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1700015

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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	Hedges and Ditches: 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 recent steps his Department has taken to protect (a) hedgerow habitats and (b) associated species.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	20889
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>Hedgerows are important ecological and environmental building blocks across our landscapes. As set out in the Environment Improvement Plan (EIP), Defra will support farmers to create or restore at least 30,000 miles of hedgerows by 2037, increasing to 45,000 miles of hedgerows by 2050.</p><p> </p><p>On the 16 April the Government laid before Parliament new regulations that will place management practices for hedgerows on agricultural land into legislation. These practices include a cutting ban between 1 March and 31 August to protect nesting birds during this period, and a 2m buffer strip around a hedge where green cover must be established and maintained to protect the health of the hedge and the wildlife that use it.</p><p> </p><p>The new regulations will be supplemented by actions being undertaken by many through Environmental Land Management schemes. There are now over 55,920 miles of hedgerows with one or both sides managed under 16,000 Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farm Incentive agreements.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/04/2024 12:32:54 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1700054

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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: Animal Breeding
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 support is available to (a) animal rescue organisations and (b) local authorities to care for XL Bully puppies that do not meet the legal breed standard for a banned type of dog, but may eventually grow to do so.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	20918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>My Department is engaging closely with local authorities and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 22/04/2024 14:15:23 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1700098

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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	Darwin Plus
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 progress his Department has made on implementing the Darwin Plus fund.
tabling member constituency	Suffolk Coastal
tabling member printed	Dr Thérèse Coffey
uin	21017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The UK Government has recently expanded the Darwin Plus programme to better meet the needs of the UK Overseas Territories. In 2023, Defra introduced to Darwin Plus a new local scheme aimed at building capacity and growing local economies in-territory, and a new strategic scheme for fostering greater innovation, ambition and collaboration in and between Territories.</p><p> </p><p>On 22 April 2024, Defra will open the programme to new applications. The longstanding Darwin Plus Fellowships scheme will be rebranded as Darwin Plus People and Skills to appeal to applicants beyond academia. Under its new name, this scheme will welcome applications from Territory nationals and long-term residents for activities which will upskill them and support them to meet long-term strategic outcomes for their natural environments.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government remains committed to keeping the structure of the programme under review, with a focus on suitability and practical conservation.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:51:23 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey

1700108

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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 Planting: Suffolk
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 planted on behalf of his Department in (a) Suffolk and (b) Suffolk Coastal constituency since 2020.
tabling member constituency	Suffolk Coastal
tabling member printed	Dr Thérèse Coffey
uin	21027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The Forestry Commission publishes statistics on new planting of woodland, and trees outside woodland, in England. These can be found in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/forestry-commission-corporate-plan-performance-indicators" target="_blank">Forestry Commission Key Performance Indicators</a>. These statistics are reported for each financial year in thousands of hectares.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has not set specific targets for individual constituencies and the reporting statistic the hon. Member has requested is not currently available.</p><p> </p><p>Our England Trees Action Plan has kickstarted tree planting, we have planted nearly 13 million trees over the past 3 years. Last year we planted 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland, this represents the highest planting rate for nearly a decade and an almost 40% increase on the previous year.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:48:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey

1700177

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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	Potatoes: Diseases
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 help protect farmers against new strains of potato blight.
tabling member constituency	Moray
tabling member printed	Douglas Ross
uin	21221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach that carefully considers all available plant protection methods and keeps the use of pesticides to levels that are ecologically and economically justified. IPM lies at the heart of our approach to minimise the environmental impact of pesticides and is a key tool for businesses facing the challenges of pesticide resistance, removal of pesticides from the market, and changing pest pressures due to climate change. Within the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (NAP) we will set out our policies to increase the uptake of IPM by farmers, growers, amenity managers and amateur gardeners.</p><p> </p><p>Having an IPM approach can reduce the risks associated with pesticides, combat pesticide resistance, and support sustainable agricultural productivity. IPM aims to diversify crop protection and reduce reliance on the use of chemical pesticides by making use of lower risk alternatives and promoting natural processes. For example, creating habitats for natural predators of plant pests, or using crop rotations to break pest, weed and disease cycles. When alternative methods are ineffective or unavailable, IPM also aims to optimise and minimise the use of chemical pesticides through targeted and precise application.</p><p> </p><p>We have recently commissioned a package of research projects that will bring together scientific evidence underpinning IPM and to look at ways of further encouraging its uptake. This work will support farmers’ access to the most effective IPM tools available and ensure that we understand changing trends in pest threats across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is also a partner in the European Research Area Network (ERA-Net) Co-Fund on Sustainable Crop Production (SusCrop). This research network aims to enhance cooperation and coordination of different national and regional research programmes focussing on agriculture and climate change, sustainable farming systems and biodiversity, sustainable water management, resource efficiency and resilience in the food chain. It also seeks to increase productivity through technological innovation.</p><p> </p><p>Projects within SusCrop ERA-Net include: ‘Eco-friendly solutions for the integrated management of late and early blight of potatoes (ECOSOL)’ which aims to Identify Effective Biological Control Agents and Plant Resistance Inducers for the Control of Potato Late Blight in the field.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 22/04/2024 14:08:00 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4627 label Biography information for Douglas Ross

1700223

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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	Rights of Way: Finance
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 adequacy of funding available to highway authorities to carry out statutory duties on public rights of way.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	21052
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This is an above inflation increase.</p><p> </p><p>Local highway authorities themselves are best placed to understand local priorities and allocate funding accordingly to fulfil their statutory rights of way duties.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 18/04/2024 14:45:41 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1699277

registered interest
date	27/03/2024
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	Rights of Way: Scotland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and the viability of introducing similar provisions for England.
tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Ladyton
uin	HL3660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2024 answer text <p>With regard to access to the countryside, England has a comprehensive network of public rights of way and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 currently provides the public with a right of access to areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. There are no plans to change this.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is committed to ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space. As part of this we are completing work on the 2,700 mile King Charles III England Coast Path, and delivering the £16m Access for All programme across our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 10/04/2024 11:07:11 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	620 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Ladyton

1699286

registered interest
date	27/03/2024
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	Rights of Way: Islands
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why Natural England has not used its power to apply to the Secretary of State for creation orders to be made to create rights of way to inaccessible islands of public access land, under section 58 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
uin	HL3682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2024 answer text <p>By default, the power to create new public rights of way to reach open access land sits with local highway and access authorities, for use in any particular case where they consider there is a need for such a way and that making an order is expedient. The local authority is normally best placed to make these judgements in the light of all the local circumstances on the ground. We are aware though that the original mapping exercise under the 2000 Act focused on capturing areas as open country or registered common land, rather than on whether there was any legal way for members of the public to reach mapped areas in order to enjoy open-air recreation on them. We also recognised in a previous answer on 17 January that not all downland was mapped satisfactorily under the original exercise, and it appears that inaccessible ‘islands’ occur especially on that land type at present. Natural England will consider both issues when reviewing the open access maps. We have committed to ensuring that these are reviewed by the statutory deadline of 1 January 2031.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 08/04/2024 15:10:42 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	4297 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb

1699317

registered interest
date	27/03/2024
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	Fertilisers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the regulation, or other oversight, of the sale of plant biostimulants, including consideration of their efficacy, safety and ecological impacts.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL3653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2024 answer text <p>The existing UK regulatory regime for the manufacture and placing of fertilisers on the market in the UK is fragmented and in need of modernisation. There are currently no specific requirements for plant biostimulants in domestic fertilisers legislation. However, Defra intends to improve on this by consolidating and streamlining the statute book and putting in place a conformity assessment framework for fertilisers. The framework will smooth the route to market for new and innovative products which are less polluting to the environment or are less resource intensive in their creation.</p><p>To support reform of fertilisers legislation Defra has funded a review of the evidence for the safe and effective use of plant biostimulants and a review of methods for evaluating methods for verifying the efficacy of plant biostimulants.</p><p>The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of HSE’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides. In our regulatory programmes we do not assess the impacts of chemicals specifically on human and animal microbiomes and are not currently considering the introduction of such measures.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 12/04/2024 10:10:43 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1699318

registered interest
date	27/03/2024
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	Chemicals: Regulation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for incorporating into pharmaceutical, pesticide and other chemical regulation consideration of impacts on human, animal, plant and soil microbiomes.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL3654
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operates a robust programme of regulating and monitoring medicines to ensure patients have access to safe and effective medicines. While the microbiome is still an evolving field, the MHRA is working to further our understanding on the impact of pharmaceuticals on the microbiome. Experts in MHRA are leading on international efforts to improve understanding of this area, for example through the development of World Health Organisation reference reagents for the microbiome.</p><p> </p><p>The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation around veterinary medicines makes it clear that when considering the authorisation of antimicrobial substances for use in animals, there should be consideration of the impacts on the human, target animal, and environmental microbiomes, including plants and soils.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 09/04/2024 11:12:25 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle