Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his plans to tackle wildlife crime are in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales. There are strict penalties in place for anyone who commits an offence under this and other wildlife legislation. Where any wildlife is harmed illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime.
Defra supports the valuable work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Defra is providing £424,000 for the NWCU in 2025-2026. The NWCU helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and assisting law enforcers with investigations. The NWCU has also provided training to police officers across the UK, including three officers in Avon and Somerset Police. This training reflects the National Police Chiefs' Council wildlife crime strategy and provides comprehensive training in UK wildlife crime priorities and emerging trends. Additionally, the NWCU has supported Avon and Somerset with ten wildlife crime cases since January 2024.
Asked by: Steve Race (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) Health Certification Requirements and (b) other veterinary and customs requirements on the cross-border movement of endangered species between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to work closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address immediate challenges to the cross-border movement of endangered species, including the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity.
An SPS Agreement will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduces administrative burden by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many trees he expects to be planted in the Western Forest by the end of (a) 2025, (b) 2030, (c) 2035 and (d) 2040.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Western Forest has been selected as the first new national Forest in 30 years. The Western Forest is working with the National Forest Company to implement their plans. It is aiming to plant 20 million trees across the West of England by 2050. The forests target for end 2025 is 50 hectares of tree cover and contributing to 2,500 hectares by 2030. As planting density varies dependent on the type of woodland created or site-specific factors, we cannot accurately predict the number of trees to be planted by specific milestones.
May. 27 2025
Source Page: Report a Simpler Recycling non-complianceMay. 27 2025
Source Page: Defra: workforce management information April 2025May. 27 2025
Source Page: Defra: workforce management information April 2025May. 27 2025
Source Page: Defra: workforce management information April 2025Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund announced on 19 May 2025 will be used to provide new (a) technology and (b) equipment to modernise the fleet.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have launched the £360 million “Fishing & Coastal Growth Fund” to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities.
We will engage with the industry to target investment where it matters most. For example, considering investment in new technology and equipment to modernise our fishing fleet, delivering new training and skills to back the next generation of fishers, and promoting the seafood sector to export our high-quality produce across the world.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund announced on 19 May 2025 will be used to provide training to upskill the workforce.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have launched the £360 million “Fishing & Coastal Growth Fund” to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities.
We will engage with the industry to target investment where it matters most. For example, considering investment in new technology and equipment to modernise our fishing fleet, delivering new training and skills to back the next generation of fishers, and promoting the seafood sector to export our high-quality produce across the world.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent changes he has made to the Capital Grants scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra announced on 24 February 2025 that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will introduce maximum grant thresholds for 4 groups of capital items in the standalone capital offer, from summer 2025. The thresholds will be £25,000 for water quality, air quality and natural flood management and £35,000 for boundaries, trees, and orchards. We will confirm the date that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open and announce any further changes to the scheme in due course.