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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

1718319

	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	Air Pollution: Greater London
	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 (a) work with the Mayor of London and (b) otherwise help improve air quality in London.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	26419
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in London and has devolved powers under the Environment Act 1995 allowing him to require London boroughs to take action to address local air pollution. The Mayor has received over £6.6bn of funding for transport in London since 2020, and London authorities have received further funding for specific air quality projects totalling almost £102m.</p><p> </p><p>Nationally, we are driving down emissions and concentrations of the most harmful air pollutants and reducing their impact on public health and the environment. This Government has delivered significant reductions in emissions since 2010 – with emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) falling by 24%, and nitrogen oxides down by 48%. We met our targets to reduce emissions for all five key pollutants in the latest reporting year.</p><p> </p><p>PM2.5 is the most harmful pollutant to human health, which is why we have set two new targets to drive down PM2.5 concentrations under the Environment Act 2021:</p><ul><li>A maximum annual mean concentration of 10 µg m-3 by 2040</li><li>A population exposure reduction target of 35% by 2040 compared with 2018</li></ul><p> </p><p>These targets mean that on average, people’s exposure to particulate matter will be cut by over a third by 2040, compared with 2018 levels.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 20/05/2024 14:24:31 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

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

1718429

	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	Glyphosate: Urban Areas
	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 has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the use of glyphosate in urban areas on (a) human health and (b) the environment.
	tabling member constituency	Chatham and Aylesford
	tabling member printed	Dame Tracey Crouch
	uin	26400
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>A pesticide may only be authorised and placed on the GB market once the active substance it contains has been approved. This happens following a thorough risk assessment carried out by our expert regulator, the Health and Safety Executive. Glyphosate is currently approved as an active substance for use in pesticide products in GB.</p><p> </p><p>Glyphosate was reviewed in 2016 (when the UK was an EU Member State). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose any risks to human health and the environment. When the GB approval of glyphosate is next reviewed, we will again consider our position based on the legal requirements and a careful scientific assessment of the evidence and risks. The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment.</p><p> </p><p>It is for each Local Authority to decide the best way of delivering effective and cost-effective weed control in its operations without harming people or the environment. There is a legal requirement to minimise the use of pesticides along roads and in areas used by the public.</p><p> </p><p>We want to address some of the key barriers to uptake of integrated pest management in the amenity sector and reduce reliance on pesticides, whilst recognising the continuing role pesticides will play, for example, in making sure public highways are accessible and safe.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 20/05/2024 14:37:05 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	3950 label Biography information for Dame Tracey Crouch

1718616

	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	Food Supply
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to strengthen the resilience of the UK's food supply chain, and (2) to enhance food security, in the face of external disruptions and challenges.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL4718
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.</p><p> </p><p>Our 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 73% 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>UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government 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>Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was produced in 2021 and the next will be published by December 2024. This report serves as an evidence base for policy work.</p><p> </p><p>Starting this year, the government is also strengthening our food security monitoring by introducing the annual Food Security Index in addition to the three-yearly UKFSR.</p><p> </p><p>Published to coincide with the second UK Farm to Fork Summit on 14 May 2024, the 2024 Food Security Index sets out how Government will track UK-wide food security on an annual basis, monitoring domestic food production, land use, input costs, and farmer productivity.</p><p> </p><p>The Index looks at shorter-term trends that change year on year, complementing the UKFSR’s comprehensive assessment and attention to longer-term trends. The 2024 Index shows that the UK farming sector is at its most productive since records began.</p><p> </p><p>A further package of measures to support farmers and grow the UK’s farming and food sector was announced by the government at the Farm to Fork Summit on 14th May 2024.</p><p> </p><p>This includes a <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fa-blueprint-to-grow-the-uk-fruit-and-vegetable-sector&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7Ca6bcce62eca54b98c7e208dc75998dde%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638514549574220446%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=EPMGmy06utGwoW2ak97LftPPf0kq62W6%2FnmT7isxfXs%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">new Blueprint for Growing the UK Fruit and Vegetable Sector</a> (see attached), setting out how industry and government can work together to increase domestic production and drive investment into this valuable sector. The plan involves ensuring the sector has access to affordable and sustainable energy and water, cutting planning red tape to make it easier and quicker to build glasshouses, and looking to double to £80 million the amount of funding given to horticulture businesses when compared to the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme which will be replaced from 2026 onwards.</p> answering member printed Lord Douglas-Miller question first answered 20/05/2024 14:32:21 answering member 5006 label Biography information for Lord Douglas-Miller attachment 1 file name HL4718 - A blueprint to grow the UK fruit and vegetable sector.pdf title blueprint - growing UK fruit and vegetable sector
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1717825

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	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	Fisheries: Regulation
	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 date the Hand Gathering (Restrictions and Permitting) Bylaw 2021 will be approved.
	tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
	tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
	uin	26026
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Hand Gathering (Restrictions and Permitting) Bylaw 2021 has not yet been submitted to Defra for approval.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 17/05/2024 10:41:12 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

1717862

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	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	Cats and Dogs: Electronic Training Aids
	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 his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of electronic shock collars on (a) cats and (b) dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
	tabling member printed	Gill Furniss
	uin	26188
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to banning electronic training collars controlled by hand-held devices that administer electric shocks to cats or dogs.</p><p> </p><p>We will pursue new regulations to deliver this commitment on a revised timeline. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 17/05/2024 12:47:25 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4571 label Biography information for Gill Furniss

1717922

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	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: Livestock
	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 help support the transition to (a) humane and (b) sustainable livestock farming.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	26115
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>We are committed to investing in targeted schemes that support sustainable farming whilst improving the viability of farming businesses, delivering environmental outcomes and supporting sustainable food production.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway we are providing support directly to farmers in England to deliver gradual, continual improvement against a series of livestock health and welfare priorities, including tackling key endemic diseases alongside a range of welfare issues whilst ensuring that farmers can produce good quality food for the nation.</p><p> </p><p>The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is now awaiting Royal Assent; this will ban the export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain, stopping unnecessary stress, exhaustion and injury.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 20/05/2024 14:14:29 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1717937

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	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	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, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) improve recycling infrastructure and (b) reduce plastic waste exports.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	26208
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2024 answer text <p>In the Resources and Waste Strategy, we have committed to taking actions which will help to stimulate private investment in reprocessing and recycling infrastructure.</p><p> </p><p>We are introducing Collection and Packaging Reforms made up of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, Simpler Recycling and a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers. Through these reforms we want to significantly increase domestic reprocessing and recycling capacity by both increasing investors’ confidence and improving the competitiveness of UK reprocessing.</p><p> </p><p>Our existing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations have led to investment in waste infrastructure to process end of life electrical and electronic equipment.</p><p> </p><p>We encourage the development of infrastructure for plastic reprocessing to ensure the UK meets its recycling targets as well as supporting these collection and packaging reforms.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, HM Treasury’s plastic packaging tax is expected to increase demand for secondary material plastic and increasing reprocessing infrastructure will help meet this demand. Reprocessing infrastructure enables the value of resource use to be maximised as well as waste arisings and its impact on the environment to be minimised.</p><p> </p><p>These actions are all intended to increase the amount of plastic waste we recycle domestically so we can reduce our dependency on plastic waste exports.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 20/05/2024 14:10:54 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1718004

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	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 and Plant Health Agency: 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 the projected spend by (a) central and (b) local government is on Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors in 2024-25.
	tabling member constituency	Walthamstow
	tabling member printed	Stella Creasy
	uin	26128
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) undertakes a very broad range of statutory inspections across Great Britain to protect animal, bee and plant health. These can relate to animal welfare, TB, biosecurity of (including pests, disease outbreaks and invasive species), trade or scientific research.</p><p> </p><p>These inspections can be proactive (for example a bovine TB visit) or reactive (due to an outbreak). Direct staff and employers on costs for these inspection services are £44.7m. These costs are funded by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. APHA does not have inspectors funded by local government.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 17/05/2024 12:54:51 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4088 label Biography information for Stella Creasy