Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hectares of trees have been planted in each year since 2015.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Chesterfield on 2 April 2024 to Question 19841.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has spent on tree planting in each year since 2015.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data on tree-specific funding is only available from 2020, when the Nature for Climate Tree Programme was established. Since then, Defra has had a capital spend (CDEL) of £232 million on planting trees in England. The spending on tree planting in each year since 2020 is shown below:

Additionally, the planting of trees has also been funded by the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Since 2016, £120 million has been claimed under the scheme for planting and managing trees and for managing and enhancing woodlands.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have worked under the poultry Seasonal Worker visa scheme in each year since 2021.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the number of grants of Seasonal Worker visas is published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Data on visa grants by occupation can be found in table Occ_D02, of the Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.

The latest data relates up to the end of December 2023.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applicants have secured a Seasonal Worker visa in each year since 2019.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the number of grants of Seasonal Worker visas is published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Data on visa grants by occupation can be found in table Occ_D02, of the Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.

The latest data relates up to the end of December 2023.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings Ministers in his Department have held on Asian hornets in the last 12 months.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Asian hornet is an invasive non-native species, and a current GB alert species, which means that systems are in place to detect and then implement contingency plans to rapidly eradicate them in order to prevent establishment.

It is regularly discussed as an item on the agenda of monthly Minister-led meetings reviewing biosecurity priorities. In addition, officials have provided one briefing meeting specifically on Asian hornets in the last 12 months.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inspections of shellfish waters his Department has conducted in each year since 2015.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is responsible for designating shellfish water protected areas. Investigations are carried out by other organisations that have a role in water quality in shellfish waters, such as the Environment Agency and water companies (if directed to do so by the Environment Agency). Defra does not oversee these investigations to provide a figure.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many shellfish waters were categorised into class (a) A, (b) B, (c), C and (d) below class C for E.coli concentration in each year between 2019 and 2024.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following 17 classification zones have been prohibited for more than one year: Bailey’s Hard; Prinstead; Thurstaston East; Turnaway Point Relay; Wisemans; Mersey, specifically Wallasey; Dodnor; Aldingham; Plym; Tamar; Lytchett Bay; Fareham Lake Middle; Ribble Channel; Silloth South, specifically Catherinehole Scar; Itchen River; Eling; and Hythe. The following table provides a breakdown of classifications awarded, and the number of areas designated as prohibited for commercial harvesting, each year between 2019 and 2024:

Notes:

1. These figures were accurate as of 14 May 2024 and are subject to change due to interim classification updates.
2. These figures are inclusive of areas which carry seasonal classification on time-limited prohibition.

Annual classification for 2024 will be published on 1 December 2024, however, the current classification stands at 63 class A, 229 class B and 8 class C beds.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which shellfish waters have been categorised as below class C, or prohibited, for more than one year.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following 17 classification zones have been prohibited for more than one year: Bailey’s Hard; Prinstead; Thurstaston East; Turnaway Point Relay; Wisemans; Mersey, specifically Wallasey; Dodnor; Aldingham; Plym; Tamar; Lytchett Bay; Fareham Lake Middle; Ribble Channel; Silloth South, specifically Catherinehole Scar; Itchen River; Eling; and Hythe. The following table provides a breakdown of classifications awarded, and the number of areas designated as prohibited for commercial harvesting, each year between 2019 and 2024:

Notes:

1. These figures were accurate as of 14 May 2024 and are subject to change due to interim classification updates.
2. These figures are inclusive of areas which carry seasonal classification on time-limited prohibition.

Annual classification for 2024 will be published on 1 December 2024, however, the current classification stands at 63 class A, 229 class B and 8 class C beds.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2024 to Question 25464, whether her Department has plans in place to move from a rapid response to a management phase for the Asian hornet, in the context of their growing presence in the UK.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is not currently considered established in the UK and therefore is still being addressed via rapid response measures. The Asian hornet contingency plan covers the action that will be taken against Asian hornets with the NBU responding to credible sightings to locate and destroy any nests.

For a species to be considered established, there should be evidence of a reproducing population having been present in the wild for a significant number of generations, that is considered viable in the long term without any human intervention. Whilst there has been presence of overwintered hornets produced from a nest found and destroyed late last year, it is not considered to be strong evidence of an established population.

Defra will continue to follow an eradication strategy against Asian hornets until this becomes unviable at which point a change in approach will be required.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 22 June 2023 to Question 188226 on Water Companies, how many (a) cautions, (b) prosecutions and (c) legal instruments the Drinking Water Inspectorate brought against water companies in each year since 2021 by water company.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Since 2021, the Drinking Water Inspectorate brought against water companies in each year since 2021,

(a) two cautions, one against Thames (2023) and one against Southern Water (2023),

(b) three prosecutions, against Southern Water (2022) and one against South West and Bournemouth Water (2022) and one against Wessex Water in 2023, and

(c) 362 legal instruments.

These are shown by water company below and comprise drinking water quality Legal Instruments (Notices), Final Enforcement Orders, Regulation 15 Notices for new sources, Radioactivity notices (waivers), Network and Information Systems (NIS) notices, Security and Emergency Direction (SEMD) notices, and notices for Price Review 2024 for water quality, NIS and SEMD. (They include the PR24 schemes that have been served to date which are most of the lead reduction schemes but no PFAS as yet, as the process is ongoing).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how (a) much funding was provided to and (b) many people were employed at the National Bee Unit of the Animal and Plant Health Agency between 2019 and 2024.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The total funding provided to the National Bee Unit between 2019 and 2024 was £10,508,452 (this includes funding received from Devolved Administrations). The headcount has remained static over this period at between 54 and 64 per annum depending on vacant positions at any given time.

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