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1382832

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Fishing Catches
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 reduce the incidence of dolphin and other sensitive species bycatch; and whether he has plans to ban supertrawlers from UK waters in order to reduce the bycatch from unsustainable fishing practices.
tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
uin	83522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government is fully committed to tackling the issue of accidental bycatch of sensitive marine species, as seen in the Fisheries Act through the ecosystem objective which seeks to ensure “incidental catches of sensitive marine species are minimised and, where possible, eliminated”. The Joint Fisheries Statement and UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative will set out policies in more detail to help achieve this objective, including improving our understanding of where and how much bycatch occurs and effective mitigation measures to reduce bycatch of sensitive marine species.</p><p>We are currently examining our wider policy on supertrawlers<em>. </em>Any action needs to be evidence-based and in line with the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Marine Management Organisation continues to monitor fishing activity in English waters with dedicated enforcement and surveillance work to protect fisheries, including offshore patrol vessels for at-sea surveillance.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 02/12/2021 16:32:17 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1382833

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Fishing Catches
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 take steps to require supertrawlers operating within UK waters to (a) publish catch records, including species discard, (b) report dolphin or other sensitive species bycatch and (c) be transparent with data so that consumer labelling can accurately identify seafood caught using sustainable fishing methods and minimised bycatch.
tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
uin	83523
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <p>The Marine Management Organisation publishes annual statistics on catch, effort and fleet data in aggregated from which includes catch by gear type:</p><p><a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Forganisations%2Fmarine-management-organisation%2Fabout%2Fstatistics&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C4d1b2382e6cf48a3478c08d9b588bc96%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637740421148024186%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=HGbf8fK2DxVPt%2F1FRt%2BzEl1nV%2BDqGYEQWZ1xgeiX6YA%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/marine-management-organisation/about/statistics</a>. The UK discard/bycatch information, derived from scientific fisheries observer programmes in each of the UK administrations, is the EU Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) database. Data collected up to the end of 2020 have been submitted to the EU STECF in accordance with UK obligations and can be found here: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu%2Fdd%2Ffdi&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C4d1b2382e6cf48a3478c08d9b588bc96%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637740421148034181%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=HJbwxRtMGezm8t7ovsLpSOYB00McU3Lyb85LECr916Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Fisheries Dependent Information - European Commission (europa.eu)</a></p><p> </p><p>All wild-capture commercial fishers are required to report incidental mortality or injury (bycatch) of marine mammals during fishing operations to the Marine Management Organisation. These data are used in UK bycatch monitoring programmes to help identify and where possible reduce potential impacts with sensitive marine species. The UK government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme, which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch. Annual reports are published online here: <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frandd.defra.gov.uk%2FDefault.aspx%3FMenu%3DMenu%26Module%3DMore%26Location%3DNone%26ProjectID%3D19943%26FromSearch%3DY%26Publisher%3D1%26SearchText%3DME6004%26SortString%3DProjectCode%26SortOrder%3DAsc%26Paging%3D10%23Description&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cpqteam%40defra.gov.uk%7C4d1b2382e6cf48a3478c08d9b588bc96%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C637740421148044180%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=5uCdHK2kS2Aa7fKczBaOXWbqE5NwtnuFmvVrM%2Fl59bQ%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Defra, UK - Science Search</a>.</p><p> </p><p>UK regulations require fishery and aquaculture product labelling to indicate the production method, area where the product was caught or farmed, and category of fishing gear used in capture of fisheries.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 06/12/2021 15:11:21 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1382834

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Soil
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 he has made of the potential merits for soil health of banning the use of ammonium nitrate and urea fertiliser; and what steps he is taking to promote the improvement of soil health with farmers.
tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
uin	83524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 23 November 2021: PQ UIN <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-11-17/76872" target="_blank">76872</a>.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 02/12/2021 15:47:18 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1382980

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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: Vaccination
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 his Department has made of the potential merits of widespread vaccination of the UK’s badger population for the purpose of reducing the spread of bovine tuberculosis; what evidence his Department has that vaccination will be effective in protecting livestock on farms in England; and whether his Department will make provisions to retain culling in areas where vaccination does not prove effective.
tabling member constituency	Torridge and West Devon
tabling member printed	Sir Geoffrey Cox
uin	83273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>Evidence indicates that vaccination reduces disease burden in the badger population, with field trials showing that vaccinated badgers were at least 54% (and up to 76%) less likely to test positive for TB. The same field trial found that when more than a third of the social group was vaccinated, infection risk to unvaccinated cubs reduced by 79% (Carter et al 2012 [1]).</p><p> </p><p>Both modelling in a post-cull environment in England (Smith GC &amp; Budgey R, 2021 [2]), and evidence from Ireland (Martin SW, et al. 2020 [3]), suggests that vaccination following culling should help maintain reductions in cattle TB incidence. In a trial of badger vaccination in Ireland, vaccination was found to be as effective as long-term continuous culling in lowering cattle TB incidence in four of the seven counties studied, which led to a policy change to gradually replace culling with vaccination.</p><p> </p><p>Logically, as badgers cause a proportion of cattle breakdowns and badger vaccination has been proven to reduce the disease burden in badgers, vaccination is expected to result in a reduction in cattle TB incidence where badgers are infecting cattle. However, there has been no trial in England to assess the magnitude or timing of these effects. Accordingly, we are developing a surveillance and monitoring system that will allow us to monitor levels of disease in wildlife and cattle. This will enable government and industry to be more agile in tackling the disease.</p><p> </p><p>Badger culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049833" target="_blank">https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049833</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248426" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248426</a>.</p><p>[3] <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105004" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105004</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 07/12/2021 12:25:35 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	1508 label Biography information for Sir Geoffrey Cox

1383003

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	School Milk
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 plans to introduce a domestic replacement for the EU School Subsidy Scheme for England; and if he will consult stakeholders on the details of any such scheme.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	83527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>The Government wants children to be healthy and well-nourished and is doing a great deal nationally to promote children’s dairy consumption. The School Milk Subsidy Scheme sits alongside the requirement for schools to make milk available for all children under the Department for Education’s School Food Standards, and provision of free milk for disadvantaged pupils. The School Milk Scheme will continue to run in England through the coming 2022-23 school year. Any future changes in this area will be subject to wide consultation.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 07/12/2021 16:12:35 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1383023

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Controlled Burning: Licensing
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 conduct a review at the conclusion of the burning season of the new licensing system for heather burning in the context of extending that system to cover all peatlands.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Hallam
tabling member printed	Olivia Blake
uin	83526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/158/made" target="_blank">The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021</a> came into force on 1 May 2021, affording additional protections to approximately 142,000 hectares of England’s upland deep peat from further damage by managed burning.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of the current burning season, we will assess how the new regime has worked in practice.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 02/12/2021 15:43:32 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4864 label Biography information for Olivia Blake

1383024

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Farming Investment Fund: West Dorset
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 he has made of the number of farmers who will benefit from the Farming Investment Fund in West Dorset.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	83484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <p>The Farming Investment Fund is not geographically targeted. I would encourage farmers, growers, foresters and contractors in all areas, including those in West Dorset, to consider what equipment, technology and infrastructure would most improve their business and to take this opportunity to invest to help their businesses to prosper.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 06/12/2021 15:07:58 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1383063

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Nature Conservation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the Joint Nature Conservation Committee has changed the eligibility criteria for legal protections afforded by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, in its 7th Quinquennial Review; and whether his Department had agreed to those changes.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	83494
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>The Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) is an independent process, required by the act, undertaken by the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot), working jointly through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).</p><p>The JNCC reports on Quinquennial Review (QQR) 6 in 2014 recommended that criteria for consideration of species be refined ahead of QQR7 to address concerns that they were no longer fit for purpose and lacked clarity. A review was completed in 2018 by the JNCC and SNCBs, which proposed a revised approach, including providing clarity on definitions of 'place of shelter' and 'endangered'.</p><p>The JNCC will make final recommendations early next year to Defra. Changes to species protection have not yet been recommended to the Government, nor have any decisions been made.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 07/12/2021 12:30:09 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1383064

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Nature Conservation
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 his Department will publish its green paper on species protections before making decisions on the recommendations from the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 7th Quinquennial Review.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	83495
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>Yes, Defra will publish a Green Paper, which will look at how the regulatory framework can help drive the delivery of our new target to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030, before making decisions on the recommendations from the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee's 7th Quinquennial Review.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 07/12/2021 12:32:14 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1383076

registered interest
date	29/11/2021
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	Hedges and Ditches
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 he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds report entitled Mind the Gap, published in November 2021; and what steps he is taking to improve agricultural policy to protect hedgerows and wildlife in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Feryal Clark
uin	83519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <p>While no formal assessment of the report has been made, we agree about the value of hedgerows to our countryside. Hedgerows provide vital resources for mammals, birds and insect species, and they also act as wildlife corridors, allowing dispersal between isolated habitats. Many are also important historical and cultural landscape features.</p><p> </p><p>Legal protection for hedgerows in England and Wales is provided by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997. These regulations prohibit the removal of most countryside hedgerows (or parts of them) without first seeking approval from the local planning authority. It decides whether a hedgerow is ‘important’ and should not be removed because of its wildlife, landscape, historical or archaeological value.</p><p>Alongside the Hedgerows Regulations, all wild birds, their eggs and their nests are protected, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an offence to kill, injure or take wild birds or to take or damage their eggs and nests. This provides important protections for farmland birds.</p><p>Hedgerows are also protected by standards under cross compliance. As we move away from cross compliance, we have committed to maintaining our high environmental standards. Our new environmental land management schemes will continue to recognise the role and fund the management of hedgerows. The hedgerow standard, part of the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, will pay farmers to plant more hedgerows, leave them uncut or raise the cutting height, and buffer them from agricultural operations.</p><p> </p><p>We will also continue to keep our domestic regulatory standards under review, raising standards sustainably and as needed over time, as new research and evidence emerge.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 06/12/2021 15:02:01 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4822 label Biography information for Feryal Clark