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1148789

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Forests: North of England
	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 she will support the delivery of the Northern Forest; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting that delivery through (a) the development of green investment models, (b) Government grants, (c) developer levies and (d) contributions and other support from offsetting planned Government infrastructure projects.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	176
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2019 answer text <p>As part of the Government’s ambitious 25 Year Environment Plan (YEP), we are providing £5.7 million to support the existing Northern Forest Partnership, with Community Forests and The Woodland Trust to accelerate and further develop the Northern Forest. This will help plant at least 1.8 million new trees in the Northern Forest by 2022. A minimum of 1 million of these trees are being delivered through the Partnership Innovation Fund element of our investment. Through this approach we are working closely with the Northern Forest Partnership to consider, develop and test innovative approaches and policies from the 25 YEP such as Forestry Investment Zones, natural capital, carbon off-setting and green investment financing models.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also working with the Northern Forest Partnership to increase planting rates, through joint working of Defra Group bodies like the Forestry Commission (FC), with the Partnership signposting land managers to existing FC funding.</p><p> </p><p>This approach will ensure trees are planted now and kick-start the development of the Northern Forest, helping the Partnership to realise their longer-term vision of 50 million trees over the next 25 years.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 23/10/2019 16:34:49 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1148820

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Farms: Tenancy Agreements
	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 Agricultural tenancy consultation and call for evidence on mortgage restrictions and repossession protections for agricultural land in England, if the Government will widen the scope of the proposed changes to include all commercial property.
	tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
	tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
	uin	297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government call for evidence regarding mortgage restrictions and repossession of agricultural land is now closed and a response will be published shortly. Before taking forward any proposals for legislative changes, Defra would discuss issues of scope with other Government departments.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/10/2019 16:43:37 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake

1151957

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2019
	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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Living Wage
	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 staff in her Department are paid less than the London Living Wage; and what requirements her Department places on contractors to pay the London Living Wage to London-based staff.
	tabling member constituency	Greenwich and Woolwich
	tabling member printed	Matthew Pennycook
	uin	4416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to paying people a decent living wage, which is being addressed through the statutory National Living Wage (NLW). In April 2019, the NLW increased to £8.21 per hour, handing a full-time worker a further £690 annual pay rise. By 2024 the NLW will rise to £10.50 per hour, reaching 66% of median UK earnings. The scope will be expanded to everyone aged 21 and over and is expected to benefit over 4 million low paid workers.</p><p> </p><p>There are 85 staff in core-Defra, based in the National pay region, paid less than the London Living Wage (LLW) rate of £10.55 per hour, as set out by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF).</p><p> </p><p>There are less than 5 staff based in the London pay region paid less than the LLW. There will be no staff based in the London pay region paid less than the LLW once the 2019 Defra pay award (effective from 1 July 2019) has been implemented. This is expected to be in November pay.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p>The service providers contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for Defra managed buildings, including those of our executive agencies, are provided through an outsourced Total Facilities Management contract with Interserve FM. The contract requires Interserve FM to pay all employees the living wage as defined by the LWF. The Facilities Management supplier holds information on the rate of remuneration of its staff. Members of the LWF pay the voluntary real living wage, which is higher than the statutory rate and includes a higher rate for London based staff.</p><p> </p><p>The LWF rates (published online) can be found on the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.livingwage.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.livingwage.org.uk/</a></p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 30/10/2019 14:23:47 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4520 label Biography information for Matthew Pennycook

1170674

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2020
	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	Forests: North of England
	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 her Department has to support the Northern Forest initiative.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	3216
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p>As part of the 25 Year Environment Plan, we are providing £5.7 million to support the existing Northern Forest Partnership of the Community Forests and the Woodland Trust to accelerate and further develop the Northern Forest. Specifically, this kick-start investment is funding the planting of at least 1.8 million new trees across the Northern Forest by 2022.</p><p>We continue to work with the Northern Forest Partnership to identify, develop and implement delivery models to ensure new trees are planted in the places of greatest need and that these trees are well managed and maintained for current and future generations to enjoy and benefit from.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/01/2020 11:49:21 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1171415

	registered interest
	date	16/01/2020
	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: Climate Change
	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 she has made of the effect of climate change on the work of her Department; and what steps she is taking in response to that effect.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Darren Jones
	uin	4458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <p>Tackling climate change is a priority for the whole of Government, which is why the Prime Minister is chairing a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change to drive action across all sectors of the economy and demonstrate the UK’s global leadership as we prepare to host the crucial COP26 talks in Glasgow in November. Defra is playing its part in achieving net zero, taking forward efforts to reduce emissions from agriculture, waste, land-use and fluorinated gases and to encourage sequestration through forestry.</p><p> </p><p>Defra, as the lead department for domestic adaptation, is responsible for delivering adaptation duties set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. These include preparing, every five years, a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), followed by a National Adaptation Programme (NAP), which sets out actions to address the risks identified in the CCRA. The second, most recent, CCRA was published in 2017 and the second NAP was published in July 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Adaptation is rightly integrated throughout the policies and programmes of Government. The NAP includes actions in a broad range of areas, including the natural environment, infrastructure, people and the built environment, business and industry, and local Government. It sets out the actions Government is taking to address the risks posed by a changing climate - including Government investment of £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion. We are also developing and implementing a Nature Recovery Network, which will create or restore 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat in England. Nature recovery can help us to mitigate and adapt to climate change, because our wetlands, forests and grasslands capture carbon and provide other environmental benefits, such as flood management and pollination. Marine Protected Areas (including the 41 new Marine Conservation Zones we designated last year) now cover 40% of English waters and will help enhance the resilience of ecosystems and wildlife to climate change.</p><p> </p><p>Defra will work with other departments through the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, chaired by the Prime Minister.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/01/2020 16:23:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1172265

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Flood Control: South Yorkshire
	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 improve flood defences in South Yorkshire following the floods in November 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	6110
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>Following the recent flooding in South Yorkshire, the Environment Agency (EA) have identified approximately £30 million of work on EA owned or maintained assets to return the assets to their target condition and improve the resilience of those assets against flooding. The EA have also identified an initial £50 million of work to make further new improvements works to flood defences in South Yorkshire.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this and prior to the recent floods, the Environment Agency’s existing flood programme in South Yorkshire from 2020/21 to 2026/27 showed that there is a need to invest £106 million to improve flood defences in the area. Under current partnership funding rules this would generate £42 million of Grant in Aid funding from Defra and leave the remaining balance to be found from other sources. The EA is aware that £44 million has potential sources of funding identified but not yet secured, with the balance of around £19 million still to be identified.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency is working with all the South Yorkshire Lead Flood Authorities and Sheffield City Region in a catchment wide approach to see how it can find the additional funding needed to secure a strong flood programme and recover from the November 2019 floods. The EA looks forward to strengthening these relationships as we work together to deliver increased flood resilience through engineering and nature based solutions for communities across South Yorkshire.</p><p> </p><p>Government is investing £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to better protect the country from flooding. This will attract more than £600 million of additional investment through partnership contributions, funding over 1,000 flood defence schemes to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The Government are looking at current funding arrangements and an assessment of funding needs beyond 2021. We will continue to work with the EA to consider future investment needs and Government’s role in supporting the resilience of communities.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/01/2020 14:17:17 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1176847

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2020
	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	Birds: Pest Control
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the timely issuance of new general licences for the control of pest birds in England.
	tabling member constituency	Buckingham
	tabling member printed	Greg Smith
	uin	13603
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State granted general licences for the lethal control of certain wild birds in June 2019, which are valid until 29 February 2020. Since June 2019, Defra has been undertaking a review of these general licences, including a public survey which generated over 4,400 responses, a review of scientific evidence and a series of workshops with licence users and other stakeholders. The Secretary of State will make an announcement soon on licensing arrangements from 1 March.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 12/02/2020 16:29:36 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4778 label Biography information for Greg Smith

1181955

	registered interest
	date	02/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Flood Control: South Yorkshire
	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 potential merits of using river and canal dredging to tackle the flooding in South Yorkshire.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	23628
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s flood risk management work focuses on where it delivers the greatest benefit to people and property. Dredging and other work to improve the river channel’s ability to carry increased flow (conveyance) often forms an important part of the Environment Agency’s (EA’s) maintenance regime. However the effectiveness of dredging in managing flood risk varies substantially for each stretch of river, depending on local conditions, and can actually make flooding worse if flows are quickened to towns and villages downstream. The EA assesses its value on a location-by-location basis, in consultation with local communities and organisations such as Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>The merits of dredging to tackle flooding in South Yorkshire are limited. The surrounding land and bed of the lower reaches of the river Don are flat with a very low gradient, meaning water drains slowly, and they are at or below sea level, which further slows drainage. If riverbeds were dredged lower than sea level, they would simply fill with water and would not reduce flood levels.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 05/03/2020 12:31:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1193136

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2020
	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	Forestry England: Coronavirus
	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 level of funding required from the public purse to enable Forestry England to maintain its activities (a) during and (b) after the covid-19 lockdown.
	tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
	tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
	uin	43645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>Defra and the Forestry Commission are discussing options to manage financial impacts arising from COVID-19. With reduced income from timber and visitors, Forestry England (FE) has made use of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to reduce costs, protect jobs and retain staff. FE continues to manage and care for the nation’s forests, adapting working practices in line with public health guidelines.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 43644 43646 question first answered 11/05/2020 16:41:03 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1193137

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2020
	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	Forestry England: Coronavirus
	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 that Forestry England is able to maintain the (a) wages of its staff, and (b) number of jobs in its organisation during the covid-19 pandemic.
	tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
	tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
	uin	43646
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>Defra and the Forestry Commission are discussing options to manage financial impacts arising from COVID-19. With reduced income from timber and visitors, Forestry England (FE) has made use of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to reduce costs, protect jobs and retain staff. FE continues to manage and care for the nation’s forests, adapting working practices in line with public health guidelines.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 43644 43645 question first answered 11/05/2020 16:41:03 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon