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1141990

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
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	Palm Oil
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) ensure that corporations adhere to regulations on the declaration on packaging of the use of palm oil in their products and (b) enforce other regulations on the use by those organisations of that oil in their products.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	282400
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The EU Regulation (1169/2011) on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers requires that where vegetable oils or fats are listed in the ingredients of food, the vegetable origin of the oil must be given (Annex VII, Part A.8.).</p><p> </p><p>Food Business Operators are responsible for ensuring that the correct information is provided on labels and that consumers are not misled.</p><p> </p><p>Along with all food information regulations, these requirements are enforced by Trading Standards Officers.</p> answering member constituency Richmond Park answering member printed Zac Goldsmith question first answered 09/09/2019 11:50:56 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1142258

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
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	Plastics: Waste
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 tonnes of plastic waste was sent to landfill by each local authority in the most recent year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	282526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities do not report waste sent to landfill by material type and therefore the Government does not hold this data.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 06/09/2019 14:06:14 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1137497

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
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	Agriculture: Ammonia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason agricultural ammonia emissions are not monitored from the majority of UK farms.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	274626
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>Intensive pig and poultry installations are major point sources of ammonia emissions that are regulated under the Industrial Emissions Directive. These farms are required to report their ammonia emissions annually through their pollution inventory return. This requirement applies to installations with more than 40,000 places for poultry, or 2,000 places for production pigs (over 30kg), or 750 places for sows.</p><p> </p><p>Agricultural ammonia emissions from all farm types are estimated on a national scale and reported annually through the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 16/07/2019 13:12:13 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1137507

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
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	Palm Oil: 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 steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of imports of products containing palm oil into the UK.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	274629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is not taking steps to reduce the amount of imports of products containing palm oil into the UK as we recognise the versatility of palm oil and that replacing it with other fats and oils may have unintended consequences, as alternatives usually require more land for production. This was also shown in a 2016 World Wide Fund for Nature report. The Government is, though, committed to achieving sustainably sourced palm oil, working with the private sector and non-governmental organisations to create a UK market for sustainably sourced palm oil and reduce the environmental impact of palm oil production overseas.</p><p> </p><p>In 2012, the Government established the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to improve reporting, traceability and understanding of supply chains to ensure continuous improvement and increased use of certified palm oil. Latest figures indicate that the UK’s certified sustainable palm oil rose from 16% in 2010 to 75% in 2017. The UK’s Global Resource Initiative (GRI) builds upon the Government’s work convening commodity-specific roundtables, and will identify actions the UK can take across supply chains to improve sustainability of products, including palm oil, and reduce deforestation.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is also a member of the Amsterdam Declarations Partnership that supports a 100% sustainable palm oil supply chain in Europe, and supports the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) which recently secured the Marrakesh Declaration on palm oil, under which seven countries and major companies have agreed principles for responsible palm oil in the region. We recognise that more remains to be done and will continue to explore opportunities to improve the sustainability of palm oil production.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 16/07/2019 15:39:46 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1134599

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
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	Animal Welfare: Inspections
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 his Department provides to local authorities to ensure that those authorities have access to fully trained animal welfare inspectors to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	269141
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities are able to make decisions based on local needs and the arrangements that work best for them, and it is for local authorities to determine how to prioritise their resources.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is investing in Britain’s future, and this year’s local government finance settlement includes extra funding for local services. Local authorities will have access to £46.4 billion this financial year (2019/20) to meet the needs of their residents including for the protection of animal welfare. This is a cash increase of 2.8% and a real terms increase which will strengthen services and support to local communities.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities can also ensure that they have fully trained inspectors to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006 through resources available to them to enforce The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. The 2018 Regulations give local authorities the power to charge a cost recovery fee to cover the cost of enforcement of the regulations including inspections of premises. The same officers appointed under the regulations are able to enforce the 2006 Act.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 01/07/2019 13:54:40 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1129312

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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	Charities: Plastic Bags
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 is taking steps to encourage charities to (a) stop using plastic bags to collect charity donations and (b) explore alternatives.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	259431
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England, published in December last year, sets out our plans to reduce plastic pollution and move towards a more circular economy. This builds on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste.</p><p>Following a public consultation in 2017, the Fundraising Regulator strengthened its Code of Practice, requiring charitable house to house collectors not to post collection bags to properties that indicate they do not wish to receive them, thus reducing the distribution of unwanted charity collection bags. The Waste and Resources Action Programme has also produced guidance to help local authorities and textiles collectors such as charities, waste management companies and textile merchants increase textile reuse and recycling and reduce the amount of textiles being disposed of in residual waste.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 10/06/2019 10:43:58 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1129321

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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	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 plans his Department has to improve protection and preservation of ancient woodlands as part of future national planning policy.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	259435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Defra officials are working with the Ministry of Communities, Housing and Local Government to produce the National Planning Policy Guidance (NPPG) to support the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published last year. The NPPF strengthens protection of ancient woodland, meeting one of the Government’s manifesto commitments. The NPPG will be published shortly. The planning framework and guidance will reflect the importance of strengthened protection of ancient woodlands, ancient trees and veteran trees and is a significant milestone in strengthening the protection of this irreplaceable habitat.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 10/06/2019 13:57:45 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1122124

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
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	Wines
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 support UK wine producers.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	245975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>UK wine producers are exceeding the targets they have set themselves for increasing the number of bottles produced and vineyards planted to 3,000 hectares and 10 million bottles by 2020. The Government commissioned research on how best to support the industry to continue to meet these targets in the face of climate change. Recent support from Defra for the UK wine industry also includes amending the English Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Origin Wine Schemes to ensure the unprecedented harvest did not damage producers of specialty wines.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 25/04/2019 14:48:38 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1122125

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
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	Agriculture
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 he has taken to ensure the sustainability of the UK agriculture sector in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	245976
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>It is in everyone’s interests to secure a good deal with the EU and that is what we are committed to.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst preparing for all outcomes, as any responsible Government would, we have also been preparing for the possibility of no deal, which is why we have contingency plans in place to minimise disruption for the food and farming sector as much as possible.</p><p> </p><p>We remain confident in the resilience of our world leading agricultural sectors and their ability to thrive outside the EU.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 25/04/2019 11:41:17 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1122131

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
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	Bottles: Recycling
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 increase the level of glass bottle recycling in Yorkshire and the Humber.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	245979
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>Our current consultation on consistency in household and business recycling collections seeks views on whether glass should be one of the core materials to be collected by every council, including in Yorkshire and the Humber.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is currently consulting on introducing a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, including whether it should include glass bottles.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is consulting on a packaging recycling rate for glass of 70% by 2025, and 75% by 2030.</p> answering member constituency Suffolk Coastal answering member printed Dr Thérèse Coffey question first answered 25/04/2019 14:59:41 answering member 4098 label Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel