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1260430

registered interest
date	10/12/2020
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	Poultry: Avian Influenza
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of avian influenza occurring at intensive poultry rearing units compared to the farming of poultry on open field sites; and whether they have identified any need to improve biosecurity measures for intensive poultry rearing units.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL11340
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/12/2020 answer text <p>Defra, and the relevant departments of all administrations in the UK, have robust biosecurity measures in place to reduce the risk of spread of avian influenza and a strong track record of controlling and eliminating outbreaks.</p><p>The risk of incursion of avian influenza has been increased to very high for wild birds, medium for poultry with high biosecurity and high for poultry with poor biosecurity. In response to the risk we established an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across the whole of England from 11 November 2020 and brought additional housing measures into force from the 14 December 2020.</p><p>The AIPZ means all bird keepers (whether they have pet birds, commercial flocks or just a few birds in a backyard flock) are required by law to take a range of biosecurity precautions including, from the 14 December 2020, keeping their birds indoors except in very specific circumstances. Similar measures were also introduced in Scotland and Wales. I refer the Noble Lady to my statement of 8 December 2020: <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-12-08/hlws621" target="_blank">https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-12-08/hlws621</a></p><p>The decisions to implement the AIPZ and the additional housing measures followed scientific and ornithological evidence and veterinary advice. In particular a rapid risk assessment on the relative risks of incursion of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 into housed or not-housed flocks was undertaken and is available via the following web link:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/941150/rapid-risk-assessment-H5N8-HPAI-housing-poultry-flocks-captive-birds.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/941150/rapid-risk-assessment-H5N8-HPAI-housing-poultry-flocks-captive-birds.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>Defra is clear that all operational livestock farms should implement strong biosecurity measures and report suspected disease immediately.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 23/12/2020 12:42:02 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1259964

registered interest
date	09/12/2020
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: River Lugg
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of ecological damage to the banks of the River Lugg; and what plans they have to prevent similar events occurring elsewhere in England.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL11273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/12/2020 answer text <p>A joint investigation is currently underway involving the main agencies (Environment Agency, Natural England and Forestry Commission). This has included a recent site visit to establish the full detail and extent of recent work at the site. Further details will be made available in due course in line with the nature of the ongoing investigation.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission have respective regulatory powers to ensure the management of SSSIs, waterways and trees, providing advice to landowners and consents/licences where appropriate. They continue to monitor and investigate any incidences of damage to sites and rely on the support of the general public in reporting possible illegal activity and pollutions.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 23/12/2020 16:54:45 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1249812

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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	Bottles: Deposit Return Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact of a bottle deposit scheme for England on local authority budgets, including the impact of the likely removal of polyethylene terephthalate from local waste streams.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL10041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>As part of the Government’s ambitious commitments to reforming producer responsibility systems across the UK, we have committed to introduce a deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers.</p><p> </p><p>Introducing a DRS for drinks containers will mean that some of the material local authorities currently collect via kerbside will instead be collected through the DRS. It is expected this will have an impact on the amount of waste collected by local authorities and the revenues they receive for selling that material on to waste reprocessors. However, the scheme is also expected to reduce the incidence of littering of the containers in scope of the scheme, and therefore to generate savings to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>A full new burdens assessment will be carried out once final policy decisions have been taken. Our Resources and Waste Strategy for England committed to fund any new burdens incurred by local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The costs and benefits of a DRS for drinks containers will be presented in our Impact Assessment published alongside our second consultation on the introduction of a deposit return scheme next year.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 23/11/2020 17:11:02 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1249815

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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	Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why they took two years to publish the reports by Professor Malcolm Bennett and Professor Chris Palgrave A study into the prevalence of bTB in found-dead badgers in the southern ‘Edge Area’ counties of England, SE3054, published June 2018; and what plans they have to respond to the report's conclusions.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL10044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>It is Defra policy to encourage research findings such as these to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. We elected to delay the publication of the final reports on our website to allow the researcher some time to do this without undermining the peer review process.</p><p> </p><p>These data are being used to inform analysis of where there is a reservoir of disease in the Edge area.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 23/11/2020 16:09:20 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1248033

registered interest
date	02/11/2020
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	Natural England: Environmental Land Management Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of demands arising from Environmental Land Management schemes on Natural England; and what plans they have to increase that organisations funding.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9817
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>Like all other Defra sponsored bodies, Natural England (NE) receives an appropriate budget to carry out its duties and responsibilities in line with what is affordable and the priorities set out by the Secretary of State.</p><p> </p><p>NE is an important advisory and delivery partner in the Environmental Land Management (ELM) programme. For the current financial year, NE has been allocated approximately £3.6 million to support the development of ELM. This includes drafting ELM technical guidance, development of scheme design for the Pilot and associated policy advice.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently assessing the budgets for our arm’s length bodies as part of the Spending Review process.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 16/11/2020 17:17:56 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1248034

registered interest
date	02/11/2020
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	Agriculture: Water
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to improve knowledge of, (2) to implement, and (3) to enforce, their farming rules for water.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9818
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) jointly undertook communications on the announcement of the new 'farming rules for water' and the approach to their implementation. This included promotion of the rules on gov.uk, posters, banners, summary cards and questions and answer sheets distributed to a wide range of key farming and environmental stakeholders who also raised awareness via talks, press articles and their own websites. The EA continues to promote the rules via the Farming Advice Service (FAS) newsletter.</p><p> </p><p>The EA is responsible for regulation of the rules. In the first year it took an advice led approach raising awareness of the rules with farmers and their advisers. It is now actively enforcing the rules, through advice, guidance and the possibility of both civil and criminal sanctions. The EA takes a risk-based approach to farm visits with the resources it has available for agriculture, targeting visits at the activities with high potential for pollution or where actual pollution has been reported. The EA also works with those producing materials off-farm that are spread on farmers' fields, such as anaerobic digestates and biosolids from the water industry to raise awareness of the rules and the limits on what can be spread.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 16/11/2020 16:14:38 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1248035

registered interest
date	02/11/2020
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	Trees: Fruit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of traditional orchards in England that are in a favourable condition.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9819
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>Traditional orchards are listed as a habitat of principal importance for the conservation of biodiversity under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Government agri-environment grant schemes, including Countryside Stewardship (which replaced the Environmental Stewardship Scheme) provide financial support to improve the condition of traditional orchards and to establish more of them.</p><p> </p><p>In England there are 1,952 hectares of traditional orchards being managed or established under agri-environment schemes.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 16/11/2020 17:23:33 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1248036

registered interest
date	02/11/2020
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	Pollinators: Conservation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support an international treaty for global pollinator stewardship and pollinator ecosystem restoration.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government is committed to taking action for pollinators, globally and at home.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We have supported international action under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), including the “Plan of Action 2018-2030 for the International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable use of Pollinators” adopted at the CBD’s most recent Conference of the Parties in 2018. The UK is also a member of ‘Promote Pollinators’, an international coalition of the willing under which we have committed to take action to protect pollinators and their habitats, and with whom we share information on research, policy and practical activities.</p><p> </p><p>We have supported and contributed to research which has underpinned such initiatives, including a major global review of the status and threats to insect pollinators, published in 2015 by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).</p><p> </p><p>The UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global framework for biodiversity under the CBD, expected to be adopted at COP-15 next year. In particular, we will promote ambitious and practical targets, including targets to enhance ecosystem resilience and species recovery, supported by strengthened implementation mechanisms that are commensurate with the scale of the challenge.</p><p> </p><p>Domestically, biodiversity is a devolved issue and each country has its own pollinator strategy which includes objectives for ecosystem restoration and other action in line with these international commitments and initiatives. The four countries also collaborate on monitoring the status of pollinators across the UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 16/11/2020 16:14:03 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1246880

registered interest
date	28/10/2020
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	Batteries: Waste Disposal
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number and percentage of total batteries that are discarded into general waste each year, and (2) how many fires are caused in waste disposal facilities each year by discarded batteries; what assessment they have made of the level of environmental contamination caused by discarded batteries; and what plans they have to reduce any such contamination.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government has not made an estimate of the number of batteries that are discarded into general waste each year. Nor do we hold information on the number of fires in waste disposal facilities caused by discarded batteries.</p><p>A UK-wide producer responsibility scheme is in place for batteries, placing certain responsibilities on producers for their goods, including at end-of-life.</p><p>As part of the Resources and Waste Strategy, published in December 2018, we committed to review the four existing producer responsibility schemes, including the requirements applying to batteries. That review is underway. and will consider the arrangements applying to the disposal and treatment of waste portable batteries Similarly, the arrangements applying to the disposal and treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are also under review, with such equipment often containing batteries.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 11/11/2020 15:49:56 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1246884

registered interest
date	28/10/2020
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	Japanese Knotweed
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to advance the use of biological control of Japanese knotweed.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>We continue to work closely with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) on researching and developing biological control methods for Japanese knotweed. Following extensive trials, we approved the release of the psyllid – <em>Aphalara itadori</em> in England to tackle Japanese Knotweed (<em>Fallopia japonica</em>).</p><p> </p><p>We are also funding research into the fungal leaf-spot <em>Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidatii,</em> which has potential as a mycoherbicide for Japanese Knotweed.</p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 11/11/2020 16:31:18 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle