Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1719562

registered interest
date	21/05/2024
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	Bamboos: Weed Control
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 bring forward legislative proposals to restrict the planting of monopodial bamboo.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	27300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The “bamboo” family is a collection of more than 1500 species, some of which are considered invasive.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is aware that, if left uncontrolled, bamboo can in some cases become challenging to manage. It is advised that a physical barrier is used to prevent the uncontrolled spread of bamboo. Where the growth of bamboo poses an issue, the Government recommends that this is addressed by cooperation between owners and affected parties.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Government recognises that many bamboo species are vigorous and fast-growing, they are not currently thought to pose a significant threat to wildlife or to socio-economic interests nationally. Defra utilises horizon scanning exercises to identify potentially invasive species. As a result, a risk assessment of Black Bamboo (<em>Phyllostachys nigra</em>) was recently undertaken, however this showed the species to be of low risk to the country and therefore no further action was taken.</p><p> </p><p>Although the Government are not currently considering changing the legal status of one, or any, of the species of bamboo currently found in Great Britain, we keep matters such as these under review and continue to carry out horizon scanning and risk assessments for potential threats.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer grouped question UIN 26974 question first answered 23/05/2024 09:35:28 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1719398

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Factory Farming: 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 he is taking to reduce the number of factory farms; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
uin	27136
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>There are a number of different farming systems within the UK and farms of all sizes have a role to play in promoting sustainable UK agriculture. The Government promotes efficient, competitive farming, but does not seek to favour large- or small-scale farms.</p><p> </p><p>All farms must comply with comprehensive UK law on animal health and welfare, planning, veterinary medicines and environmental legislation. Stockmanship and high husbandry standards are key to ensuring appropriate welfare standards for all farmed animals.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to supporting farmers to exceed our existing world-leading animal welfare standards, including through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.</p><p> </p><p>A full monitoring, evaluation and learning plan for the Pathway is in place to help assess the impact of financial support being offered to farmers. This is being implemented gradually as more Pathway offers are launched.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/05/2024 09:11:39 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1719442

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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: Northamptonshire
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 plans to take to help reduce the risk of flooding in Northamptonshire.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	27180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>For the current financial year 2024/25, the Environment Agency has an allocation of £1,293,000 for flood defence maintenance work in Northamptonshire. This includes items such as weed cutting, grass cutting, fish and eel pass maintenance, mechanical and electrical maintenance work to assets, electricity and general operational costs. The Environment Agency will prioritise its statutory duties and those works which provide the highest benefit for reducing flood risk.</p><p><br> In Northamptonshire, over the period 2023/24 to 2029/30, the Environment Agency is forecasting to better protect 486 homes from flood risk via a capital investment of £18.4 million total spend. This represents the current consented Flood and Coastal Risk Management investment programme, which was approved in February 2024. We will continue to work with the Risk Management Authorities and communities to develop and progress identified projects.</p><p><br> Following the flooding experienced during the winter of 2023/2024, we will continue to work with partner Risk Management Authorities and communities to identify any needs for additional flood risk management work – either capital or revenue. We are currently engaging with a variety of communities (directly and with other partners) that experienced flooding to assist them in understanding their flood risk and working to develop community resilience so that these communities are more prepared and can recover faster following future flooding.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 14:20:58 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1719444

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Waste: Wellingborough
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 help tackle waste crime in Wellingborough constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	27182
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, which is a blight on our local communities and the environment and damages legitimate businesses. We have strengthened regulators' powers, are tightening the law and have increased the Environment Agency's budget by £10 million per year to make it harder for rogue operators to find work in the sector and easier for regulators to take action against criminals. We are also providing grants to councils across the country to help them purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping. North Northamptonshire council has been awarded £25,176 in the recently announced third round of the Fly-tipping Intervention Grant scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Waste crime in the constituency is addressed at several partnerships, the Northants Waste Enforcement Group, North Northamptonshire Community Safety Partnership and the Acquisitive and Rural Crime Group. All partnerships are linked on serious waste crime and fly-tipping by attendance of the same Environment Agency officer. This ensures information and intelligence is shared effectively.</p><p> </p><p>Engagement and information sharing directs where collaboration is most needed at any time in the county. Wellingborough is also covered by the Northants Project Plutus Partnership, the first in England to identify waste crime as a priority for cash-based money laundering. Project Plutus information sharing led directly to an Environment Agency-led intervention with Police and North Northants Council stopping a large-scale illegal waste operation that had potential to impact neighbouring Wellingborough. This is a significant investigation due to go to trial.</p><p> </p><p>The highly effective Operation Clean Sweep multi-agency days of action have been taking place in the Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Environment Agency area. The intention is for the Environment Agency to extend this into North Northamptonshire and, when required, into Wellingborough.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 23/05/2024 14:09:55 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1719468

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Seventh Report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of Session 2022-23 on Food Security, HC622, published on 28 July 2023, whether he has undertaken a comprehensive review of Departmental responsibilities and structures on food policy.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	27206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>As we have previously articulated in the Government Response to the recommendations for the House of Commons, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee - Food Security report, the Government agrees with the need for policy coherence and for strong leadership on food-related issues. Food supply is one of the UK's 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Defra and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are joint Lead Government Departments (LGDs), with Defra leading on supply and the FSA on food safety. As such Defra works closely with the Cabinet Office and other LGDs ensuring food supply is fully incorporated as part of emergency preparedness, including consideration of dependencies on other sectors. There are clear accountabilities within Cabinet, and attendant Departmental responsibilities, with cross-Whitehall structures enabling coordination.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/05/2024 16:38:32 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1719469

registered interest
date	20/05/2024
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	Tree Planting: Rother Valley
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 information his Department holds on how many trees have been planted in Rother Valley constituency in the last (a) year, (b) five years and (c) decade.
tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
uin	27207
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Wellingborough on 22 May 2024 to question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-05-16/26823" target="_blank">26823</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 23/05/2024 13:40:19 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1718790

registered interest
date	16/05/2024
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	Agriculture and Food: Wellingborough
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 (a) farmers and (b) food producers to use sustainable farming methods in Wellingborough constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
tabling member printed	Gen Kitchen
uin	26822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra is investing in sustainable farming methods, in the Wellingborough constituency and across England, through our environmental land management schemes, in particular the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). The SFI aims to support the environment and food production, and it rewards farmers for practices that will help to produce food sustainably and protect the environment at the same time, while also providing them a reliable income for doing so. That is because we know that food production and nature preservation go hand in hand. Those practices will help to look after farms in the short and long term by improving soil health or mitigating the impact of extreme weather.</p><p> </p><p>The aim is for the scheme to be flexible for farmers in both the actions that they can take and the land on which they farm. Rather than prescribing what farmers must do, they should have a menu from which to choose what works best for their farm and to their advantage. That is helping those farmers to make their businesses more sustainable.</p><p> </p><p>What is more, Defra is listening to and acting upon farmer feedback about environmental land management schemes. In 2024, we are increasing payment rates for the SFI and Countryside Stewardship (CS) by an average of 10, increasing the number of actions on offer in our environmental land management schemes with up to 50 new actions, making schemes more flexible and easier to access, and continuing to prioritise an ‘advise and prevent’ approach across schemes and regulation, which will make things fairer for all farmers participating in schemes. We will begin to offer SFI and new CS Mid Tier and Higher Tier agreements through rolling application windows this summer with the first agreements starting from the autumn. As a result, applicants will get agreements quicker and earlier than the current annual cycle for CS agreements. These, and other changes, will make it easier for our schemes to slot into farm businesses, providing more money for farmers deliver change and ensure we get the scale and ambition we need to positively impact the environment.</p><p> </p><p>We have already seen strong demand for SFI agreements, with 22,209 applications received and 21,243 agreement offers issued across England.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 21/05/2024 08:52:34 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	5011 label Biography information for Gen Kitchen

1718243

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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	Inland Border Facilities
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 physical inspections were carried out at the Sevington Border Control Post since 30 April 2024 by hour.
tabling member constituency	Walthamstow
tabling member printed	Stella Creasy
uin	26450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk. It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details like the inspection details. Traders should continue to follow the published guidance which sets out BTOM inspection rates.</p><p> </p><p>DEFRA will gradually increase changes in controlled stages to balance biosecurity risk and maintain trade flows whilst minimising disruption at the border.</p><p> </p><p>This will allow the level of goods inspected at the border to be operationally manageable over the introductory stages.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 23/05/2024 09:36:48 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4088 label Biography information for Stella Creasy

1718278

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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	Biodiversity: Cost Effectiveness
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 plans to take to monitor the value for money of Government-funded biodiversity projects over the next five years.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	26371
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>Defra has a number of schemes which provide funding to support biodiversity projects. This includes the Landscape Recovery Scheme, The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme, and Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Each individual scheme has its own monitoring and evaluation framework to evaluate the impact of the projects, and this will include evaluation of the value for money delivered. For example, the Species Recovery Programme is currently commissioning an evaluation for the current Spending Review period which will include evaluating whether the Programme is providing value for money.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is also currently developing an overarching monitoring and evaluation framework to strengthen its understanding of progress towards meeting its statutory biodiversity targets, including its target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. This work will include an overall evaluation of the value for money delivered by the suite of government interventions for biodiversity.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 20/05/2024 16:15:43 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1718359

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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	Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024
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 impact of the draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024 on the incomes of farmers.
tabling member constituency	North Herefordshire
tabling member printed	Sir Bill Wiggin
uin	26372
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>As part of our transition away from Direct Payments, the draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2024 will apply reductions to delinked payments in 2024. However, this money is not being lost to the sector. The overall farming budget in England is being maintained at an average of £2.4 billion per year across this Parliament. The money released from the reductions is being reinvested in our other schemes for farmers and land managers. This means farmers can access funding which will help reduce costs and improve productivity and resilience, as well as benefitting the environment.</p><p> </p><p>Analysis of the impacts of removing Direct Payments was included in the Government’s 2019 farming evidence compendium and 2021 and 2022 Agriculture in the UK Evidence Packs.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 20/05/2024 15:15:55 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	1428 label Biography information for Sir Bill Wiggin