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

1199475

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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 Welfare: Coronavirus
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 ensure the welfare of (a) animals and (b) domestic pets during the covid-19 lockdown.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	53471
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>We are working closely with a wide range of stakeholders to respond quickly and effectively to emerging issues which may impact animal welfare.</p><p>We are having regular meetings with the livestock industry to discuss the specific issues affecting each sector and to consider what interventions might be appropriate. We have provided detailed guidance on how to safely care for farm animals whilst maintaining social distancing. We are encouraging farmers to consider the financial support schemes introduced by the Government, including a specific Dairy Response Fund, which will be open to applications from 18 June and will provide up to £10,000 each to help those dairy farmers most in need of support.</p><p>The Government recognises that the zoos sector, including aquariums, faces unique circumstances and we are committed to working with the industry to understand the impacts. We have been engaging closely with the main industry association, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), and with individual zoos about the best way forward, also taking expert advice from Defra's Zoos Expert Committee.</p><p>Zoos are eligible to apply for a range of support schemes including the Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral, Business Rates Relief, the Business Interruption Loan schemes, the option to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay and grant funding of up to £25,000. In addition, specifically for zoos in severe financial distress, the Government introduced a £14 million Zoos Support Fund for licensed zoos in England on 4 May.</p><p>As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks will be allowed to reopen from 15 June, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place. This includes keeping indoor exhibitions, such as reptile houses and those in aquariums, closed, and ensuring other amenities like cafes offer take-away services only. The move follows close work by the Government with the zoo industry to ensure visitor numbers can be managed and safeguards are put in place. The decision to relax restrictions on these select outdoor attractions is part of the Government’s careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors.</p><p>Officials continue to meet weekly with BIAZA and with the CEOs of the largest charitable zoos and aquariums in England providing a valuable forum to monitor concerns and seek insights from key sector representatives on current issues.</p><p>We are in regular contact with animal welfare charities to discuss their concerns and to see what actions can be taken so that the welfare of animals can be maintained through these difficult times.</p><p>We have also responded to, and continue, to respond to individual enquires from pet owners and pet related businesses.</p><p>To assist animal owners in these difficult times, the Government has issued the following guidance for owners and their animals which can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals</a>. Throughout this crisis, veterinarians have been classed as key workers and practices have been permitted to remain open.</p><p>The Government has sought the expert advice of the Animal Welfare Committee on the potential impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare and the actions that might be taken to mitigate the risks. Their report, published on 4 June, will help inform our future actions in addressing the wider impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awc-opinion-on-the-animal-welfare-issues-related-to-covid-19" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awc-opinion-on-the-animal-welfare-issues-related-to-covid-19</a></p><p>We continue to remain in close contact with the animal welfare sector about the situation facing organisations working with animals and to understand the impacts on the sector and their needs.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 10/06/2020 16:51:46 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1199618

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Litter: Tobacco
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 estimate his Department has made of the amount and proportion of litter on beaches originating from tobacco products.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	53410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Figures from the Great British Beach Clean 2019 report that cigarette stubs were the second most frequently-found type of litter item on UK beaches, with an average of 42.6 stubs found per 100 metres. UK Government scientists are currently carrying out chemical and toxicological experiments to evaluate the potential harm caused to the marine environment by cigarette stubs. This work will be published by 2022.</p><p>The Government has made no specific recent assessment of the UK tobacco industry's contribution to tackling smoking-related litter. I refer honourable members to the answer I gave on 23 March to PQ 29305: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-03-13/29305/.</p><p>The Government would like to see the tobacco industry delivering on the commitment given by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association to tackle the litter created by its products and their users. The Government supports ongoing efforts by Keep Britain Tidy (KBT). KBT works in partnership with the tobacco industry to devise a voluntary scheme through which the industry can contribute to the clean-up of cigarette related litter.</p><p>Clause 48 in Section 3 of the Environment Bill also grants powers to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. In the Resources and Waste Strategy, we committed to looking into and consulting on EPR for five new waste-streams by 2025, and consulting on two of these by 2022. Waste tobacco filters were not included in this list of priorities but progress on the industry's voluntary approach to litter reduction will be monitored.</p><p>Tobacco packaging is covered by the current producer responsibility regulations, which require companies to recycle a proportion of the packaging waste they place on the market. Producers of tobacco packaging will also be subject to the forthcoming EPR scheme for packaging which will cover the full net costs of managing packaging at its end of life. In our consultation we proposed that producer fees should cover the full cost to local authorities of dealing with littered and fly-tipped packaging waste.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 52483 52484 52652 53411 53412 question first answered 10/06/2020 09:57:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1199619

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Litter: Tobacco
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 his Department has made of the effect of smoking related litter on (a) bird life, (b) marine life and (c) other aspects of the natural environment.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	53411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Figures from the Great British Beach Clean 2019 report that cigarette stubs were the second most frequently-found type of litter item on UK beaches, with an average of 42.6 stubs found per 100 metres. UK Government scientists are currently carrying out chemical and toxicological experiments to evaluate the potential harm caused to the marine environment by cigarette stubs. This work will be published by 2022.</p><p>The Government has made no specific recent assessment of the UK tobacco industry's contribution to tackling smoking-related litter. I refer honourable members to the answer I gave on 23 March to PQ 29305: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-03-13/29305/.</p><p>The Government would like to see the tobacco industry delivering on the commitment given by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association to tackle the litter created by its products and their users. The Government supports ongoing efforts by Keep Britain Tidy (KBT). KBT works in partnership with the tobacco industry to devise a voluntary scheme through which the industry can contribute to the clean-up of cigarette related litter.</p><p>Clause 48 in Section 3 of the Environment Bill also grants powers to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. In the Resources and Waste Strategy, we committed to looking into and consulting on EPR for five new waste-streams by 2025, and consulting on two of these by 2022. Waste tobacco filters were not included in this list of priorities but progress on the industry's voluntary approach to litter reduction will be monitored.</p><p>Tobacco packaging is covered by the current producer responsibility regulations, which require companies to recycle a proportion of the packaging waste they place on the market. Producers of tobacco packaging will also be subject to the forthcoming EPR scheme for packaging which will cover the full net costs of managing packaging at its end of life. In our consultation we proposed that producer fees should cover the full cost to local authorities of dealing with littered and fly-tipped packaging waste.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 52483 52484 52652 53410 53412 question first answered 10/06/2020 09:57:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1199621

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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	Litter: Tobacco
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 introducing a scheme to tackle smoking-related litter by securing a contribution from the UK tobacco industry to pay for the initiative.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	53412
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Figures from the Great British Beach Clean 2019 report that cigarette stubs were the second most frequently-found type of litter item on UK beaches, with an average of 42.6 stubs found per 100 metres. UK Government scientists are currently carrying out chemical and toxicological experiments to evaluate the potential harm caused to the marine environment by cigarette stubs. This work will be published by 2022.</p><p>The Government has made no specific recent assessment of the UK tobacco industry's contribution to tackling smoking-related litter. I refer honourable members to the answer I gave on 23 March to PQ 29305: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-03-13/29305/.</p><p>The Government would like to see the tobacco industry delivering on the commitment given by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association to tackle the litter created by its products and their users. The Government supports ongoing efforts by Keep Britain Tidy (KBT). KBT works in partnership with the tobacco industry to devise a voluntary scheme through which the industry can contribute to the clean-up of cigarette related litter.</p><p>Clause 48 in Section 3 of the Environment Bill also grants powers to introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. In the Resources and Waste Strategy, we committed to looking into and consulting on EPR for five new waste-streams by 2025, and consulting on two of these by 2022. Waste tobacco filters were not included in this list of priorities but progress on the industry's voluntary approach to litter reduction will be monitored.</p><p>Tobacco packaging is covered by the current producer responsibility regulations, which require companies to recycle a proportion of the packaging waste they place on the market. Producers of tobacco packaging will also be subject to the forthcoming EPR scheme for packaging which will cover the full net costs of managing packaging at its end of life. In our consultation we proposed that producer fees should cover the full cost to local authorities of dealing with littered and fly-tipped packaging waste.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow grouped question UIN 52483 52484 52652 53410 53411 question first answered 10/06/2020 09:57:56 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1199707

registered interest
date	02/06/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 his Department has made of the (a) financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak on food wholesalers and (b) adequacy of the Government's support for food wholesalers during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	53457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK food sector has adapted quickly to unprecedented challenges during the Covid-19 outbreak to ensure people have the food and products they need. With counterparts across Whitehall, and through ongoing engagement with industry, we are closely monitoring the potential impacts of Covid-19 on the food and drink wholesale sector. This includes regular meetings with food and drink wholesalers and their representative bodies.</p><p>To help industry, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by Covid-19. The measures available to food and drink wholesale businesses depend on their size, and includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for furloughing of staff; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan; the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan; the Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility; a Statutory sick pay relief package for SMEs with fewer than 250 employees; Value Added Tax (VAT) deferral to the end of June; the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme; Eviction protection for commercial tenants; a £10,000 cash grant for all business in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief and Rural Rates Relief; and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>We remain committed to working in partnership with industry to respond to these challenges as they evolve and to assess whether current support mechanisms continue to be sufficient and effective.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 54085 question first answered 10/06/2020 13:23:52 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1198767

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
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: 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, what steps he is taking to safeguard British farmers from the adverse effects of future imports of food that would be illegal to produce in the UK; what role he plans for the compulsory labelling of food products in those safeguarding arrangements; and whether he will establish a permanent body to ensure that the UK's high standards in (a) animal welfare, (b) food production and (c) food processing are maintained in the implementation of future trade deals.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	51519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>At the end of the transition period, the Withdrawal Act will convert all EU food safety, animal and plant health, animal welfare and environmental standards into domestic law. This includes a ban on using artificial growth hormones in both domestic and imported products. Nothing apart from potable water may be used to clean chicken carcasses. Any changes to these standards would have to come before Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to a rapid review and a consultation on the role of labelling to promote high standards of animal welfare.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, this Government was elected on a manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental protections, animal welfare and food standards. The UK will maintain its own autonomous sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regime to protect public, animal and plant life and health and the environment, reflecting its existing high standards. We will repatriate the functions of audit and inspections to ensure that trading partners, including those we secure trade deals with, continue to meet our import conditions. This will provide a standing, robust system that will work alongside border controls to maintain our high standards going forward.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 04/06/2020 13:57:23 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1198908

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
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	Zoos: Coronavirus
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 assessment he has made of the effectiveness of techniques of maintaining social distancing applied by Jersey Zoo since its reopening on 12 May 2020; whether the site-specific plans for safe reopening of UK zoos have been evaluated by his Department; if he will make it his policy to allow zoos to reopen in Step Two in accordance with the safety plans currently prepared by them; and how many days' notice he plans to give to zoos once a reopening date has been chosen.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	51520
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>We understand the challenges faced by zoos and aquariums during these unprecedented times.</p><p>Defra officials have met with Jersey zoo since they reopened and have discussed the measures they have put in place, including:</p><p> </p><p>- Visitors to wear masks</p><p>- Use of Protective screens at indoor contact points</p><p>- Signage reminding visitors and staff of social distancing, frequent handwashing and the need to cover mouths if sneezing etc.</p><p>- Floor taping to identify distances</p><p>- Keeping indoor attractions closed</p><p>- Social areas including café/playgrounds to remain closed</p><p>- Limited entry numbers with pre-booking slots</p><p>- Provision of hand sanitiser at frequent points</p><p>- No public talks</p><p> </p><p>Defra officials have been engaging with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) on their industry guidelines for reopening.</p><p>While each individual attraction can be made safer, it’s vital that we do not move too quickly in reopening to ensure public health is protected. Zoos have therefore not been included in the list of outdoor ticketed venues that can reopen yet. As of 1 June 2020 aquariums, zoos and safari parks were added to the list of venues that are legally required to remain closed.</p><p>Work is ongoing to understand how and when zoos and aquariums may be able to reopen in a safe way to the public whilst maintaining social distancing.</p><p>We are meeting regularly with BIAZA to provide updates on the reopening position and have also emailed all licenced zoos with an update for 1 June. We will notify these again when there any further updates to the current position.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 04/06/2020 13:53:35 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1198922

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
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	Global Resource Initiative Taskforce
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to publish its response to the Final recommendations report of the Global Resource Initiative.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	52348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Global Resource Initiative taskforce published its final recommendations report on 30 March. This report comes at a time of an unprecedented global challenge, and the priority of the UK Government must remain focused on supporting the response to COVID-19. The Government is committed, however, to addressing the major challenges identified in the report and providing global leadership on these issues which are also important in supporting a recovery that is based on solid foundations including a fairer, greener and more resilient global economy. We will be looking carefully at the report’s detailed recommendations and issue our formal response later this year.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 04/06/2020 09:42:23 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1198925

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
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	Environment Protection
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 plans he has to reduce the UK’s global environmental footprint.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	52351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to support and protect the world’s forests, support sustainable agriculture and work towards zero-deforestation supply chains.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is part of the Amsterdam Declarations Partnership that aims to eliminate deforestation from agricultural commodity chains and supports a 100% sustainable palm oil supply chain in Europe.</p><p> </p><p>Through International Climate Finance, Defra contributes to a joint pledge between the UK, Germany, and Norway to provide $5 billion to encourage ambitious action from developing countries to protect their forests and promote more sustainable patterns of land use.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has established an independent taskforce, the Global Resource Initiative, to provide us with recommendations as to how we could support the efforts of producer countries to improve the sustainability of products and reduce deforestation. The taskforce recently published its final report that sets out an ambitious and strategic package of measures the Government could take to reduce the UK’s global environmental footprint, with a focus on forest risk commodities. We will be looking carefully at the report’s detailed recommendations and we will issue our formal response later this year.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 04/06/2020 09:39:22 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1198796

registered interest
date	28/05/2020
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	Supermarkets: Coronavirus
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 discussions he has had with representatives from supermarkets on ensuring that appropriate adjustments have been made to enable as many disabled people as possible to shop safely during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	52288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government has been working closely with supermarkets to ensure that disabled people have access to the food and essential goods that they need.</p><p> </p><p>We have published guidance online that explains what steps people can take if they are unable to access food. This guidance has been shared with local authorities, retailers and charities to help them respond to enquiries from those seeking help. The guidance can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-accessing-food-and-essential-supplies" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-accessing-food-and-essential-supplies</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Supermarkets have been working at pace to expand the total number of delivery and click and collect slots. We have secured a limited number of supermarket delivery slots for the dedicated use of vulnerable people who are having difficulties in securing access to food and who have no other options available to them. We are working closely with local authorities and charities to help make sure these delivery slots are made available to those who need them most. We have built a bespoke digital service to enable local authorities and a number of charities to directly refer individuals for access to the prioritised slots.</p><p> </p><p>Most supermarkets also offer protected in-store shopping hours to the disabled and their carers. <br></p><p>All major supermarkets have introduced cashless volunteer shopping cards that can be purchased online and used by volunteers to purchase foods on behalf of those self-isolating or in vulnerable groups. <br></p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 04/06/2020 11:35:13 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts