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1352639

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2021
	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
	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 and workers in the UK’s global agricultural supply chains to help (a) decarbonise production systems and (b) absorb the costs of more sustainable methods of farming.
	tabling member constituency	Halifax
	tabling member printed	Holly Lynch
	uin	41996
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2021 answer text <p>The UK Government is committed to tackling deforestation and greening agricultural supply chains. We are supporting a broad package of measures to support the transition to sustainable global supply chains and to protect forests and other ecosystems.</p><p> </p><p>We are working with developing country governments to identify how public policies and support to agriculture can be developed or reformed to leverage private investment into more sustainable agriculture; and to support farmers to shift from environmentally harmful practices to more sustainable ones. Together with the Just Rural Transition initiative launched in 2019, and in partnership with the World Bank, we are assisting interested developing countries to analyse their policy options for helping farmers to make this transition. Through the COP26 Sustainable Agriculture campaign, we are mobilising further support to help those countries to develop, test and pilot sustainable approaches. This includes re-orienting investment in research, development and innovation to help farmers access and scale up sustainable technologies and practices.</p><p> </p><p>We are also supporting multilateral organisations to improve climate outcomes in their agricultural programming. This includes providing £150 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s flagship ‘Adaptation for Smallholder Adaptation Programme’ and mainstreaming climate work into the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme.</p><p> </p><p>We are introducing world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Bill to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains, and have convened the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue as part of our COP 26 Presidency. Through the FACT dialogue we are working with other producer and consumer governments to develop a shared roadmap of actions to protect forests and other ecosystems while promoting sustainable development and trade.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 13/09/2021 16:12:55 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4472 label Biography information for Holly Lynch

1194409

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2020
	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	Agriculture Bill and Environment Bill
	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 representations he has received on the inclusion of nature-based solutions in the (a) Agriculture Bill and (b) Environment Bill.
	tabling member constituency	Brigg and Goole
	tabling member printed	Andrew Percy
	uin	45116
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2020 answer text <p>Nature-based solutions are key to tackling societal challenges, such as climate change, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment.</p><p>We have received representations on including certain types of nature-based solutions in the Agriculture Bill. However, clause 1(1) of the Bill is broadly drafted and already enables the Secretary of State to support the delivery of environmental outcomes through nature-based solutions. For example, we will use the powers in the Agriculture Bill to introduce our ambitious new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Under the ELM, farmers and land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering a range of public goods. This could include nature based solutions that contribute towards reducing the instances of, and provide protection from, environmental hazards such as flooding.</p><p>Likewise, the Environment Bill introduces a powerful package of new policies and tools to support nature's recovery. Biodiversity net gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs), conservation covenants and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive local action on the ground, creating or restoring rich habitats to enable wildlife to recover and thrive.</p><p>Notably our net gain measures create an approach to development which means that habitats for wildlife must be left in a measurably better state than they were in pre-development. These measures will be supported by LNRSs to guide smooth and effective delivery of mandatory biodiversity net gain. They will help local authorities to best understand where investment in new habitat creation or restoration will achieve best outcomes for biodiversity and wider environmental benefits.</p><p>We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as we move towards implementing these measures.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 19/05/2020 13:04:10 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	3939 label Biography information for Andrew Percy

1434685

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2022
	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 and Land Use: 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, for what reason landowners and farmers are no longer compensated for allowing permissive access to their land under the sustainable farming initiative; and whether he has plans to offer payments under a different initiative.
	tabling member constituency	Rutland and Melton
	tabling member printed	Alicia Kearns
	uin	128475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2022 answer text <p>As set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the Government is a great supporter of the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring.</p><p>Support for increasing access into the countryside will be made through existing schemes and support mechanisms already in place, such as Countryside Stewardship which saw a 40% increase in uptake last year. We are still considering our approach to support for increasing and maintaining access to the countryside in our future schemes, including our environmental land management schemes.</p><p>To boost investment in the meantime, we have launched a new Farming in Protected Landscapes programme in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - this includes funding for farmers and land managers to provide more opportunities for people to explore, enjoy and understand the countryside.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 03/03/2022 17:27:50 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4805 label Biography information for Alicia Kearns

1170246

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	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	Agriculture: Carbon Emissions
	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 (a) recent discussions she has had with farming unions on and (b) funding she plans to allocate to help in reducing carbon emissions after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	2535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to meeting net zero by 2050, and in 2019, the UK became the first major economy in the world to have legislated for a net zero target to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from across the UK economy by 2050.</p><p> </p><p>Since the General Election, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has spoken with farming unions, amongst other groups to listen to their priorities for the year ahead. Engagement has included meetings with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), along with wider farming groups at the Oxford Farming Conference and Oxford Real Farming Conference. Discussions covered the importance of our British farmers being the climate and nature leaders that the world is looking for and how The Secretary of State will raise the profile of agriculture across Government at the new Cabinet Committee for Climate Change.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State also mentioned that the UK will pioneer approaches that will show other governments what can be achieved if we rethink how we work with the land and produce our food to create a virtuous circle between agriculture, climate change, biodiversity, and investment.</p><p> </p><p>Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change are important goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and important objectives of Environmental Land Management (ELM). ELM could support this through providing funding for land management activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon. <br></p><p>We have also provided £50 million funding for Woodland Creation Carbon Guarantee grants that will boost our carbon offset market and provide long-term payments for land managers planting trees.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/01/2020 16:03:13 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1345227

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2021
	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: Dartmoor
	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 funding allocation he plans to make to Dartmoor under the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme for (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	29898
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2021 answer text <p>The funding allocation for Dartmoor National Park Authority under the Farming in Protected Landscape programme for 2022-23 and 23-24 has not yet been confirmed. Future allocation figures will follow the next Spending Review announcement.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 16/07/2021 13:53:15 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1299744

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2021
	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: 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, whether Environment Land Management scheme pilots will feed directly into his Department’s preparation of a Biomass Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	163300
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2021 answer text <p>The pilots for schemes that reward environmental land management will build on the excellent work of our ongoing 'Tests and Trials', which involve around 3000 farmers and land managers across England.</p><p>The pilots will assemble the concepts explored in the tests and trials into fully functioning prototype schemes, and work with farmers to see what works and what doesn't, fixing problems as we go. The pilots will run for three years, with applications opening in the spring and the first pilot, of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, commencing in October.</p><p>We report the evidence and learning from tests and trials in real time to inform the pilots and wider Defra policy. Evidence from the pilots will start to come through during 2022.</p><p>The Government has made a commitment to develop and publish a new cross-government Biomass Strategy by 2022. Defra is working closely with BEIS on this. The strategy will consider how biomass should be sourced and used across the economy to best contribute to our net zero target. We are looking carefully at how to ensure any push to biomass minimises impacts on food security and the environment.</p><p>The Government will set out more details of its thinking in the forthcoming Energy White Paper and issue a call for evidence. This will be used to inform the Biomass Strategy development in the context of net zero.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 12/03/2021 13:40:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1662041

	registered interest
	date	19/09/2023
	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	Agriculture: 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, whether her Department (a) conducts monitoring of and (b) has commissioned research on the (i) presence of (A) PFAS, (B) microplastics, (C) bisphenols and (D) other chemicals in treated sewage sludge for agricultural use and (ii) potential impact of such chemicals on soil health and watercourses.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	200528
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>Defra and the Environment Agency work closely to monitor and understand the risks of a range of contaminants in the environment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 16/10/2023 15:32:03 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1538586

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2022
	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: Flood 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, whether any (a) financial incentive and (b) other support is available to farmers for clearing (i) drainage ditches and (ii) storm drains with the aim of reducing flood risk on (A) their land, (B) public land and (C) community areas.
	tabling member constituency	Tamworth
	tabling member printed	Christopher Pincher
	uin	77404
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2022 answer text <p>All farmers and land managers are encouraged to manage the land in a way that supports and enhances the environment whilst reducing impacts on others, such as climate risks.</p><p> </p><p>Where this is a watercourse, they are known as riparian landowners and are required, under common law, to keep the watercourse clear of anything which could cause an obstruction to the flow of water on their land, or downstream if washed away. This includes maintenance of the bed and banks, as well as any trees or shrubs growing on the banks. They must also ensure that any structures such as culverts, trash screens, and mill gates are cleared of debris and allow the flow of water.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, landowners and/or occupiers owe a duty of care to their neighbours, undertaking those works that readily lie within their capability and their means to limit any potential flood impact on neighbouring land or buildings. In some circumstances the beneficiaries of any work may be reasonably expected to contribute towards the costs.</p><p> </p><p>HM Government is introducing 3 new schemes that reward environmental land management: the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery schemes. Through these schemes, farmers and other land managers will be supported to improve the environment and help manage environmental hazards, such as flood risk.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 14/11/2022 19:02:50 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher

1185864

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2020
	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	Agriculture: Flood 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, if he will make payments to farmers to use fields to soak up water at times of flood risk; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
	tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
	uin	30675
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2020 answer text <p>There are many measures the Government can use to mitigate the risk of flooding and coastal erosion in England, especially when considered across an entire catchment. These include building and maintaining traditional defence schemes and using more natural processes, commonly known as natural flood management.</p><p> </p><p>These natural processes, where appropriately designed and situated, play an important role by slowing the flow of flood water as it moves downstream. These processes can include tree planting, leaky debris dams and peatland restoration on upper slopes, flood washlands and river re-connection mid-catchment and management and creation of coastal marsh and sand dune systems in coastal areas.</p><p> </p><p>Floodplains, and many washlands provide a natural and expected space to receive excess water when watercourses are subject to flood conditions. Outside of flood conditions these lands can provide opportunities for food production and/or useful spaces for wildlife and recreation.</p><p> </p><p>However, there are additional spaces, including farmland, where intervention is needed to store flood water temporarily away from watercourses, when it will help to protect a community or critical infrastructure further downstream. Under the Water Resources Act 1991, Risk Management Authorities, including the Environment Agency, may, where appropriate, make payments to the landowner to allow for such land to be used as part of a scheme to create an area of temporary flood storage. The Environment Agency already has around 500 such arrangements with landowners around England.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore there is also a funding mechanism through Countryside Stewardship grants to encourage making space for water. This grant aims to help water flow in a winding course across floodplains, flooding temporarily to restore river and wetland habitats. It will also reduce the risk of high energy flows and soil erosion, and allow water to drain freely back into the river channel.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the new Environmental Land Management scheme will roll out from late 2024. The scheme will incentivise the reduction in and protection from environmental hazards. To deliver this public good it could pay farmers and other land managers for land management practices that can help reduce the impacts of, and enhance resilience to, flooding, for example incentivising temporary flood storage areas.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 25/03/2020 08:31:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1234521

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2020
	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	Agriculture: Forests
	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 (a) support the growth of agroforestry, and (b) ensure that sector receives adequate funding.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	90233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p>Agroforestry can help towards our climate commitments, protect and improve biodiversity, support healthy soils and productive farms, and improve waterways by creating riparian woodlands.</p><p> </p><p>We recently consulted the public on proposals for a new England Tree Strategy, including how to expand the use of agroforestry. The final strategy, based on analysis of these responses, will include proposals to support agroforestry.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/09/2020 14:43:41 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel