Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK–India Free Trade Agreement on his Department.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are delivering our Plan for Change by striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the G20. This comprehensive deal is expected to increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and boost wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run. Once the deal is signed, we will publish an Impact Assessment as part of the UK’s standard treaty scrutiny process. This will offer a breakdown of the deal’s impact across sectors and regions. This landmark trade deal is a major boost win for our world-class food and drink industry. British farmers and producers of lamb, salmon, whisky and gin can now benefit from lower tariffs and exciting new opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. The deal also protects sensitive sectors such as sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken, and eggs by excluding them from liberalisation. |
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of allowing the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to be used for the acquisition of sustainable refrigerated light commercial goods vehicle transport.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will invest £360 million over the next 12 years to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities. We will work with the industry to target investment where it matters most, for example considering investment in new technology and equipment to modernise our fishing fleet. We will provide more detail on this in due course. In the meantime, England’s Fisheries and Seafood Scheme is open for applications and provides grant funding for electric and hybrid refrigerated vehicles.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of British-grown food procured by the public sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. The new national procurement policy statement sets expectations that government contracts will favour the purchase of food certified to higher environmental standards, which we believe British producers operating to the highest standards will be well-placed to meet.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of food miles and (b) level of carbon emissions generated through catering provided by the public sector in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently considering policy options, including how best to demonstrate the beneficial impacts of the new national procurement policy statement, which sets out expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount that a person can be fined for having a dangerous dog.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, there are already strict penalties in place. The owner of any dog that is dangerously out of control may be put in prison for up to 14 years, banned from ever owning a dog and receive an unlimited fine. We have no plans to increase these penalties.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available for public sector caterers that would like to organise farm visits to help improve local food supply relationships.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently considering the policy options available to deliver further on our ambitions for public sector catering, including the potential benefits of developing stronger ties between food producers, caterers, and end consumers.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
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 20 March 2025 to Question 37521 on Import Controls: Northern Ireland, whether EU officials have assessed the completed border control posts.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
EU officials have assessed the SPS facilities at Foyle and Warrenpoint, we await their formal report.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Overseas Territories on the Darwin Plus programme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November 2024, Minister Doughty and Minister McCarthy met with the elected leaders and representatives of the Overseas Territories at the UK Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. The UK Government confirmed that it would continue to work in partnership with the Territories to support the protection of their unique environments and to help address biodiversity loss and noted their strong support for the continuation of Darwin Plus.
As set out in our previous answers to UIN 61101 and UIN 63667, Defra will be finalising plans to fund new Darwin Plus projects with applicants this summer. Whilst decisions have yet to be made on the totality of future funding available to Darwin Plus following the department’s multi-year funding commitment from HM Treasury, the department will engage closely with stakeholders to ensure transparency and support continuity wherever possible.
The department will provide updates in the usual way as soon as they are available.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for decisions on the future of Darwin Plus funding.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November 2024, Minister Doughty and Minister McCarthy met with the elected leaders and representatives of the Overseas Territories at the UK Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. The UK Government confirmed that it would continue to work in partnership with the Territories to support the protection of their unique environments and to help address biodiversity loss and noted their strong support for the continuation of Darwin Plus.
As set out in our previous answers to UIN 61101 and UIN 63667, Defra will be finalising plans to fund new Darwin Plus projects with applicants this summer. Whilst decisions have yet to be made on the totality of future funding available to Darwin Plus following the department’s multi-year funding commitment from HM Treasury, the department will engage closely with stakeholders to ensure transparency and support continuity wherever possible.
The department will provide updates in the usual way as soon as they are available.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to maintain funding for the Darwin Plus programme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November 2024, Minister Doughty and Minister McCarthy met with the elected leaders and representatives of the Overseas Territories at the UK Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. The UK Government confirmed that it would continue to work in partnership with the Territories to support the protection of their unique environments and to help address biodiversity loss and noted their strong support for the continuation of Darwin Plus.
As set out in our previous answers to UIN 61101 and UIN 63667, Defra will be finalising plans to fund new Darwin Plus projects with applicants this summer. Whilst decisions have yet to be made on the totality of future funding available to Darwin Plus following the department’s multi-year funding commitment from HM Treasury, the department will engage closely with stakeholders to ensure transparency and support continuity wherever possible.
The department will provide updates in the usual way as soon as they are available.