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1192328

registered interest
date	01/05/2020
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	Restaurants: 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, whether the conditions required to ease the lockdown include plans to (a) rebuild public confidence in the safety of the restaurant sector and (b) promote awareness that food handlers are key workers that are eligible for covid-19 testing.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	41969
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>Defra, alongside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Devolved Administrations, is working closely with representatives from the food and beverage hospitality sector to support their planning towards reopening and their continued operations. This includes identifying what ongoing support businesses may need from the Government as they implement the measures required to protect workers and customers as restrictions are eased.</p><p> </p><p>It is possible for many businesses to reopen safely, in a cautious way, and we welcome the reopening of food-to-go businesses, predominantly for drive thru, in line with</p><p>social distancing measures. Providing clear advice and guidance will be important to restoring confidence in restaurants, takeaways and other hospitality businesses, not only for customers but for workers too. This will be a key part of Government planning as we move towards the easing of restrictions.</p><p> </p><p>This includes measures such as the Government expanding the eligibility for testing to all essential workers with symptoms of coronavirus, including those working in the food and drink industry. As a result of rapidly increasing testing capacity, we have been able to implement this and we have published advice including on how to arrange tests.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 12/05/2020 14:52:09 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188932

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
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	Biodiversity: Zoonoses
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 effect of the destruction of biodiversity and habitats on levels of emerging zoonotic diseases.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	38461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2020 answer text <p>The Department has not yet made a full assessment of the link between the destruction of biodiversity and habitats on levels of emerging zoonoses. The recent 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report on biodiversity and ecosystem services highlights this as a factor potentially exacerbating the emergence of infectious diseases in wildlife, domestic animals and people. However, the evidence base is incomplete and the links are complex. We are urgently reviewing this evidence, as well as working to identify other evidence, to enable us to take an informed view as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 01/05/2020 10:58:04 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188933

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
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 Supply: Zoonoses
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 he has made a recent assessment of the effect of the food production system (a) in the UK and (b) globally on levels of emerging zoonotic diseases; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	38462
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2020 answer text <p>The Food Standards Agency and Defra work together to ensure the safety of the food chain both within the UK and through global trade. We regularly assess any changes in food production methods or trade patterns for increased risk from emerging diseases.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 01/05/2020 13:47:20 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188286

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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, if he will take steps to ensure that Government advice on Public Health England’s healthy eating EATWELL plate informs (a) food purchasing during the covid-19 outbreak (b) food supply chains.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	37563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>In the United Kingdom, the national food model, the Eatwell Guide (EG), provides a visual representation of Government recommendations on a healthy balanced diet.</p><p> </p><p>The EG and associated messaging is promoted through a range of existing channels including: the NHS.UK website, the GOV.UK website, and the Government’s national social marketing campaigns Change4Life and OneYou. The principles of the guide also underpin Government guidance and tools including the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services and Public Health England’s catering guidance.</p><p> </p><p>The food industry has been working hard to keep food including fresh produce flowing into stores and people’s houses. The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. We have regular engagement with industry who are continuing to monitor the situation closely, taking the necessary steps to address issues where they arise. Following a significant spike in consumer demand, we have now seen stock levels in supermarkets improve. To support the food sector, the Government temporarily relaxed competition law and regulations relating to driver hours and delivery times so that the sector could work together to keep putting food on the shelves.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/04/2020 14:55:39 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188288

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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 discussions he has had with representatives of (a) civil society organisations, (b) consumer groups, (c) public health organisations and (d) local authorities on ensuring people on low incomes have adequate access to nutritionally healthy food during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	37564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>Defra officials are working closely with a) frontline food charities such as the Trussell Trust and FareShare; charities supporting the vulnerable such as Age UK and disabled charities; b) Citizen’s Advice Bureau; c) NHS England, Alzheimer’s Society and Kidney Care UK and d) Local Authorities and the Local Government Association; Local Resilience Forums made up of representatives from local public services, including the emergency services, local authorities, the NHS, and the Environment Agency. We are also engaging with supermarkets and with distribution companies such as Brakes and Bidfoods.</p><p> </p><p>We are remaining in regular contact with our stakeholders to identify the issues faced by people on low incomes in accessing nutritionally healthy food during the COVID-19 crisis, and to build intelligence in order to better inform the design of the scheme. Our regular stakeholder Forum totals 111 individuals from 62 voluntary and community sector organisations, universities and local authorities, plus representatives from DCMS, Defra, DfE, DHSC, DWP, MHCLG and the NHS.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State and Minister Victoria Prentis have personally engaged with the Trussell Trust. In addition, Minister Prentis has met with FareShare.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/04/2020 16:47:08 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188289

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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 plans he has to issue nutrition advice to people during the lockdown period of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	37565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>The Department of Health and Social Care is the Government department responsible for nutrition policy and Public Health England is responsible for issuing nutritional advice to the public.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has reissued advice for vitamin D supplementation. That is, if you are not going outdoors often, you should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D. Therefore, we are recommending that while the stay at home measures are in place, everyone follows this advice (including children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and older people).</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to advise that during this time everyone follows a healthy, balanced diet in line with the national food model, the Eatwell Guide.</p><p> </p><p>Public Health England has updated channels such as Change4Life, Start4Life and One You, to make them consistent with the wider COVID-19 and general advice on healthier eating.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/04/2020 14:47:32 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1188290

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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 steps the Government is taking to encourage healthy eating among (a) children previously in receipt of free school meals and (b) other at-risk groups.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	37566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>In partnership with industry, the Government started to deliver shielding packages in late March, to those that are clinically extremely vulnerable and in need of essential supplies. Defra has worked with nutritionists to ensure that these packages are nutritious. Supermarkets are also prioritising online delivery slots for those that are most in need and have expanded their capacity for home deliveries.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working to support people who do not fall into the category of being clinically extremely vulnerable, but still need help getting essential food supplies. This includes those who are elderly, disabled or have health conditions that make it difficult for them to get the food they need. We are speaking to food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help prioritise those individuals to access essential food.</p><p> </p><p>A very large number of schools have signed up for the national Free School Meals (FSM) voucher scheme. Through this scheme, schools can ensure that families with FSM-eligible children receive a weekly shopping voucher to the value of £15 per eligible child. Maintaining consumer choice is part of our offer. Families can use the vouchers to purchase healthy food options.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/04/2020 16:56:29 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1187748

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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	Polychlorinated Biphenyls: EU Law
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2020 to Question 22381 on Polychlorinated Biphenyl, if she will place in the Library all data submitted by the UK to the EU as part of the inventories of open and closed sources of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) under Directive 96/59/EC; and whether that data so submitted included PCB wastes disposed of in solid or liquid containment from UK landfill sites.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	34957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Directive 96/59/EC requires Member States to produce an inventory of closed source PCB equipment with more than 0.005% PCB contamination. The Environment Agency holds this inventory for England and Wales and updates it annually in July. After the initial list, produced in the late 1990s, this information is not sent to the EU but can be viewed on request to the Environment Agency.</p><p> </p><p>The inventory data does not include information on the disposal of PCB waste, but since the domestic PCB regulation ‘The Environmental Protection (Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and other Dangerous Substances) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000’ came into force it has been illegal to dispose of PCBs in landfill. All PCB liquid and materials must be destroyed or irreversibly transformed, usually by high temperature incineration.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 21/04/2020 16:59:11 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1186585

registered interest
date	19/03/2020
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	Houseboats: 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 he is taking to support people living on the waterways during the covid-19 outbreak; what plans he has to lift the current requirements for boaters vessels to not stay moored in one place longer than two weeks; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	32113
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government is clear that the single most important action we can all take in fighting coronavirus is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives. We have announced a range of measures to support people and communities, including: a £500 million fund for households experiencing financial hardship; a coronavirus Job Retention Scheme where small and large employers will be eligible to apply for a Government grant of 80% of workers’ salaries up to £2,500 a month; deferral of the next quarter of VAT payments for firms; and £330 billion of Government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses. We have also made significant changes to the operation of statutory sick pay, universal credit, and employment and support allowance to ensure that people have quicker and more generous access to a support system, and we have taken further immediate steps to give businesses access cash to pay their rent, salaries or suppliers.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is continuously reviewing decisions to reflect the rapidly changing environment in response to Covid-19. Responsibility for inland waterways, including their operation, development or restoration, rests with the bodies that own them and with the relevant navigation authority. The two largest navigation authorities, the Canal and River Trust and the Environment Agency, are following Government guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Boaters should limit movement to all but essential travel to access services and continue to follow Government guidance. The Canal and River Trust is suspending the requirement to move every 14 days; the suspension will be kept under review in line with revised Government guidance. The Environment Agency and other navigation authorities will also be updating their guidance and mooring conditions for boaters to reflect and enable only essential travel, and will be reviewing this position on an ongoing basis in line with Government guidance on movement. Those who are unable to move as a result of self-isolation or other virus-related impacts are asked to contact the relevant navigation authority directly to discuss their circumstances on a case by case basis. The Government will continue to review the situation.</p> answering member constituency Taunton Deane answering member printed Rebecca Pow question first answered 27/03/2020 13:51:34 answering member 4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1185529

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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	Trade Agreements: Standards
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 the Government's policy that trade negotiations will not compromise environmental and food standards includes no weakening of current UK pesticides standards relating to (a) maximum residue levels for currently approved pesticide active substances, (b) bans on food being imported into the UK which contains detectable residues of currently unauthorised active substances, (c) authorisation of new active substances and (d) maintaining existing bans on active substances including the ban on the three neonicotinoids clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	29962
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p>The UK is proud of its world-leading food, health and animal welfare standards. We will not compromise on our standards nor put the UK’s biosecurity at risk as we negotiate new trade deals. Any trade agreements must respect the regulatory autonomy of both parties. Now that we have left the EU, the UK will operate an autonomous Sanitary and Phytosanitary regime, which covers the regulation of pesticides, to uphold our existing high standards.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government and devolved administrations have assured stakeholders that we will maintain current standards of environmental and health protection. Our EU exit legislation has carried across unchanged all of the statutory requirements of the EU regime relating to standards of protection, maximum residue level and approval of active substances. We will continue to ensure that decisions on the use of pesticides are based on careful scientific assessment of the risks, with the aim of achieving a high level of protection for people and the environment.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to draw on the considerable scientific and technical expertise of the Health and Safety Executive which will continue to operate as our expert national regulator on behalf of the UK Government and the devolved administrations. This puts the UK in a strong position in terms of having the necessary capacity and expertise to be able to take its own independent decisions after the transition period. There is a comprehensive Government programme of monitoring of pesticide residues in food, including imports, to determine whether food available to UK consumers complies with the statutory residue levels and is safe. The results of this monitoring are published following consideration by the Defra Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food. We will not compromise on these standards in our trade negotiations.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 24/03/2020 15:33:50 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas