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972727

registered interest
date	12/09/2018
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	Veterinary Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why, as reported in the National Audit Office report on Defra's Progress in Implementing EU Exit, Defra was not permitted to engage with the veterinary industry in April; and which authority prevented that engagement.
tabling member printed	The Countess of Mar
uin	HL10310
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>Since March, Defra has engaged privately with stakeholders in the veterinary industry to make progress on delivery planning for leaving the EU. Defra welcomes input from any interested parties to help inform our work in preparing for leaving the EU.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Public engagement with the veterinary industry required wider interests across Government to be taken into account, including negotiation sensitivities and the need for consistent messages to different industries.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/09/2018 11:35:44 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	1861 label Biography information for The Countess of Mar

972736

registered interest
date	12/09/2018
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: Imports
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether food imports from Least Developed Countries will have the same food safety and animal welfare checks after Brexit as they currently do.
tabling member printed	Baroness Redfern
uin	HL10318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>When we leave the European Union (EU), we will maintain our current standards. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU Withdrawal Act will transfer onto the UK statue book all EU food safety and animal welfare standards. Our current high standards, including import requirements, will apply when we leave the EU.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>At the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017, the Government announced new support to help developing countries trade effectively, including funding for the WTO’s Standards and Trade Development Facility, which supports least developed countries to comply with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards for trade in agricultural and animal-related products.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/09/2018 11:35:31 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4551 label Biography information for Baroness Redfern

971717

registered interest
date	11/09/2018
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	Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease 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, how many visits Natural England make to landholdings in cull zones to ensure that reasonable biosecurity controls are being applied as required under the terms of badger cull licences; and how many landholders have not met those biosecurity standards in each year for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	173505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2018 answer text <p>Natural England (NE) visits 5% of randomly selected cattle-keeping landholders within each Year 1 application area to sense-check biosecurity practices on the ground. These visits are supported by data available from visits conducted by the Animal and Plant Heath Agency (APHA). For 2018 Year 1 areas, between 30-55% of participants had been subject to an APHA visit in response to Bovine TB breakdowns from 2015 to early 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Disease control recommendations are provided to cattle-keepers based on measures that are practicable, proportionate and appropriate for the particular circumstances; having regard to the Bovine TB Biosecurity Five-Point Plan. These recommendations are categorised into ‘Advisory’ or ‘Required’. Advisory recommendations can cover a number of aspects of the disease risk on a farm and are reflective of the discussion held with the cattle-keeper regarding ways of minimising this risk. For example, recommendations might cover future options to reduce disease risk should a cattle keeper be able to invest in infrastructure within the yard. As such, a high number of Advisory recommendations does not necessarily indicate that cattle keepers are not demonstrating that reasonable biosecurity measures are in place.</p><p> </p><p>‘Required’ recommendations are provided for situations where badgers are presenting an immediate risk of disease spread to cattle and the resolution measure is practicable, proportionate and appropriate for the particular circumstances. An example of such a measure is securing feed stores to prevent them being accessible to badgers overnight.</p><p> </p><p>Should a concerning biosecurity issue be identified during the 5% visits, NE would conduct additional visits to determine whether the issue was more widespread throughout the area and act accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>A summary of the NE biosecurity visits and resulting recommendations from 2015 to 2018 is provided in the table below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Visits</p></td><td><p>Number of ‘Advisory’ recommendations</p></td><td><p>Number of ‘Required’ recommendations</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>133</p></td><td><p>340</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>123</p></td><td><p>276</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/09/2018 15:04:59 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

971736

registered interest
date	11/09/2018
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
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 his Department is taking to minimise the proportion of household income that is spent on food after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	173530
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2018 answer text <p>The Government does not set retail food prices or comment on the day-to-day commercial decisions made by companies. We work closely with industry to promote transparency for consumers, and internationally to promote open, global markets. The UK sources food from a diverse range of countries, in addition to a strong domestic production base. This will not change when we leave the EU.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Living Costs and Food Survey includes questions on household spend on food, including that of the lowest 20% income households. The most recent data has shown that the amount that the lowest 20% income households spend on food has fallen to 14.3% in 2016/17 compared with 16% in 2015 (Source Family Spending). These statistics show that it is important to look at all the factors which have an impact on household income such as transport, housing and energy costs.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This Government, through the Department for Work and Pensions is committed to providing a strong safety net of support through the welfare system for disadvantaged families and their children. This includes hardship payments, short term benefit advances, budgeting advances and Social Fund budgeting loans. There is a commitment to spend over £95 billion on working age welfare benefits supporting people out of work or on a low income.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/09/2018 15:27:52 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

971780

registered interest
date	11/09/2018
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	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Sick Leave
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 the number of days of sick leave taken by staff in his Department for mental health reasons in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	173654
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2018 answer text <p>The total number of days of absence taken by permanent payroll staff in the Core Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2010, for mental health reasons, is shown in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Days of Mental Health Absence</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-2011</p></td><td><p>2945</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-2012</p></td><td><p>1880</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-2013</p></td><td><p>2174</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td><p>1787</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td><p>1608</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td><p>2604</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td><p>1458</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td><p>2193</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 17/09/2018 15:19:39 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

971919

registered interest
date	11/09/2018
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 Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK will be self-sufficient in food ingredients after Brexit; and if not, what plans they have, if any, for stockpiling within the UK food and drink industry.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL10279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from third countries.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 60% for all food and 75% for indigenous-type foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is not low in the context of the past 150 years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Self-sufficiency is not in itself an indicator of food security. The UK has historically been a net importer of food and sources from a diverse range of stable countries and this will continue once we leave the EU. Achieving increased self-sufficiency in indigenous products would not necessarily insulate us from shocks to the system, for example, weather and disease can affect the harvests and yields.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>While we are making sensible preparations for all eventualities as we leave the EU, there are no plans to stockpile food. The government has well established ways of working with the food industry on food supply chain issues.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/09/2018 11:36:08 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

971224

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
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: Subsidies
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, what steps they are taking to ensure sufficient levels of food security following any change in payments to UK farmers after Brexit.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL10221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>The Government understands the importance of providing stability to farmers as we leave the European Union. Our Agriculture Bill will support farmers over a seven year transition from the Common Agricultural Policy to a new system underpinned by the principle of public money for public goods. Farmers produce world-class food and we are seeking new powers in legislation to help farmers get a fairer return from the supply chain. We pledge to continue the same cash total in funds for farm support for the duration of this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>Our aim is to boost UK productivity by developing targeted transitional policies to reflect our farmers’ needs. It is, however, important for the UK to take a more balanced approach to productivity targets and incorporate other issues, such as; provenance, animal welfare, and environmental costs alongside nutritional provision.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government views food security in its broadest sense - taking into consideration the global context, the UK supply chain as a whole and the consumer perspective. Self-sufficiency is not in itself an indicator of food security. Increased self-sufficiency in indigenous products would not necessarily insulate us from shocks to the system; for example, weather and disease can affect the harvests and yields.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 60% for all food and 75% for indigenous type foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is not low in the context of the past 150 years. In the 1930s, for example, the overall rate was between 30% and 40%, while in the late 1950s this had risen to just over 50%. The UK has historically been a net importer of food and sources produce from a diverse range of stable countries and this will continue once we leave the EU.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 18/09/2018 11:35:53 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

971315

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
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	Housing: 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, how many and what proportion of houses in flood-affected post codes after storm Desmond have had flood protection measures installed; and what flood protection measures have been installed in each house that was affected.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	172487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2018 answer text <p>As a result of Storm Desmond and Eva, 17,628 properties were eligible to receive the flood resilience grant in the local authority areas impacted by the storms.</p><p> </p><p>66% (11,756) of those eligible for the grant in the impacted local authority areas submitted applications and 95% (11,193) were approved.</p><p> </p><p>The information about the postcodes of properties that received the grants and the types of measures installed is held by the local authorities who implemented the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The range of flood resilience measures installed in each property will depend on the choices made by the householder, the type of flood risk, and the construction of the property.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 13/09/2018 12:30:38 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

971324

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
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: Cumbria
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 his Department has made of the number of businesses that have been flooded by rising water levels on Lake Windermere in each of the last ten years.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	172493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2018 answer text <p>Since the late 1990s the Windermere Lake area has been subject to flooding on several occasions, notably in 1999, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2015. The Environment Agency (EA) estimates that approximately 94 businesses flooded in 2015 as a result of rising water levels on Lake Windermere.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The EA does not have records of numbers of businesses flooded prior to 2015. The Windermere Lake peak level record was set in 2009. The impact of the 2009 event will therefore have encompassed a greater number of flooded businesses relative to any other year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 13/09/2018 12:34:37 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

971358

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
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	Fly-tipping and Litter: Fines
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 encourage local authorities to impose fines for littering and flytipping.
tabling member constituency	Chipping Barnet
tabling member printed	Theresa Villiers
uin	172465
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2018 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The Government published the Litter Strategy for England in 2017, setting out our approach of applying best practice in education, enforcement and ‘binfrastructure’ in order to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Litter Strategy sets out a number of proposals to improve enforcement against littering, including commitments to “support councils in using new powers to issue fixed penalties for small‑scale fly‑tipping offences”, and “deliver guidance to promote proportionate and responsible enforcement”. Alongside the Strategy, we also consulted on proposals to increase the fixed penalty for littering, and to give councils improved powers to take enforcement action against littering from vehicles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Through the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group we have published guidance which sets out clearly the powers available to local authorities when tackling fly-tipping. It is the responsibility of local authorities to use the full range of enforcement powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping. The list of powers is online here: <a href="http://www.tacklingflytipping.com/Documents/NFTPG-CaseStudies/Fly-tipping-responsibilities-Guide-for-local-authorities-and-land-manage....pdf" target="_blank">http://www.tacklingflytipping.com/Documents/NFTPG-CaseStudies/Fly-tipping-responsibilities-Guide-for-local-authorities-and-land-manage....pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With effect from April 2018, we have increased the maximum fixed penalty for littering from £80 to £150, and given councils in England new powers to tackle littering from vehicles. We have no plans to make further changes to the level of fixed penalties at this stage. It is for councils now to use these powers and some are already taking advantage of them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have also recently consulted on improved guidance on the proportionate use of these enforcement powers, which we propose to incorporate into the statutory Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. That consultation closed on 8 June and responses are currently being considered. We expect to publish the revised guidance later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey grouped question UIN 172466 question first answered 13/09/2018 12:21:26 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers