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997122

registered interest
date	29/10/2018
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	Forests: 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 he is taking to protect ancient woodlands.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	184963
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to securing stronger protection for our ancient woodland, as recognised in our manifesto commitments and our 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p> </p><p>The special status of ancient woodland, ancient trees and veteran trees is reflected in the recently published National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which strengthens protections, recognising their value and irreplaceable nature. The NPPF states that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists. The accompanying National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) will be published shortly.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England are currently working with stakeholders, including the Forestry Commission and the Woodland Trust, to update the ancient woodlands inventory (AWI) in order to comprehensively locate these precious habitats. Further, planning authorities are required to consult the Natural England and Forestry Commission ‘standing advice’ on ancient woodland and veteran trees when determining planning applications that may affect such habitats.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 05/11/2018 11:44:11 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

946868

registered interest
date	23/07/2018
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	Animals: Transport
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 plans he has for how the (a) Pet Travel Scheme and (b) Balai Directive will operate between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	167280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2018 answer text <p>Whilst we remain a member of the European Union, we continue to be signed up to the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme and the Balai Directive.</p><p> </p><p>The rules that will govern the movement of live animals between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU will be a matter for negotiation. The Government recently published its White paper on the Future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the negotiations on the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the UK and EU have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a time-limited implementation period. The rules governing pet travel and the Balai Directive would continue to apply throughout any implementation period. In the meantime, we are also putting in place contingency arrangements in the event of a no-deal outcome.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever the outcome of negotiations, Brexit doesn’t mean that owners won’t be able to continue to travel to the EU with their pets but there may be changes to the system. The extent of any potential changes will be dependent on the outcome of negotiations.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 04/09/2018 15:56:42 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

933808

registered interest
date	02/07/2018
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	Frogs: 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 his Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) increase habitats for frogs.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	159597
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government is taking a range of actions to identify and conserve habitats for frogs through our partnerships, our agri-environment schemes and our work to support planning authorities and developers.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is a partner in the National Amphibian and Reptile Survey which coordinates monitoring of the status and distribution of all the UK’s reptiles and amphibians, including the common and pool frog.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is developing a new system of protected species licensing for development impacting on great crested newts. This will ensure that habitat compensation is undertaken proactively at the district level by Natural England and the local authority, and it will increase the amount of habitat for newts and other amphibians.</p><p> </p><p>We protect a number of amphibian species including the pool frog and their habitats under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. These make it illegal to disturb the species or damage or disturb any place that the species may use for shelter and protection. With regard to frogs this may include aquatic habitats where they are present.</p><p> </p><p>We provide payments, through our agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, to restore or create ponds and improve surrounding habitat used by frogs.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>This is a devolved matter, so these actions only refer to what HMG is undertaking in England.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 06/07/2018 12:20:05 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

933809

registered interest
date	02/07/2018
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	Asda: Sainsbury's
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 ensure that (a) farmers and (b) food producers receive a fair price for their goods in the event of a merger of Asda and Sainsburys.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	159598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2018 answer text <p>Supermarkets that come under the Groceries Supply Code of Practice are regulated by the Groceries Code Adjudicator. The Adjudicator’s role is to make sure that businesses who supply directly to large supermarkets are treated lawfully and fairly.</p><p> </p><p>Many farmers and producers do not supply supermarkets directly, and earlier this year the Government announced a package of measures to help farmers by improving transparency and integrity in the supply chain. These measures included:</p><p> </p><p>- A ‘collaboration fund’ of up to £10 million to help support farmers to come together and strengthen their position. This fund is currently being developed with industry and will be launched later this year.</p><p>- A commitment to consult on mandatory written contracts in the dairy sector and sheep carcase classification. The consultation on sheep carcase classification is currently open, and we intend to launch the consultation on mandatory written contracts shortly.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 05/07/2018 11:37:53 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

933854

registered interest
date	02/07/2018
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	Avian Influenza
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 birds died as a result of avian flu in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	159603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2018 answer text <p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency holds the following records on the birds that have died as a result of avian influenza or were culled as part of disease control operations, or for wild birds from the Agency’s surveillance of wild bird reserves</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of kept bird deaths (primarily commercial) as a result of avian influenza</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>15,982</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>155,781</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>42,228</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>177,279</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of wild bird deaths as a result of highly pathogenic avian influenza</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>101</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 10/07/2018 15:17:27 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

931784

registered interest
date	27/06/2018
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	Fisheries: Netherlands
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 he has had discussions with EU officials on the use of electric shock fishing methods in Holland which are illegal in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	158248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2018 answer text <p>There have been no discussions with EU officials on electric shock fishing methods which are illegal in the UK. Discussions on the use of electric pulse beam trawls in the southern North Sea have been ongoing. These have occurred as EU institutions consider the derogation which has allowed 5% of each Member State’s beam trawl fleet to fish using pulse technology in EU waters, for the last ten years. The EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council negotiating position agreed in February this year was to maintain the current derogation, although the UK advocated its suspension pending further scientific evidence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>During consideration of the latest available science on pulse fishing at the June meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, I emphasised a particular UK interest in this issue and signposted original research being carried out by our own scientists on this technology which is due to report in 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 05/07/2018 12:03:31 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

926696

registered interest
date	18/06/2018
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	Animal Welfare
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 discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (ii) the Countryside Alliance and (iii) other country sports groups on animal sentience.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	154715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2018 answer text <p>Defra Ministers and officials engage with stakeholders in relation to a range of animal welfare issues including animal sentience. Defra officials had a meeting with representatives of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation where animal sentience was discussed and the Countryside Alliance submitted a contribution to the recent consultation on the draft Animal Welfare (Sentencing and Recognition of Sentience) Bill.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/06/2018 15:01:26 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

904643

registered interest
date	15/05/2018
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	Beaches: Seaweed
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 his Department has made of the effect of the removal of sea weed from beaches on the eco-diversity of the beach habitat.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	144276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2018 answer text <p>The evidence on the effects of the removal of seaweed from breaches on the eco-diversity of beach habitat is limited. However, in 2014, Natural England produced an advice note ‘Seaweed Harvesting, Natural England’s Advice’.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 23/05/2018 16:30:13 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice attachment 1 file name Algae harvesting NE Seaweed Harvesting Advice 2014.pdf title Seaweed Harvesting - Natural England's Advice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

903998

registered interest
date	14/05/2018
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	Curlews: 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 his Department is taking to improve the habitats of curlew birds.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	143767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2018 answer text <p>The UK network of 273 classified special protection areas, covering approximately 3.4 million hectares of key habitats, protects many rare, threatened and vulnerable birds including curlews.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s agri-environment schemes have been designed to encourage habitat management to promote curlew conservation in targeted areas, specifically to provide suitable nesting and foraging conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England is working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on a recovery programme aimed at providing a coordinated approach to the management of curlew habitats, including predator control to increase breeding numbers. This forms part of an international action plan to address the ‘near threatened’ status of the curlew, which the UK will support in our role as signatory of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/05/2018 09:26:23 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

894759

registered interest
date	30/04/2018
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: 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, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the National Farmers' Union and (b) other stakeholders on the use of drones for crop (i) control and (ii) spraying.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	139487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2018 answer text <p>The Government sees technological innovation as being key to increasing productivity and sustainability in agriculture. As part of the ‘Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ consultation, we are engaging with representatives from across sectors and the public to explore support for innovation and R&amp;D.</p><p> </p><p>The use of drones may have the potential to assist precision use of pesticides and benefit both crop production and the environment. We do, however, need to ensure the safe use of pesticides and therefore need to understand any risks to human health and the environment that may result from this novel form of application.</p><p> </p><p>The Health and Safety Executive is the regulator for pesticides. They have had discussions with a number of stakeholders interested in using drones to apply pesticides. They have advised the National Farmers’ Union of the work being undertaken to develop an approach to authorising and permitting the application of pesticides by drones.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 04/05/2018 14:57:46 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon