry in this country. Through the Strategy, the Government set out how it would tackle these challenges, including making producers more responsible for the packaging they put on the market and making recycling simpler for households. We want all local waste authorities to collect the same core set of materials for recycling. We also want to introduce a deposit return system. This will increase the quantity and quality of recyclable material collected. Our approach, from production through consumption to end of life, is focused on increasing supply and demand for secondary materials to be recycled in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Our ambition is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year Environmental Plan. For the most problematic plastics we are going faster, which is why we have committed to working towards all plastic packaging placed on the UK market being recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 10/07/2019 12:56:24 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1135837

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Plastics
	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 he is taking to support research on alternatives to plastics.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	271370
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>Our Resources and Waste Strategy, published in December last year, sets out approach to eliminating avoidable plastic waste. We recognise, however, that plastics will continue to play an important role, for example by helping to prevent food waste when used in food packaging for certain foods. One reason plastics are useful is that they are lightweight, which can have benefits in terms of the carbon emissions associated with getting them to market. So we want to better understand the environmental trade-offs associated with alternative materials. We set this out as an area of research in interest in the Resources and Waste Strategy, and we welcome collaborations with industry and academia in order to further explore it.</p><p> </p><p>We are also taking steps to ensure new, innovative types of plastic really are more sustainable. As part of this, the Government has confirmed, subject to matched funding from industry, that it is prepared to invest up to £60 million through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund towards the development of smart, sustainable plastic packaging, which will aim to make the UK a world-leader in sustainable packaging for consumer products.</p><p> </p><p>We will also publish a call for evidence on standards for bio-based and biodegradable plastics. The Government is concerned that, in the absence of accepted standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified, possibly leading to increased levels of consumption and greater environmental harm, in comparison to conventional fossil-based plastics. The call for evidence will be published later this year, and we welcome responses from the research community.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 10/07/2019 13:44:25 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1148392

	registered interest
	date	04/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	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, what steps she is taking to protect UK wildlife from extinction.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	294674
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 08/10/2019 15:31:44 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145533

	registered interest
	date	24/09/2019
	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	Eggs: Salmonella
	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 she is taking to ensure that eggs infected with salmonella do not reach consumers.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	290282
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>We have national programmes to control salmonella in poultry and protect public health, which require regular sampling of laying flocks. Where laying flock samples test positive for regulated strains of salmonella, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will alert the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) and restrictions on the eggs will be put in place to protect public health which will apply for the life of the affected flock. Eggs from such flocks cannot be sold as fresh table eggs, but must be either processed by heat treatment to eliminate salmonella before entering the food chain, or disposed of outside the food chain as Animal by Products.</p><p> </p><p>The General Food Law EU Regulation 178/2002 will be transferred into UK law at the point of exit by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act. Inoperabilities in 178/2002 have been addressed by The General Food Law (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. EU Regulation 178/2002 lays down that food placed on the market must be safe to eat - it must not be ‘injurious to health’ or ‘unfit for human consumption’. Food businesses are required to notify the competent authorities, such as the local authority or the FSA, if they suspect that a product placed on the market does not comply with safety requirements. When Salmonella infection is confirmed in a laying flock the FSA works with industry, APHA and local authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken to safeguard public health.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 07/10/2019 16:34:02 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145702

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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	Eggs: Salmonella
	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 she has made of the number of scheduled tests for salmonella in eggs that were (a) carried out behind schedule and (b) not carried out.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	290637
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>National Control Plan official sampling is done annually as per legislative requirements. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) are an approved Industry Control Body for their own assurance scheme members and their annual official sampling is carried out by their auditors NSF International. Non-BEIC producers are sampled by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).</p><p> </p><p>In 2018, APHA completed all official sampling on non-BEIC laying farms in the timescales required. 2019 sampling for non-BEIC laying farms is also on track for completion within the timescales required.</p><p> </p><p>As part of routine regulatory inspections APHA inspectors audit each egg producer’s salmonella sampling records in order to review operator sampling. Where late or missed sampling is identified a penalty notice will be issued. In addition, where there is no clear current test present at the time of the inspection, the inspector will immediately take the appropriate samples for testing and will serve a notice applying restrictions to the eggs pending a clear test result.</p><p> </p><p>The number of penalty notices that have been raised against producers in England are:</p><p> </p><p>01/06/16-31/05/17 - 30.</p><p>01/06/17-31/05/18 - 44.</p><p>01/06/18-31/05/19 - 35.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 01/10/2019 17:57:44 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham