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1694671

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2024
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Food Security Index will be measured; and whether it will include nature-friendly farming practices.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	17700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>The first draft of the new annual Food Security Index will be published at the Farm to Fork Summit this spring. We are in the process of developing the content of the index. We expect it will include a selection of indicators giving an assessment of food security across the five themes identified in the UK Food Security Report, including domestic food supply. Productive, resilient and environmentally sustainable domestic food production is a key element of our food security.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 12/03/2024 14:39:17 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1696024

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2024
	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	Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023
	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 consulting on activity regulations to be introduced under the Animals (Low-Welfare Abroad) Act 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	901990
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2024 answer text <p>Future decisions on which animal activities will fall in scope of the legislation will need to be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable<em>.</em> Additionally, we are supporting several Private Members’ Bills to deliver on animal welfare measures in the Kept Animals Bill, and I will be in the chamber tomorrow to listen to the proposals put forward by my Right Honourable Friend the member for North Devon.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 14/03/2024 16:50:31 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1656471

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	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	Sandeels: Fisheries
	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 plans to take with the responses to her Department's consultation on spatial management measures for industrial sandeel fishing, which closed on 29 May 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	196321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>Defra is now considering these responses and undertaking further analysis ahead of the introduction of any management measures. Any measures introduced will be outlined in the Government response to the consultation.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 11/09/2023 15:03:18 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1582304

	registered interest
	date	31/01/2023
	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	Agriculture: Government Assistance
	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 support restorative and regenerative farming and agriculture across the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	136775
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2023 answer text <p>We are speeding up and refining the rollout of our Environmental Land Management schemes, so they work for farmers, support resilient and sustainable food production and contribute to our ambitious targets including water quality, biodiversity, habitat creation and net zero.</p><p>The Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach; to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution and restore, create and manage habitats. We are expanding the Countryside Stewardship scheme to make around 30 additional actions available to farmers by the end of 2024, as well as targeting our funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas.</p><p>Later this year, we will open the next round of Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier, Higher Tier and Wildlife Offers for farmers and land managers wanting to start their agreements in January 2024.</p><p>Organic farmers will continue to have access to the Countryside Stewardship organic options, and other actions that may be relevant such as those relating to grassland, arable land, permanent crops, boundaries, waterbodies, and woodland and trees.</p><p>The Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme was launched in June 2022. Farmers and land managers can apply for the scheme at any time, through a simple application process. People with a Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement can also have a Countryside or Environmental Stewardship agreement, so long as we are not paying for the same actions twice on the same piece of land, and the actions for which we are paying are compatible.</p><p> </p><p>The Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme contains standards that can support a regenerative approach and are designed so that there are options available for all types of farmer. The three standards available now are:</p><p> </p><ul><li>arable and horticultural soils</li><li>improved grassland soils</li><li>moorland (introductory level)</li></ul><p> </p><p>The six new standards being rolled out in 2023 are:</p><ul><li>hedgerows standard</li><li>integrated pest management standard</li><li>nutrient management standard</li><li>arable and horticultural land standard</li><li>improved grassland standard</li><li>low input grassland standard</li></ul> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 07/02/2023 11:48:48 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1582068

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2023
	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: EU Law
	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 plans to take steps to increase her Department's resources to deal with legislation effected by Retained EU Law.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	135492
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2023 answer text <p>Defra is in the process of analysing our Retained EU Law stock and determining what should be retained as part of domestic law.The Secretary of State has set out our approach to Parliament. We will remove legislation superfluous to the UK, review the effectiveness of EU regulation in achieving environmental outcomes and we will retain, by default, environmental legislation for the UK to achieve existing environmental outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is conducting an exercise to establish how we can achieve our plans via secondary legislation and therefore what resources will be required.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 02/02/2023 17:19:05 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1565631

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2023
	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	Marine Environment: North East
	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 remit is of the panel investigating the mass die-offs of marine life on the North East coast.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	120169
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>The remit of the Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel is to provide an independent scientific assessment of all the possible causes of the mass crustacean mortality incident in the northeast of England which occurred between September and December 2021 using all relevant available data.</p><p>The aims of the committee as set out in its terms of reference have been provided to EFRA and state that the panel will:</p><ul><li>scientifically review all the available evidence of the unusual crustacean mortality event.</li><li>identify the most likely causes and implications for recurrence.</li></ul><p>The scientific review will include, but will not be limited to, consideration of the theories put forward as a cause of this mass-mortality:</p><ul><li>the consequences of the breakdown of an algal bloom</li><li>the impact of chemicals (including pyridine toxicity)</li><li>the impact of maintenance dredging of shipping channels</li></ul><p>The panel will focus on scientific issues and will not consider Government processes during the investigation of the mortality event(s), food safety, nor the economic implications of the deaths.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 16/01/2023 12:20:09 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1565632

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2023
	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	Marine Environment: North East
	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 reporting deadline will be for the panel investigating the mass die-offs of marine life on the North East coast.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	120170
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>A report from the Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel is due to be submitted to my Department this month, with a view to publish shortly afterwards.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 16/01/2023 12:20:30 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1565633

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2023
	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	Marine Environment: North East
	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 progress has been made by the panel investigating the mass die-offs of marine life on the North East coast.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	120171
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>We have not been sighted on the work of the Crustacean Mortality Expert panel to ensure independence. The report will be presented to my Department by the panel once it has completed its work.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 16/01/2023 12:26:18 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1536225

	registered interest
	date	26/10/2022
	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	Pheasants: 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, how many pheasant (a) eggs for hatching and (b) live birds were imported from each (i) EU country and (ii) third country in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	71712
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2022 answer text <p>For imports of pheasant eggs for hatching and live pheasants from EU countries in the last 12 months, the information is in the tables below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Country</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Consignments</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of pheasant eggs for hatching</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Denmark</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>22000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>France</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>300366</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hungary</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>78840</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Poland</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>113000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Spain</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>193280</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Grand Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>86</strong></p></td><td><p>707486</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Country</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Consignments</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of live pheasants</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>France</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>165100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hungary</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>7500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Poland</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>10400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Republic of Ireland</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>121716</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Grand Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>21</strong></p></td><td><p>304,716</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The data above covers the period from 26 October 2021 to 26 October 2022 and was extracted from the Post Import Management System.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>There have been no imports of pheasant eggs for hatching and live pheasants from third countries in the last 12 months. This data was extracted from the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 31/10/2022 16:24:32 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1536505

	registered interest
	date	26/10/2022
	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	Dredging: Shellfish
	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 oral evidence session of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 25 October 2022, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the evidence on the potential impact of dredging on shellfish and crabs; and if she will take steps to pause dredging in the mouth of the River Tees.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	72446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2022 answer text <p>Defra policies are evidence based and use the best scientific evidence available. A marine licence to dispose of dredged materials to sea requires the sediments to be characterised to allow the potential impact on the marine environment, including on marine life, to be considered. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is advised by Cefas on what sampling and testing should be carried out for each individual licence application. These requirements are tailored to the dredged site and depend on the local marine environment and any known sources of contamination or historic inputs in the area. Defra’s position on dredging in the mouth of the River Tees has not changed: Defra and its agencies have no current plans to pause dredging in the area.</p><p> </p><p>Defra led a comprehensive investigation into the cause of dead crabs and lobsters that washed up on the North-East coast between October and December last year. HM Government scientists carried out extensive testing for chemicals and other pollutants including pyridine but concluded a naturally occurring algal bloom was the most likely cause.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the concerns in regard to dredging, but no evidence was found to suggest this was a likely cause. Before a marine licence can be granted to allow dredged sediment to be disposed, samples of dredge material must be tested, and they must meet high international standards protecting marine life before it is permitted to be disposed of at sea. If samples analysed for contaminants do not meet the standards, the disposal to sea of that material will not be licensed.</p><p> </p><p>It has been incorrectly reported in the media that Defra scientists suggested that capital dredging for South Bank Quay should stop. Defra and its agencies have no current plans to pause dredging in the River Tees. The MMO makes licensing decisions based on the best available evidence. Powers under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009) can be triggered to suspend, vary or revoke the licence for certain reasons if information comes to light once a marine licence has been granted. These reasons include an increase in scientific knowledge relating to the environment or human health and must be based on robust evidence.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome research carried out by universities around the high number of crab and lobster deaths that occurred in the North-East last year and are keen to review it in detail. As such, the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority for the North-East contacted the researchers and asked for them to share their research in full with Defra and its agencies so that it can be considered carefully. We are yet to receive the data but will review it thoroughly when the researchers are able to share it. It is not possible for conclusions to be appropriately made by regulators, scientific advisors or policy makers without having access to the information in full.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 31/10/2022 16:43:16 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel