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1167159

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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
	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 she is taking to increase the number of trees planted in (a) the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, (b) the North West and (c) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	St Helens North
	tabling member printed	Conor McGinn
	uin	7178
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>Forestry is a devolved matter. Since 2010 the Government has planted just over 15 million trees, or nearly 13,000 hectares of new woodland in England. In this Parliament over 4.1 million trees have been planted, and we are on track to meet our targets to plant 11 million trees and a further 1 million trees in and around our towns and cities.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is investing £5.7 million to kick-start the development of the Northern Forest, led by a partnership of the Community Forests and the Woodland Trust. Specifically, this will fund the planting of at least 1.8 million new trees across the Northern Forest by 2022, and help the partnership develop approaches to achieve their longer-term vision of 50 million trees planted over the next 25 years.</p><p> </p><p>St Helens and other parts of the North West are located within the Northern Forest and will benefit from increased tree planting through this initiative. Our Trees for Schools programme and Urban Tree Challenge Fund are also helping to increase planting rates in these places.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains committed to the shared public and private sector aspiration of reaching 12% woodland cover in England by 2060 and has signalled this in the Clean Growth Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan.</p><p> </p><p>To increase the rate of afforestation in England, the Government has simplified grant applications and announced additional funding of £50 million for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee to incentivise planting and carbon sequestration. Recently we announced a new Northumberland Forest, planting up to one million trees by 2024.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:24:41 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	4458 label Biography information for Conor McGinn

1167401

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Musical Instruments: EU Countries
	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 she has taken to secure a transitional period with the EU on the application of CITES to allow musicians and others to continue to travel with their instruments which may contain materials covered by CITES regulation.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	7625
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>If we leave the EU without a deal, all Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) items that are currently freely traded between the UK and the EU, including musical instruments, will require CITES permits or an import notification. This would mean movement of CITES specimens between the UK and the EU would need to follow the same processes as those currently in place for movement between the UK and the rest of the world. We are working hard to make sure we maintain continuity and minimise disruption for those who trade and move CITES listed species, and have been working closely with the music industry on this issue.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to import/export permits, there are other options which may be more appropriate for musicians looking to move musical instruments. Travelling Exhibition Certificates can be issued to cover instruments that are owned by orchestras (rather than individuals). We have also been increasing awareness of CITES Musical Instrument Certificates. These can be used for non-commercial purposes, including performing, to allow musicians to travel with their own instruments across the UK border in place of CITES import/export permits. These are valid for multiple movements for three years and can be used by individual musicians travelling alone or with an ensemble. They also allow travel outside the EU. In September, we announced the addition of Dover, Eurotunnel, and Holyhead to the list of ports to be designated for CITES movement after exit.</p><p> </p><p>At the recent CITES Conference of the Parties, a decision was made to change annotation number 15 which relates to rosewood species, such as <em>Dalbergia</em>. This will exempt musical instruments made of this wood (including finished musical instrument parts and accessories) and small finished items up to 10kg. This exemption allows a person to travel to any country in the world with a musical instrument or finished product containing less than 10kg of a rosewood or a Bubinga without a CITES permit. The EU Commission are preparing legislation to implement this amendment to the CITES Appendices by amending the Annexes of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:21:08 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1167586

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What plans she has to increase the number of trees planted each year; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Lichfield
	tabling member printed	Michael Fabricant
	uin	900255
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>We are on track to plant 11 million trees and a further one million trees in urban areas. We have also modified our main grant schemes, to make them more accessible. We have announced additional funding for tree planting including £10 million for urban trees; £50 million for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee; and £5.7 million to kick-start the Northern Forest and the Woodland Carbon Fund is now open until 2022. Most recently we launched the Northumberland Forest of up to one million trees to be planted by 2024.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 11:13:51 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	280 label Biography information for Michael Fabricant

1167636

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Dogs
	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 encourage people to adopt rescue dogs rather than buy from breeders.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	8198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>Rescue and rehoming centres carry out important work to ensure that unwanted and abandoned animals in the UK are offered the opportunity of a forever home. We advise those seeking to acquire a new dog to first consider adopting from a reputable dog rescue and rehoming centre. However, we appreciate that a number of prospective owners would like a puppy and may have a specific breed in mind. That is why in 2018 the Government updated and improved the regulations on dog breeding in England. This included introducing strict statutory welfare standards that all licensed dog breeders must meet. In addition, from 6 April 2020 it will be an offence for commercial third party sellers to sell puppies or kittens, which are defined as under the age of 6 months. These steps aim to improve the welfare of dogs.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:11:46 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1167637

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Wildlife: Fireworks
	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 wildlife from public and private firework displays.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	8199
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Government takes the matter of fireworks seriously. We understand the concerns that many people have about the potential for distress to be caused by fireworks to animals, including pets, livestock and wildlife. This is one of the reasons why there are existing laws in place to control firework availability and use by both the general public and professional display operators. Measures including age related restrictions, a curfew and a noise limit help to reduce disturbance to animals.</p><p> </p><p>It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal that is under a person’s control. The maximum penalty for such an offence is 6 months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:09:24 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1167704

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Horse Racing: 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 steps she is taking to reduce the number of horses dying as a result of horse racing.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	8292
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to same question from the Hon. Member for Luton South on 10<sup>th</sup> June 2019 (<a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-05-22/257574/" target="_blank">PQ 257574</a>). The Government’s position remains the same.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 05/11/2019 17:07:17 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1490996

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of trends in the level of food insecurity as a result of rising food prices on households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	40797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>We are working hard to support everyone facing cost of living concerns. We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation rise to 12.7% in July, up from 9.8% in June. Defra analysis, based on ONS data, shows that every one percentage point increase in food price inflation increases the average annual food bill of UK households by £34.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive up consumer food prices. For example, we have introduced labelling flexibility to reduce additional cost burdens resulting from the availability of sunflower oil. Defra is also holding regular discussions with industry to explore ways in which they can support low-income households by ensuring affordable food remains available, for example by maintaining value ranges, price matching, price freezing measures and the use of loyalty card offers.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We recently announced a new £15 billion support package to help families with the cost of living, bringing the total support for households this year to £37 billion. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula. Details of allocations to Upper Tier and Unitary Councils can be found at: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1072446%2Fhousehold-support-fund-grant-determination.pdf&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C9fe4598b05aa4eae5ada08da8c26d647%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637976395678378553%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=abpi%2FPVNqwlTOVj496tbCT%2FxsYB036U346gbIjd1h4I%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Household Support Fund Grant Determination 2022 No 31/3096 (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a>.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 12:59:47 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1491022

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	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: Red Diesel
	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 July 2022 to Question 35899 on Fuels: Prices, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in the price of red diesel on (a) farming and (b) other agricultural businesses; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Hemel Hempstead
	tabling member printed	Sir Mike Penning
	uin	40750
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Defra engages extensively with the farming sector and other agricultural businesses and continues to do so through various forums including the Agri-Supply Coalition and the Arable Chain Advisory Group. Through these forums, we closely monitor live issues, including the increase in the price of red diesel, and their impact on farming and other agricultural businesses. Defra also works closely with other Government departments, particularly HM Treasury, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, to relay the information gathered from industry.</p><p>In the Spring Statement 2022 and in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the Government announced a temporary 12-month cut to the full rate of duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre and an equivalent percentage cut on the rates for rebated fuels. This is a significant tax cut that will deliver considerable savings to consumers and businesses over the next year, including those that use diesel, and is the first time in over a decade that the main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:17:50 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning

1491319

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	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	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 for the implications of his policy on food security of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report entitled Labour shortages in the food and farming sector, published 29 March 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
	uin	42187
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain which invests in its people and the skills they need is a priority for this Government</p><p> </p><p>The Government thanks the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for its report into labour shortages in the food and farming sector. We are aware that there are both short and long-term workforce challenges across the food and farming sector, particularly with respect to seasonal labour. It is with great concern that we have seen evidence of horticulture businesses reducing their plantings, ploughing in crops or considering offshoring production because of concerns over labour availability, all of which have food security implications.</p><p> </p><p>Defra continues to work closely with industry and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand and its implications, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce. We extended the Seasonal Worker visa route until 2024 and expanded the number of visas available through this route to 40,000 (now including 2000 visas for poultry workers to meet pre-Christmas demand) as a result of the clear evidence of need this year. Last autumn we delivered emergency, temporary visa schemes for the poultry, pork, and HGV food transportation sectors in response to specific challenges, and introduced an accompanying package of non-immigration measures to alleviate pressures in the pig sector, including Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment Schemes.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Government Food Strategy, the Government will soon be commissioning an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, covering automation, domestic labour and migration. The review will consider the challenges facing food and farming businesses to access the labour they require and will provide recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:24:13 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1491394

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	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: Consultants
	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 much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of (a) the amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) the name of each consultancy contracted, (c) the specific matters on which they were consulted and (d) whether each contract was subject to usual Government procurement rules.
	tabling member constituency	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
	tabling member printed	Neale Hanvey
	uin	42244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The department’s spend on consultancy is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p> </p><p>2020-21</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021</a> (page 100)</p><p> </p><p>2019-20</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020</a> (page 87)</p><p> </p><p>2018-19</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019</a> (page 64)</p><p> </p><p>2017-18</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</a> (page 51)</p><p> </p><p>2016-17</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017</a> (page 42)</p><p> </p><p>The breakdown of this expenditure could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>Details of all Government contracts awarded from 2016 above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fcontracts-finder&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cemmy.clarkson%40dhsc.gov.uk%7C332dd3e59a5f4b1b1e5308da6b104a3e%7C61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c%7C1%7C0%7C637940014946084226%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=EHT%2Bj9EH86g04c73Xn7YYL0Qyi3Lc4Dm8J%2F8B8YuCNE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Contracts Finder</a>. Each award notice provides information on the name of the supplier, value of the contract, its purpose and information on the type of awarding procedure used. Government departments, their individual agencies and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are required to publish all spend against individual suppliers above £25,000 on <a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>.</p><p> </p><p>All Government departments and their individual ALBs and agencies are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 in awarding contracts.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 05/09/2022 13:03:44 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4782 label Biography information for Neale Hanvey