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90833

registered interest
date	05/09/2014
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	Written Questions
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 proportion of named day written questions were answered by her Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	208424
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Session</p></td><td><p>Percentage of named day written question answered within prescribed period</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td><p>64%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015 to date</p></td><td><p>95% 1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1. Figures for the 2014-2015 session cover questions for answer during the period 05 June to 05 September 2014, inclusive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 10:17:51 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

90834

registered interest
date	05/09/2014
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	Tree Felling
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 levels of fines and sanctions for the illegal felling of trees were last reviewed and updated; and what steps her Department takes to ensure that fines and sanctions for the illegal felling of trees are kept up-to-date and are effective.
tabling member constituency	Basingstoke
tabling member printed	Maria Miller
uin	208409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The fines and sanctions for the illegal felling of trees are laid out in the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). The Criminal Justice Act 1982 made provision to increase the level of fine when it introduced the standard scale of fines for summary offences.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Forestry Act 1967 was also amended by the Regulatory Reform (Forestry) Order 2006. This amendment now enables the Forestry Commissioners the option of serving a Restocking Notice on a person who appears to the Commissioners to have committed an offence of felling without a licence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s regulation of the forestry sector was last reviewed in 2011 by the Forestry Regulations Task Force. The independently appointed Task Force made a comprehensive review of the regulations that protect and affect the management of woodland. The Government’s response to its recommendations can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-by-the-forestry-regulation-task-force-government-response" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-by-the-forestry-regulation-task-force-government-response</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 10:34:57 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1480 label Biography information for Dame Maria Miller

90835

registered interest
date	05/09/2014
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	Tree Felling
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 trees have been illegally felled in England and Wales; how many restocking orders have been issued by the Forestry Commission or other relevant body; how many enforcement notices have subsequently been issued following restocking orders not being completed; and how many prosecutions have been taken forward by the Forestry Commission as a result of illegal felling of trees in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Basingstoke
tabling member printed	Maria Miller
uin	208410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The answer below is for England only. Forestry is a devolved matter and responsibility for and monitoring of illegal felling in Wales rests with the Welsh Assembly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Forestry Commission does not hold records for the number of trees which are illegally felled because it is the volume of licensable timber which is the key consideration in whether any action may be taken. In 2013/14 however, 99.91% of licensable tree felling was carried out with Forestry Commission approval. The other data requested is shown in the table.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 10:33:18 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson attachment 1 file name Enforcement Notices - illegal tree felling 2004-05 to 2013-14.doc title Enforcement Notices - illegal tree felling
tabling member	1480 label Biography information for Dame Maria Miller

90836

registered interest
date	05/09/2014
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	Tree Felling
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 guidance her Department issues on the time required to investigate cases where prosecution is being considered by the Forestry Commission for the illegal felling of trees.
tabling member constituency	Basingstoke
tabling member printed	Maria Miller
uin	208411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Defra does not issue any such guidance. Strict time limits are specified in the Forestry Act 1967 which states that proceedings for an offence of felling without a licence may be instituted within six months from the first discovery of the offence by the person taking the proceedings, provided that no proceedings shall be instituted more than two years after the date of the offence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 10:18:43 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1480 label Biography information for Dame Maria Miller

90683

registered interest
date	04/09/2014
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	Domestic Visits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, columns 626-7W, on official visits, what domestic visits she and her predecessor have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
tabling member printed	Sheila Gilmore
uin	208297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Information on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations is published quarterly on the Gov.uk site. This reflects the Government’s commitment to transparency. However, we cannot identify without incurring disproportionate cost every visit over the period for all Ministers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Relevant transparency reports can be found as follows:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>1 January to 31 March 2013: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212312/defra-min-transparency-1213-q4.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212312/defra-min-transparency-1213-q4.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There has been a delay in publishing transparency data for 1 January to 31 March 2014. We expect it to be available shortly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>1 April to 30 June 2013:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246396/Ministerial_expenses_-_1_April_to_30_June_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246396/Ministerial_expenses_-_1_April_to_30_June_2013.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>1 July to 30 September 2013:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265462/Ministers_Quarterly_return_July_to_September_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265462/Ministers_Quarterly_return_July_to_September_2013.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>1 October to 31 December 2013:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320333/Ministerial_Quarterly_Transparency_information_-_October_to_December_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320333/Ministerial_Quarterly_Transparency_information_-_October_to_December_2013.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 09/09/2014 10:06:40 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	3965 label Biography information for Sheila Gilmore

90472

registered interest
date	03/09/2014
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	Broadband: Rural Areas
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 progress has been made on the Rural Community Broadband Fund initiative; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	208116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Applications under the Rural Community Broadband Fund have resulted in 22 projects, totalling around £13.5 million, both community and Local Authority led, for areas not in scope of the Government’s mainstream superfast rollout programme. Of this, 17 Local Authority led projects have been developed totalling around £12.5 million and are due to be delivered as extensions to County Council contracts under the main rollout programme. A further five community led projects have been contracted under the Fund, representing approximately £1.15 million in grant funding. The Fund is now closed.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 08/09/2014 13:00:02 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

90473

registered interest
date	03/09/2014
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	Science: Curriculum
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 (a) she and (b) her predecessor had discussions with representatives of the agricultural and horticultural sectors on the potential effect on skills and recruitment into those sectors of the proposals to remove OCR environmental and land-based science from the curriculum; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Huw Irranca-Davies
uin	207992
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), the independent regulator of qualifications in England, consulted recently on proposals for completing the reforms of GCSEs and A levels (<a href="http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/completing-gcse-as-and-a-level-reform/" target="_blank">http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/completing-gcse-as-and-a-level-reform/</a>), including principles to guide the subjects that may be offered in the future. The consultation closed on 30 July 2014 and Ofqual have not yet announced the outcome. These proposals do not remove specific subjects from the curriculum; however, they may have implications for the range of subjects available as GCSE or A level qualifications provided by awarding organisations. The removal of some qualifications may be as a result of low take up of specific qualifications or significant overlap of content. As Ofqual is independent of Ministers, and is accountable directly to Parliament, neither the Secretary of State nor her predecessor have therefore discussed the proposals with agriculture and horticulture representatives, although they were able to respond to the consultation directly. I have asked Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write to the Hon. Member. A copy of her letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 10/09/2014 13:42:10 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1476 label Biography information for Huw Irranca-Davies

90474

registered interest
date	03/09/2014
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	Unmanned Air Vehicles
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 quadcopters or similar remote controlled devices her Department has purchased; for what purpose such quadcopters were so purchased; and at what cost to the public purse such quadcopters were so purchased.
tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
uin	208032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Core Defra has not acquired or used any quadcopters or similar remote controlled devices.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 09/09/2014 09:58:23 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

90246

registered interest
date	02/09/2014
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	Biofuels
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 information her Department holds on the level of biomass power generation in the UK located in (a) urban areas and (b) areas of above average atmospheric pollution; and if her Department will publish that information.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	207821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Defra only holds information for biomass generation in England. Power-generating stations that burn only biomass are located in: Brigg, Lincolnshire; Ely, Cambridgeshire; Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire; Selby, North Yorkshire; Sleaford, Lincolnshire; Snetterton, Norfolk; and Telford, Shropshire. There are power generating stations that co-fire biomass with other fuels such as gas or coal, but the proportion of biomass burning in these is very low.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Defra assesses air quality through a combination of fixed monitoring and modelling, and data is freely available on our website. While it is not straightforward to define “above average air pollution”, pollution levels can be found at: <a href="http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/interactive-map" target="_blank">uk-air.defra.gov.uk/interactive-map</a> by locating the nearest monitoring station and looking at the latest and historical data for that site. Modelled data is presented on a GIS map at: <a href="http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/gis-mapping" target="_blank">uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/gis-mapping</a>. Locations can be searched and overlays are displayed for different pollutants.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 09/09/2014 10:05:13 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

90063

registered interest
date	01/09/2014
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	Insects
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 614W, on insects, when the Government is likely to publish its final National Pollinator Straetgy.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	207613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The National Pollinator Strategy is planned for publication this autumn. This enables us to consider its content in light of the findings of the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on the Strategy, which was published in July.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 04/09/2014 09:44:26 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy