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1716799

registered interest
date	09/05/2024
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	Natural England: Dorset Wildlife Trust
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 Natural England paid the Dorset Wildlife Trust for land in the last three years.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	25583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>Natural England has not paid Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) for any land in the last three years.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme (NMS) has recently purchased the rights to nutrient mitigation credits being created by DWT at Lyscombe Farm in Dorset. This £5m investment is securing mitigation for an estimated 3,700 homes, with costs to be fully recovered through the sale of these credits by the NMS to housing developers.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/05/2024 09:58:31 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1716800

registered interest
date	09/05/2024
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 Experiments
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 end the use of LD50 testing on animals.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
tabling member printed	Patrick Grady
uin	25499
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The UK supports work to develop New Approach Methodologies which can provide information on chemical hazards and risk assessment without the use of animals.</p><p>The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is the UK regulatory authority for veterinary medicines. The VMD assesses applications submitted by the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in line with national and international regulations and guidance to ensure safe and effective veterinary medicines of good quality are marketed. These requirements may therefore necessitate animal testing either to develop and register new veterinary medicines or for routine product quality control, to ensure the continued quality, safety and efficacy batch to batch. Non-animal tests are not always available. The VMD is committed to phasing out the use of animals for testing purposes where possible, in accordance with the principles of 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement). Furthermore, the UK is a signatory to the European Pharmacopoeia (which sets minimum quality standards of medicines) and the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes. This commitment to the 3Rs is also enshrined in the UK’s Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 under which scientific procedures in animals are regulated.</p><p> </p><p>For veterinary medicines significant progress in non-animal testing has been made in recent years, including the possibility of replacing animals by in vitro suitable cell cultures in LD50-type testing methods, and the relevant regulatory quality standards and testing requirements have been revised accordingly for these specific medicines. Many Marketing Authorisation Holders for these specific medicines have already, and more recently, introduced these changes to their authorised medicines, which will reduce the number of animals used. Implementation of new tests for existing products can be a complicated process, requiring extensive validation and it is not always possible to replace all of the existing animal tests with in vitro non-animal replacements for each existing authorised product. The relevant UK Competent Authority for regulation of these medicines will continue to monitor the use of animals in these tests and to recommend use of non-animal tests where possible.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>The Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation (the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs, Andrew Griffith) recently announced that the Government will publish a plan to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of technologies and methods to reduce reliance on the use of animals in science, which will be published in the summer. He also requested that we double our investment in research to achieve these approaches next year to £20 million across the system in 2024/25.</p><p>LD50 testing is not required for preclinical development of novel medicines. Quality control testing of some authorised medicines relies on LD50 testing to ensure each batch meets expected quality standards<em>.</em> UK regulators follow the principles of the 3Rs. Significant progress has been made on validating alternative methods which do not use animals, including the possibility of replacing mice by in vitro suitable cell cultures in LD50-type testing methods, and the relevant regulatory quality standards and testing requirements have been revised accordingly for these specific medicines.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 16/05/2024 17:05:17 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4432 label Biography information for Patrick Grady

1716427

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Plants: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which (a) plants, (b) trees and (c) seeds are not allowed to be sent to Northern Ireland from Great Britain as a result of the Windsor Framework.
tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
uin	25224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Windsor Framework provides for simplified arrangements for the movement of plants and plant products between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, meaning a phytosanitary certificate is not required and that a wider variety of plants can move.</p><p> </p><p>We have secured the lifting of a ban on the movement of twelve plant species - apple, Japanese / delavay privet, European crab apple, common hawthorn, Norway maple, Japanese maple, sycamore maple, field maple, English oak, sessile oak, European beech and, most recently, hazel. We are in active dialogue with the EU Commission on a number of other species which industry has proposed as priorities. We will continue to engage with industry to ensure the smooth movement of additional plant species. Further details can be found on Defra’s online Plant Health Portal. All information on high-risk plants, including the latest information on the plants’ dossiers and those where the bans have been lifted, can be found at the ‘Plant Portal’ <a href="https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/trade/exports/exports-to-the-eu/export-of-high-risk-plants-to-the-eu-2/" target="_blank">here.</a></p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 17/05/2024 10:27:32 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

1716434

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Rural Areas: Community Development
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 support small rural community projects in North West Leicestershire constituency.
tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
uin	25228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <ul><li>In September 2022, the UK Government launched the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). The fund provides a rural top up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, providing allocations for eligible local authorities in England to help address the additional needs and challenges facing rural areas.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The fund provides capital funding to support new and improved community infrastructure. It will provide essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>As part of the fund North West Leicestershire has received a total allocation of up to £469,090 between April 2023 and March 2025.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of the REPF – including assessing and approving project applications, processing payments and day-to-day monitoring. As with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the REPF was designed to enable local decision making to better target the rural priorities of places within England. Places are empowered to identify and build on their own strengths and needs at a local level.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>In addition, funding has been provided through Defra’s Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund. The St John the Evangelist Church in Donisthorpe received a £75,000 towards their project which aims to transform the inside of the church into a space which can be shared with the whole community. The improved, warmer, friendlier environment will help the building to become somewhere that the community are happy to enter and feel a belonging to, suitable for a variety of activities, bringing people together to care for one another.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>This is one of 106 community buildings which have received grants from the Fund to date and with the additional £5 million of funding for community buildings announced in The Budget many more communities will be able to bid for grants to help improve their buildings.</li></ul> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 14/05/2024 15:53:49 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

1716439

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Flood Control: North West Leicestershire
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 improve flood defences in North West Leicestershire constituency.
tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
uin	25232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion. This investment includes a record £5.2 billion capital investment programme, a £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, £170 million for economic recovery from flooding and over £30 million of funding for flood incident management.</p><p> </p><p>In the £5.2 billion capital investment programme, funding is consistently distributed across the country wherever the risk is greatest and the benefits are highest. The Environment Agency administer this funding to maintain flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) assets across NW Leicestershire and is responsible the management of flood risk from watercourses designated Main River. They complete routine maintenance on assets with support from partners/contractors and this programme includes regular vegetation management, blockage removal and conveyance work to keep watercourses clear.</p><p> </p><p>Packington was impacted by flooding in September 2023 and the Environment Agency are working with Leicestershire County Council (LCC) to assess what improvements can be made locally, such as improved flood warnings, property flood resilience (PFR) and natural flood management (NFM) mitigation measures.</p><p> </p><p>A further 63 properties in the constituency were affected by flooding during Storm Babet in October 2023, and 43 impacted by Storm Henk in January 2024. In the current national 6-year programme, more than £0.5 million of government investment is planned by the Environment Agency to support schemes led by LCC at Breedon on the Hill, Diseworth &amp; Long Whatton. Again, a variety of PFR, NFM and other flood alleviation measures will be utilised, aiming to better protect more than 60 properties.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency has also improved local flood modelling information and used this to work with developers to reduce flood risk in Ashby-de-la-Zouch<em>. </em></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 17/05/2024 11:56:34 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

1716443

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Convention on Biological Diversity: Devolution
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 (a) has taken and (b) plans to take steps with the devolved Administrations to achieve the (i) mission, (ii) goal and (iii) targets of the Kunming-Montreal Agreement 2022.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
uin	25243
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>The UK Government and devolved administrations are committed to working together to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which advises all four countries of the UK on UK-wide and international nature conservation, we coordinate at all levels to further our ambitious biodiversity agenda. In combination with relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, all parts of the UK have contributed towards, and will adopt, a joint National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which will outline national targets and commitments that help deliver the goals and targets of the GBF.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 22/05/2024 12:47:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1716447

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Nature 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, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Creating a nature-rich UK: Unleashing the potential of nature-based solutions, published by Zero Hour on 13 September 2023.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
tabling member printed	Deidre Brock
uin	25246
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is already carrying out a programme of large-scale habitat creation and restoration to implement nature-based solutions. Taking actions for nature, including protecting our land and species, is also a core part of our third National Adaptation Programme.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Environment Act 2021, we have committed to the legally binding targets of creating or restoring more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside of protected sites by 2042 and increasing the tree canopy and woodland cover of England to 16.5% by 2050.  We have also made a number of further commitments in the Environmental Improvement Plan, including restoring approximately 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050 and encouraging and supporting increased agroforestry with an aim to increase silvo-arable agroforestry to 10% of all arable land by 2050.</p><p> </p><p>We are providing significant funding in this area. Our transformational, £675m, Nature for Climate Fund has supported tree planting to reach the decade’s highest levels, with more than 15 million trees planted in England during this Parliament. In February we awarded £25 million funding to 40 schemes around England for improving flood resilience through a new natural flood management programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has guaranteed an average annual budget of £2.4 billion for the farming sector for the life of this Parliament. Our reforms require specific actions to be taken that enhance the environment and protect food production. This includes paying farmers to restore valuable habitats such as lowland peat and to engage in sustainable agroforestry and wetland management, which will support adaptation to climate change.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 14/05/2024 15:43:51 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4417 label Biography information for Deidre Brock

1716452

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Water: Testing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce year-round water quality testing.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	25292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Bathing Water Regulations require the Environment Agency to sample bathing waters at a fixed location using a pre-determined sampling schedule during the bathing season, which runs from 15 May to 30 September. The Government is committed to reviewing the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 to ensure they reflect changes in how and where people use bathing waters. That is why Defra has recently announced plans to consult on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations for England. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season.</p><p /><p>The EA also conducts wider water quality monitoring for a range of purposes including understanding the state of the environment year-round.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:53:32 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1716455

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Water: Standards
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 of the potential merits of increasing support for citizen science to help improve understanding of the UK's water quality.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	25295
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Citizen Science initiatives can provide invaluable data about our water environment, which complements monitoring and assessment work conducted by the Environment Agency (EA). In recognition of this the EA is delivering the first phase of a three-year citizen science project: Supporting Citizen Science. This project is working with partners across England to explore how the EA can best utilise citizen science evidence alongside its own monitoring data to further increase understanding of water quality. Recommendations from this project are expected in 2025.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:42:29 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1716458

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
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	Water: Testing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking citizen science programmes to (a) test water quality and (b) provide that data to his Department.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	25296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>We recognise the value of citizen science data, and the additional insight it can provide to complement monitoring and assessment work conducted by the Environment Agency (EA).</p><p> </p><p>The EA is delivering the first phase of a multi-year citizen science project: Supporting Citizen Science. The project is working with partners across England to explore how the EA can best work with citizen science groups to observe and measure the environment, alongside their ongoing monitoring to further increase understanding of water quality.</p><p> </p><p>Citizen scientists are not being asked to test water quality on behalf of the EA: the focus is instead on citizen science data providing supplementary insight.</p><p> </p><p>The EA is working with catchment partners to provide data management guidance to support citizen scientists in the collection and storage of data to improve our understanding of the water environment.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 12:36:27 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell