Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

44036

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons his Department supported an officer in the Falkland Islands responsible for implementing the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels on behalf of the Overseas Territories.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	192763
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Joint UK and South Atlantic Overseas Territories funding has supported a co-ordinating post based in the Falkland Islands since 2008 to, among other things, help meet obligations arising from the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), a daughter agreement to the Convention on Migratory Species. ACAP has been extended to the UK's South Atlantic Territories. Defra currently contributes £20,000 per year.</p><p>ACAP seeks to conserve albatrosses and petrels by co-ordinating international activity to mitigate known threats. Collectively, the UK's South Atlantic Overseas Territories are breeding range states for 12 of the 30 species currently listed by the Agreement. The ACAP co-ordination project was established to ensure coherence of action between the Territories, assist with the planning and implementation of albatross and petrel conservation work, take responsibility for the reporting requirements and lead on critical seabird by-catch mitigation work in international fisheries fora.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 01/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

77955

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2014
	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	Regulation
	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 simplify existing environmental, marine and agricultural regulations.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	205985
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>By contributing to Red Tape Challenge, Defra has reviewed over 1200 of its regulations. As a result of these reviews Defra has made commitments to revoke or improve nearly 800 regulations and as well as a number of significant non-regulatory changes that will directly benefit business and the wider public. These include the reform of all regulatory guidance produced by Defra and its agencies by spring 2015, so that users can quickly access clear information on what they need; changes to data reporting obligations, to remove any duplicate and unnecessary requests for information; and plans to explore opportunities to simplify and reduce the number of compliance inspections on farms.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>These reforms are being made without reducing existing protection of the environment or animal and plant health and are detailed in a report entitled “Defra <em>better</em> for Business: A Strategic Reform Plan for Defra Regulations” which was published on 9 April 2014[1]. Defra is working to deliver the vast majority of these proposals by April 2015 so that benefits can be felt quickly. Current estimates suggest that business could by then be saving £300million per year as a result of these reforms.</p><p> </p><br /><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302112/pb14166-defra-better-for-business.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302112/pb14166-defra-better-for-business.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/07/2014 14:05:53 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

78459

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2014
	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	Turtles: Cayman Islands
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the CITES Management Authority has declared that the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	206288
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>An independent investigation in 2002, carried out in support of an application to register the Cayman Turtle Farm as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, a Convention for which Defra is responsible, concluded that the standards of care at the Cayman Turtle Farm were humane.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK Government has been in contact with the Cayman Islands Government more recently, expressing the UK’s commitment to raising animal welfare standards and requesting an assurance that the Cayman Islands Government takes the findings of a report by the then World Society for the Protection of Animals seriously and be committed to making appropriate improvements. I am pleased to say that the Deputy Premier of the Cayman Islands, Mr Kirkconnell, gave that assurance in a response to the Secretary of State on 24 October 2013.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/07/2014 12:15:30 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166304

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	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	Bivalve Molluscs: Non-native Species
	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 risks to native wildlife and habitats from the arrival in the UK of Quagga mussels; and how that assessment was carried out.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	216214
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>The likelihood of the arrival of the quagga mussel was identified by informal horizon scanning. In response, we commissioned a thorough risk assessment which was reviewed in accordance with the standard procedures established by the Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat. The risk assessment was completed before the quagga mussel was first detected in England.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 03/12/2014 14:53:51 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166308

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	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	Crayfish
	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 level of risk arising from the arrival of the red swamp crayfish to the wildlife and environment in England; and what steps the Government will take in response to its arrival.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	216205
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>Defra carried out a thorough risk assessment of the potential impact of red swamp crayfish in 2011. The risk assessment concluded that this species would be likely to have major environmental impacts if established. In response to these findings, Defra developed an action plan to tackle the threats posed by this species and other invasive non-native crayfish. This can be found at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.nonnativespecies.org/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1120" target="_blank">www.nonnativespecies.org//downloadDocument.cfm?id=1120</a></p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 03/12/2014 14:53:13 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

166733

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2014
	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	Bivalve Molluscs: Non-native Species
	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 the Contingency Invasive Species Action Plan for the Quagga mussel will be published and considered for implementation.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	216378
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2014 answer text <p>A Contingency Invasive Species Action Plan was being developed prior to the arrival of the quagga mussel in Great Britain. However, once the mussel was detected, immediate contingency measures were considered and put in place. These included communicating its presence to water sport users and Thames Water to help prevent further spread of the species via the ‘Check, Clean, Dry ‘campaign. All involved have been working constructively together. The Environment Agency continues to monitor for further quagga mussel populations. The development of an Invasive Species Action Plan to manage this and other similar species will now be considered for development.</p><p><br></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 04/12/2014 11:01:50 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228799

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2015
	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	Dairy Farming
	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 dairy farmers who have ceased trading in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	228559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>Data is only available on the total number of dairy farms each year so this only shows the net change, rather than the separate numbers of entries and exits from dairy farming. The latest data available on the number of dairy farms in England is for the period from December 2013 to December 2014 and is shown below. The change in the number of farms will include new holdings which are registered with dairy cattle, holdings that have ceased to have cattle and holdings that have merged together.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The number of dairy cows on these dairy farms is also shown below. This shows that despite a 2% decrease in the overall number of dairy farms in the past year, the number of dairy cows has increased by a corresponding 2%, suggesting consolidation within the industry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of dairy farms<sup>(a)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of cows in the dairy herd<sup>(b)</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-2013</p></td><td><p>8,197</p></td><td><p>1,124,368</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June-2014</p></td><td><p>8,092</p></td><td><p>1,128,548</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-2014</p></td><td><p>8,051</p></td><td><p>1,150,007</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>% change Dec14/Dec13</p></td><td><p>-2%</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(a) Sourced from Cattle Tracing System. Dairy farms are defined as the number of holdings with more than 10 cows in the dairy herd.</p><p> </p><p>(b) Cows in the dairy herd are defined as female dairy cows over 2 years old in the milking herd (i.e. with offspring).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 25/03/2015 11:39:20 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228800

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2015
	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	Ivory: China
	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 discussions her Department has had with the Chinese government on whether it plans to expand its temporary ban on ivory imports.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	228566
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>The UK Government welcomes China’s introduction of a temporary ban on ivory imports as a positive signal of its commitment to tackle the illegal trade in ivory. Defra has an ongoing dialogue with China on all aspects of the illegal ivory trade, including as part of the preparations for the Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade being held in Botswana on 25 March.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 25/03/2015 11:41:16 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

228832

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2015
	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	Dangerous Dogs
	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 convictions there have been for offences concerning dangerous dogs under the Anti-Social, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	228570
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2015 answer text <p>There are no offences related to dangerous dogs under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. There were amendments made to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 by the 2014 Act but as those changes only came into force last year, we would not have any available data until May this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 25/03/2015 11:49:49 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

751772

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2017
	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: Environment Protection
	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 potential benefits are of the UK becoming a signatory of the Environment Clean Seas Campaign.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	4886
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2017 answer text <p>At the recent UN Oceans Conference, the UK made several voluntary commitments, including signing up to the UN’s Clean Seas campaign. This programme aims to transform habits, practices, standards and policies around the globe to dramatically reduce marine litter and the harm it causes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 20/07/2017 15:29:37 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord