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61691

registered interest
date	12/06/2014
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	Food: Production
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 the UK's sanitary and phytosanitary rules in food production are not affected by the agreement of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
tabling member constituency	Brecon and Radnorshire
tabling member printed	Roger Williams
uin	200372
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could be worth £10 billion a year to the UK economy, with potential to deliver significant opportunities for the UK agriculture, food and drink sectors. Sanitary and phytosanitary issues are likely to be critical to a successful agreement. I am pursuing these in consultation with industry and other interested parties to ensure progress is made, based on sound science and consistent with our biosecurity and food safety standards.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/06/2014 15:32:44 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	1394 label Biography information for Roger Williams

61692

registered interest
date	12/06/2014
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	Helium Balloons
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 steps he has taken to reduce risks to the environment posed by the release of helium balloons.
tabling member constituency	Mid Dorset and North Poole
tabling member printed	Annette Brooke
uin	200367
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>We recognise there are concerns about the potential risks posed by helium balloons. In 2013, jointly with the Welsh Government, we commissioned an independent study to identify and assess the impacts and risks to livestock and the environment associated with sky lanterns and helium balloons.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Evidence from the report concluded that risk to the environment from helium balloons is small or highly localised.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The report is available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&amp;Module=More&amp;Location=None&amp;Completed=2&amp;ProjectID=18402" target="_blank">http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&amp;Module=More&amp;Location=None&amp;Completed=2&amp;ProjectID=18402</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any future action Government may take will need to be proportionate to the problem and backed by reliable evidence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 09:29:17 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1431 label Biography information for Annette Brooke

61696

registered interest
date	12/06/2014
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	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, with reference to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 394W, on forests, for what reasons the Government did not announce in the Queen's Speech legislative proposals to protect the public forest estate.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	200611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>There were many proposals competing for the limited space within the Fourth Session programme and the proposed forestry measures could not be accommodated.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government stands by its commitment to establish a new public body to hold the Public Forest Estate in trust for the nation, as set out in its Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement of January 2013, as soon as Parliamentary time allows.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 09:33:44 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

61450

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Floods: South East
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 how many properties at risk of flooding in (a) Windsor constituency and (b) the Thames Valley that will not be covered by the new Flood Re scheme.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	200307
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The assessment of the impact the scope of the Flood Re Scheme will have was done at a UK level. There was no specific assessment for individual constituencies or regions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 11:03:41 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

60921

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Disciplinary Proceedings
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 staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199905
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The data in the table relates to staff in core Defra only.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Percentage of staff who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings who have not declared their ethnicity</p></td><td><p>Percentage of staff who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings who have declared themselves to be white British</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>100%</p></td><td><p>0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td><td><p>No dismissals</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Employees declare their ethnicity and national identity on a voluntary basis.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 14:41:58 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60923

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Equality
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 targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199927
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Civil Service has a longstanding commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and ensuring that the Civil Service is representative of the society it serves. Central to this is the principle of appointment on merit which is the foundation of Civil Service recruitment and enshrined in law.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Core Defra does not have numerical targets for increasing our workforce diversity. However, Defra's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2013-15 contains a clear goal for Defra to become a diverse and inclusive Department ‘that can attract and retain talented people from the widest range of backgrounds and offer all our employees equality of opportunity to progress and achieve their potential on merit.'</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Defra is also committed to reviewing our Equality Objectives and monitoring our performance against them and further information is provided in our Workforce Monitoring Report here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about/equality-and-diversity" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about/equality-and-diversity</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Defra's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is underpinned by an action plan, with good progress made in the first year, including:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Mandating unconscious bias training for managers of people and those involved in recruitment and interviewing.</li><li>Introducing senior leader Diversity Champions for specific groups.</li><li>Participating fully in Positive Action Pathways, Diversity Schemes and Programmes.</li><li>Ongoing participation in the award winning ‘Summer Diversity Internship Programme', specifically aimed at underrepresented students.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 16:45:08 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60924

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Disciplinary Proceedings
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 staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The data in the table relates to staff in core Defra only.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Percentage of staff subject to formal disciplinary proceedings who have not declared their ethnicity</p></td><td><p>Percentage of staff subject to formal disciplinary proceedings who have declared themselves to be white British</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>33%</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>75%</p></td><td><p>25%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>33%</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>25%</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Employees declare their ethnicity and national identity on a voluntary basis.</p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 17/06/2014 14:45:15 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

61041

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Livestock: Antibiotics
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 antibiotics used in the UK are given to farm animals.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Zac Goldsmith
uin	199824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Data on antibiotic use in the medical and veterinary sectors are currently collated in different formats, which prevents direct comparison; it is therefore not possible to accurately ascertain what proportion of total antibiotics used in the UK are given to farm animals.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 2012, sales of antibiotic active ingredient authorised for veterinary use (farm and companion animals) totalled 409 tonnes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/06/2014 14:47:49 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

61115

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Birds
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 assistance his Department gives to farmers and landowners in controlling the number of jays which predate smaller song birds.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	200077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. However, licences allow for the control of birds in some circumstances. In England, general licences are issued by Natural England permitting users to kill or take jays for several purposes. These include conserving wild birds and preventing serious damage to crops. They may be relied on by landowners and other authorised persons as long as they are satisfied they have met the conditions of the licence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/06/2014 15:30:53 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

61116

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	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 the Government is taking to improve the habitat and increase the number of (a) hedgehogs and (b) owls.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	200082
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Agri-environment schemes, such as Environmental Stewardship, are the principal means of improving habitats and the wider environment on farmland in England. Farmers receive funding to manage the cropped environment and provide additional habitats on their farms for birds and other wildlife. Under work to develop the implementation plan for Biodiversity 2020 (the Government's strategy for England's wildlife and ecosystem services) Natural England has commissioned work to review all Section 41 species. This is to identify priorities for action and to determine what those actions should be. The hedgehog is being considered within this context by the Mammal Taxon Group, which comprises specialist organisations, led by Natural England.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Activities of benefit to owls, currently funded by Environmental Stewardship, include the establishment of grassy margins and buffer strips, and the management of field corners. These can provide additional habitat for prey species such as small mammals. The restoration of traditional farm buildings can also provide both shelter and nesting sites along with the provision of nest boxes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/06/2014 15:30:27 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon