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1669727

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2023
	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	Sustainable Farming Incentive
	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 his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Sustainable Farming Incentive programme on (a) farm-level crop yields, (b) national agricultural productivity and (c) domestic food self-sufficiency levels.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	1545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2023 answer text <p>Our overall assessment of the impacts of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) on yields, productivity and domestic food production is based on a review of quantitative and qualitative evidence. SFI is designed to support farmers in managing their land in an environmentally sustainable way. Many SFI actions are designed to be undertaken alongside their agricultural operations and do not require land be taken out of production. Some actions within SFI are likely to take small areas of often marginally productive land out of production, lowering overall output for the farm in the short term. In the longer term this is likely to be offset by long term improvements in soil health and pollinator abundance which will support increased yields. Some actions in SFI will also reduce the need for fertilisers or pesticides leading to lower inputs and higher productivity. SFI, along with other schemes in the wider farming and countryside programme (including for example the Farming Resilience Fund, the Farming Investment Fund and the Farming Innovation Programme) will collectively support increases in agricultural productivity over the agricultural transition. Overall, this should allow participating farmers to broadly maintain long-run food production and to meet the objective, set out on the Food Strategy, of maintaining national food production at current levels.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 23/11/2023 15:26:36 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1667638

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	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	Wood-burning Stoves: Fraud
	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 her Department is taking to support local councils to tackle illegal log burning.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	196
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>Burning logs is not illegal, but we have introduced policies to reduce emissions from wood burning. These include:</p><ul><li>Restricting the sale of small volumes of wet wood (less than 2m<sup>3</sup>) - wood sold in small volumes must have a moisture content of 20% or less, and</li><li>Making it easier for local authorities to enforce smoke control area rules by replacing the criminal offence for smoke emissions with a civil penalty regime.</li></ul><p>The Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) sets out further measures to reduce emissions from wood burning. These include:</p><ul><li>Publishing outdoor burning best practice guidance.</li><li>Extending the solid fuels legislation, including to fuels burned outside.</li><li>Tightening the limits that new stoves in Smoke Control Areas must meet.</li><li>Driving a shift away from older, more polluting appliances to newer appliances which meet our tough new emission standards.</li><li>Continuing our targeted communications campaign to promote best practice when burning.</li></ul><p> </p><p>As set out in our recent Air Quality Strategy, we also continue to work with local authorities to help them tackle emissions from domestic combustion in their communities. This includes funding relevant local projects through our 2023/24 Air Quality Grant.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 16/11/2023 10:48:17 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1667639

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	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	Wood-burning Stoves: Air Pollution
	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 her Department is taking to tackle air pollution from log burners.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	197
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>Air quality is a devolved matter. In England, regulations introduced in 2020 put restrictions on the sale of wet wood for domestic burning, placed limits on the emission of sulphur and smoke from manufactured solid fuels and phased out the sale of bituminous coal (traditional house coal). Through the Environment Act 2021, we also introduced measures to streamline the enforcement of Smoke Control Areas (SCAs).</p><p /><p>Since 1 January 2022 all stoves placed on the market in the United Kingdom must be Ecodesign compliant. This is in addition to the separate requirement in Smoke Control Areas (SCAs) that householders can only burn approved fuels or use a Defra exempt appliance.</p><p /><p>The Environment Improvement Plan sets out further measures to reduce domestic combustion emissions. These include:</p><ul><li>Publishing outdoor burning best practice guidance</li><li>Extending the solid fuels legislation, including to fuels burned outside</li><li>Tightening the limits that new stoves in SCAs must meet</li><li>Driving a shift away from older, more polluting appliances to newer appliances which meet our tough new emission standards;</li><li>Continuing our targeted communications campaign to promote best practice when burning</li></ul><p> </p><p>As set out in our recent Air Quality Strategy, we also continue to work with local authorities to help them tackle emissions from domestic combustion in their communities. This includes funding relevant local projects through our 2023/24 Air Quality Grant.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Robbie Moore question first answered 16/11/2023 10:29:57 answering member 4861 label Biography information for Robbie Moore
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1667665

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	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	Food: 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 steps her Department is taking to increase food waste reporting.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>We are committed to tackling food waste, which is why we are taking action to increase the take up of the voluntary approach to reporting through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap delivered by WRAP. This year more than £2 million will go to our food waste prevention programme, with action across the supply chain including working with trade associations and businesses to measure and report their food waste. We ask all businesses to sign up to the Roadmap and to ‘Target, Measure and Act’ on their food waste.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 15/11/2023 13:23:57 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1663390

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2023
	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	Food: Origin Marking
	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 increase transparency on where food is produced.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	201244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2023 answer text <p>Origin labelling is required for beef, veal, lamb, mutton, pork, goat and poultry meat, fish and shellfish, honey, olive oil, wine and most fruit and vegetables, as well as any other product where the consumer might otherwise be misled. We are working with industry to ensure that origin information is as transparent as possible, including for online sales. The next UK Food Security Report, which will include updated information on where food consumed in the UK is produced, will be presented to Parliament by the end of 2024.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 23/10/2023 11:05:39 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1658121

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2023
	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	Air Pollution: 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, what steps her Department is taking to increase air quality in urban areas.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	197719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2023 answer text <p>The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out the actions that Defra will take to support us to continue improving air quality, including in urban areas.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 20/09/2023 11:28:36 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1658210

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2023
	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	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 steps her Department is taking to (a) improve the sustainability of and (b) increase the use of regenerative farming practices.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	197735
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2023 answer text <p>Environmental land management is the foundation of our new approach to farming. Our new schemes will pay for sustainable farming practices (such as reducing carbon emissions, creating, and preserving habitat, and making landscape-scale environmental changes) and improvements to animal health and welfare.</p><p> </p><p>The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and improving the environment. On 21 June 2023, we announced the new and improved SFI 2023 offer – containing 23 actions which will offer farmers additional actions and more flexibility to choose the actions they want to get paid for. When adopted at scale, these actions will support sustainable food production and contribute towards the environmental targets set out in the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan. Farmers were invited to register their interest in SFI 2023 from 30 August, and can sign up from 18 September.</p><p> </p><p>The Landscape Recovery scheme supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focusses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land.  Projects involving elements of regenerative farming can apply - with round two LR pilot applications closing on 21 September 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Our 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 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> </p><p>We are also offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment.</p><p> </p><p>The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants, and we believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 19/09/2023 15:50:40 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1642330

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2023
	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	Poultry: 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 progress his Department has made on reducing the use of cages for hens.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	187959
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2023 answer text <p>The egg sector is making good progress in moving away from cages. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to work with retailers and producers to ensure we maintain and enhance the high standards of animal health and welfare we have in this country, including on our farms. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 19/06/2023 14:41:39 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1585467

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2023
	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	Fly-tipping: Rural 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 she has had discussions with the Home Secretary on the potential merits of introducing a national rural crime unit to tackle fly-tipping in rural areas.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	142680
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.</p><p> </p><p>I do however appreciate the difficulty and cost that fly-tipping poses, especially to landowners, and we are working with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), such as the National Farmers Union, National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and local authorities to promote and disseminate good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.  We recognise the support of the police on this issue by welcoming the focus on fly-tipping in the NPCC’s Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working with the NFTPG to develop a fly-tipping toolkit which will share best practice on a range of issues related to tackling fly-tipping. Work is currently underway on the next part of the toolkit which will cover how local authorities can set up and run effective partnerships to tackle fly-tipping. We hope to complete this in the spring.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 22/02/2023 14:12:24 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1584877

	registered interest
	date	07/02/2023
	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: Seasonal Workers
	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 her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help secure more temporary seasonal workers.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	141415
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2023 answer text <p>Defra continues to speak regularly with the sector and other Government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to make sure that the sector’s workforce requirements are understood across Government.</p><p> </p><p>On 16 December 2022, the Government announced that an allocation of 45,000 visas will be made available in 2023 enabling edible and ornamental horticulture businesses to recruit foreign workers for up to six months. This is an uplift of 15,000 visas compared to the allocation at the start of 2022 and additional Operators have been brought in to add resilience to the route’s operation. A further 10,000 visas are potentially available for horticulture should there be demand and contingent on sponsors and growers continuing to improve worker welfare standards. The Seasonal Worker visa route will continue to operate until at least the end of 2024 and food and farming businesses can continue to draw on EU nationals living in the United Kingdom with settled or pre-settled status to meet their seasonal worker needs.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government has commissioned an independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain. It will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages across the farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors that are critical for food production and food security. It will report in spring 2023.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Mark Spencer question first answered 10/02/2023 17:25:37 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy