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1569008

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2023
	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: 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 steps she is taking to ensure her Department complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code; and whether that monitoring data gathered is shared with union representatives.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	128654
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2023 answer text <p>Defra Group complies with section 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code and regularly monitors EDI data, as regards all protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010.</p><p> </p><p>This Data is captured via self-declaration via Shared Serves Platform. This data is utilised to monitor all aspects of employee lifecycle, including recruitment, retention, in year award / recognition, performance ratings, L&amp;D / Talent and promotions to ensure equal access of opportunity to all. Furthermore, Equality impact Assessments are conducted at the point of policy creation and revision in order to assess impact and effectiveness of internal policies and action plans across protected characteristics.</p><p> </p><p>All monitoring data collated and analysed by the department is shared with the trade unions representing staff covered by the Departmental Trade Union framework (the core department and Executive Agencies), Natural England and the Environment Agency. Workforce data is published annually via Defra Annual Report.</p><p> </p><p>Please note, that 2.1.6 of the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) <strong>does not</strong> place an obligation on departments to share this information with their representative trade unions.</p><p> </p><p>We have made good progress in recent years in diversifying the Civil Service. The percentage of civil servants from an ethnic minority background is at 15.0% and the percentage of those who declare themselves disabled is at 14.0%. Staff who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or other (LGBO) is 6.1% and the proportion of female civil servants stands at 54.5%. These rates are all at their highest recorded levels. However, we know there is still progress to be made in ensuring we are representative of the citizens we serve across all our grades.</p><p> </p><p>The new Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025 recognises our success and builds on this good work to encourage a broader range of people into the Civil Service to give depth to our understanding of contemporary society in the United Kingdom. It provides the necessary framing for diversity and inclusion activity in the Civil Service as part of our wider workforce strategy, and through that, how the Civil Service delivers for its people, the Government and our citizens.</p><p>A link to the Civil Service statistics can be found at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics</a></p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 31/01/2023 10:53:09 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1564169

	registered interest
	date	06/01/2023
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council on changing the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 to (a) replace the criminal standard of proof with the civil standard and (b) make improvements to the Fitness to Practise disciplinary system.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	117662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2023 answer text <p>Defra is grateful for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) recommendations for reforming the Veterinary Surgeons Act to ensure that vets and veterinary nurses are regulated in line with modern regulatory practice in the future. My officials have maintained regular contact with RCVS on these matters. Defra supports the need to make changes to improve veterinary retention and simplify the rules and processes used. The Government's legislation for the forthcoming session will be announced in due course. The department will continue to work with stakeholders and RCVS to prioritise other non-legislative work to support improvements to veterinary retention.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 19/01/2023 15:45:34 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1541910

	registered interest
	date	14/11/2022
	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	Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966
	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 to update the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	86516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2022 answer text <p>Defra is aware of the many potential benefits associated with updating the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 and is considering the most effective and proportionate approach for full or partial reform of the Act. There is currently no timescale as to when any reforms of this legislation might take place. Any proposals taken forward would be subject to a public consultation.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 17/11/2022 13:28:02 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1489485

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2022
	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: Imports
	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 he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on the impact of (a) trends in the level of and (b) barriers to imports on food security and availability in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	901229
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2022 answer text <p>The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the COVID-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.</p><p> </p><p>The capability, levers, and expertise to respond to disruption lie with industry. They have highly resilient supply chains, and this was proven in the initial COVID-19 response. The Government’s role is to support and enable an industry-led response.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government has well established ways of working with the industry and with the Devolved Administrations to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.</p><p> </p><p>The UK’s high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 21/07/2022 13:33:29 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1472764

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2022
	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: 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 recent assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in the cost of living on food producers.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	900687
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2022 answer text <p>Agricultural commodities are linked to global gas prices, and we recognise that farmers and food producers are facing increased input costs – namely fertiliser, energy, fuel and feed. We have taken steps to support farmers with fertiliser availability, brought forward BPS payments, implemented maize tariff reductions and introduced flexibility in the labelling of certain oils in products.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 23/06/2022 15:03:38 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1403924

	registered interest
	date	18/01/2022
	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: Working Hours
	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 records his Department keeps relating to staff working times under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; and how long those records are kept for.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	106759
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2022 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Easington on 17 January 2022, PQ UIN <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-01-12/102586" target="_blank">102586</a>.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 21/01/2022 09:43:23 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1401956

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2022
	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: Innovation
	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 promote innovation in the food system.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	101767
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2022 answer text <p>Defra recognises how central innovation and technology are to boosting productivity, enhancing the environment and feeding a growing global population. The Government is making significant investment to unlock innovation and translate our world leading research into practical, farmer-led solutions that improve productivity, environmental sustainability and resilience, and which move towards net zero emission farming systems.</p><p>We have several funding programmes open to industry as well as our own farming and food science research. These funding streams address key areas such as soil systems and land management, regenerative agriculture, sustainable feed and pest management, automation, alternative proteins, and precision farming.</p><p>The Government’s £90 million investment in the 'Transforming Food Production' (TFP) challenge, launched by UK Research and Innovation in 2018, is already supporting ground-breaking research and development to enable farmers and growers to harness the latest technology to produce high quality food, increase their productivity and move towards net zero emission farming systems by 2040.</p><p>On the back of this programme’s success, Defra launched a £14.5 million collaborative agricultural R&amp;D competition called 'Farming Innovation Pathways' in spring 2021, targeting existing and new farm focused innovation, which will be delivered through the TFP initiative.</p><p>In October 2021, Defra launched the first £17.5 million share of funding in its ambitious new Farming Innovation Programme – as part of the proposed measures to stimulate innovation and boost sustainable productivity in England’s agricultural and horticultural sectors as we move away from the EU system of farming subsidy payments. This Programme will enable more farmers, growers, and agri-food businesses to become involved in collaborative agricultural and horticultural R&amp;D, and will enhance knowledge exchange and adoption of innovation by farmers and growers to ensure innovation can make a real difference to the sectors. It will comprise three separate funds that will pull through innovation in different areas, from small farmer-led innovative research projects to larger industrial R&amp;D projects that can transform the sector.</p><p>On January 19 we will launch the Improving Farm Productivity theme of the Farming Investment Fund, part of the £27 million grant scheme fund launched last November. Farmers and growers in England will be able to apply for grants to invest in cutting edge robotic and automation technology to boost productivity. Farmers will benefit from grants ranging from £35,000 to £500,000 to invest in innovative equipment including state of the art autonomous driverless tractors, and cutting-edge robots that harvest, weed and spray crops and voluntary robotic milking systems.</p><p>Defra is also engaged with the £47.5 million UK Research and Innovation led Strategic Priorities Fund in Food Systems, which is addressing planetary and health challenges to transform the food system.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 17/01/2022 13:16:25 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1249914

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2020
	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: Artificial Intelligence
	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 (a) artificial intelligence and (b) machine learning projects are being (i) undertaken and (ii) considered for his Department.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	112083
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central on 10 September 2020, PQ UIN 83796.</p><p> </p><p>[<a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-01/83796" target="_blank">questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-01/83796</a>]</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Defra recognises the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to play an important part in ensuring that data and science are at the heart of decision making.</p><p> </p><p>All of Defra’s ongoing and previous research projects, including a number involving AI and ML, are published on Defra’s research and development website: <a href="http://randd.defra.gov.uk" target="_blank">randd.defra.gov.uk</a> Planned projects are advertised on Bravo: <a href="https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk" target="_blank">defra.bravosolution.co.uk</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Areas particularly benefitting from these tools include the interpretation of Earth Observation and automated sensor data, the development of advanced modelling techniques, and improved customer service.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to work in partnership across Government, with academia and industry to develop the use of AI and ML for Defra.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 13/11/2020 13:53:48 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1170985

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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: Trade Unions
	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 the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation affects the right of recognised unions in her Department to bargaining information as set out in Section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	3812
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in Defra to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/01/2020 12:54:17 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1170986

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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: Pay
	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 her Department complies with the requirement set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	3813
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2020 answer text <p>Defra, as with other Government Departments, has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.</p><p>Defra Health and Safety representatives can use their paid facility time for the following TU duties (this list is not exhaustive):</p><ul><li>Representing employees in consultation and discussions with the employer on health, safety or welfare,</li><li>Investigating accidents, near misses and other potential hazards and dangerous occurrences in the workplace</li><li>Investigating a complaint made by an employee they represent about their health, safety or welfare in the workplace</li><li>Undertaking training relevant to the role of H&amp;S representative, beyond “Stage One”</li></ul><p>Defra makes the following provisions to enable Health and Safety Representatives to discharge their duties effectively, without using facility time.</p><ul><li>Undertaking “Stage One” Health and Safety training, as this course is recognised as providing good basic standard training and the department wants to ensure those carrying out Health and Safety functions are properly qualified</li><li>Carrying out inspections where they form part of an agreed joint program</li><li>Attending Joint Health and Safety Committee meetings</li></ul><p>In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time in Defra for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “Regulations made under Section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.</p><p>The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/01/2020 12:40:03 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens