Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why wild release beaver projects are required to produce a 10-year project plan; and what steps they are taking, if any, to support communities and landowners seeking to release beavers into the wild where there is high social and ecological feasibility, but who lack the resources to commit to a project plan covering at least a 10-year period.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Whilst beavers can bring many benefits, their reintroduction must be carefully planned to avoid negative effects on farming, food production, and infrastructure. They pose challenges to those responsible for land and infrastructure in some locations, especially if their activity is not effectively managed.
The requirement for a 10-year project plan ensures that the licence holder takes responsibility for minimising the risk of negative effects and works with local landowners and managers to ensure the community has the support it needs to learn to live alongside beavers.
It is the responsibility of any beaver wild release project to secure the necessary resources for the duration of the project, as per the beaver wild release licensing criteria set out by Natural England. The Government is not providing funding for wild release licence applications.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the paper by Torgerson and others published in the Royal Society Open Journal on 11 June claiming that other studies of badger culls contain methodological weaknesses; and what plans they have, if any, to ensure that the Cornwall Badger Vaccination Pilot has a peer-reviewed protocol before any work can continue.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Work has started on a comprehensive new bovine TB strategy for England, to continue to drive down disease rates to save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods and end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament.
The evidence surrounding bovine TB control, including recent studies such as the paper by Torgerson, is being independently reviewed by a panel of experts led by Professor Sir Charles Godfray, which the Government has reconvened.
Unlike previous badger culling studies, the Cornwall Badger Project is focused on testing different methods of delivering badger vaccination, rather than evaluating the impact on bovine TB in cattle. The project is being delivered by the NFU in partnership with the Zoological Society of London, who have a track record of publishing peer-reviewed research on the subject of badger vaccination. The project will continue to be regularly reviewed by Defra as it progresses.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement a long-term management plan and consultation regarding beaver reintroduction and recovery; and what plans they have, if any, to provide financial support to landowners wishing to reintroduce beavers into the wild on their land.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
On 28 February 2025, Defra announced its new approach to beavers, including a commitment to developing a long-term management plan for beavers in England. We are developing our approach to this work and will engage stakeholders in due course to work together to develop a vision for managing the long-term reintroduction and recovery of beaver populations in England.
Defra has no plans to provide financial support to landowners wishing to reintroduce beavers into the wild on their land. A licence is required from Natural England to release beavers into the wild. Any project seeking a license must demonstrate that they have enough funding for the duration of the wild release project, which is usually 10 years.
Defra does offer support for living alongside beavers through Environmental Land Management (ELM) funding. ELM support and advice for land managers is available through Countryside Stewardship (Higher Tier) and capital grants. In addition, some actions in the Sustainable Farming Incentive also have a role to play in riparian management.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 12 April (HL6470), what progress they have made on the review of the Feral Wild Boar Action Plan, and when they expect that review to be completed and published.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Primary responsibility for wild boar management lies with local communities and individual landowners. Following a review of available guidance and in consultation with stakeholder organisations through the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)-led feral wild boar working group Defra will not be updating the feral wild Boar in England action plan which was published in 2008 in response to the first expansion of feral wild boar in the Forest of Dean. However, as part of ongoing work on improvements to contingency plans relating to wildlife disease management, guidance on Defra’s approach to feral wild boar in England and management of feral wild boar in relation to exotic disease risks are being reviewed and will be published on gov.uk in due course. This will be in addition to the advice and further information on licensing and legislation relating to wildlife management including wild boar which is already available on GOV.UK
Defra works closely with stakeholder organisations to ensure communities, local authorities and landowners have access to guidance and information where needed to control populations and mitigate the impact of feral wild boar in their areas working alongside government action to monitor the disease risks posed by feral wild boar.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the cost to local authorities of cleaning up discarded cigarette filters since their estimate in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has not made a further assessment of the cost to local authorities of cleaning up discarded cigarette filters since the estimate from the 2021 report by WRAP. This estimated annual costs of £46 million to local authorities from cigarette butts (primarily discarded filters) and found that cigarette butts likely accounted for 7% of total litter costs to local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term sustainability of farmed salmon in the context of farmed salmon feed production worsening food security in Southeast Asia and West Africa and exacerbating global inequalities.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farmed salmon is a key UK food export, and the sector provides vital support to many remote or fragile communities, particularly in Scotland, where its production is concentrated. While aquaculture policy is a devolved matter, the UK Government regularly raises in a variety of international fisheries forums the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of farmed fish.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to encourage the public to eat more wild fish as an alternative to farmed salmon.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have no plans to encourage the public to eat more wild fish as an alternative to farmed salmon. Both wild caught and farmed seafood have an important role to play in providing a sustainable and healthy source of protein. Farmed salmon, in particular, is an important source of oily fish, with the NHS recommending that adults eat at least two portions of fish per week, including one portion of oily fish.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether chlorothalonil is being manufactured in the UK; if so, in what quantities; what quantities are being exported; and whether they are considering further action in the light of new information about its impact on the health of insect pollinators.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
According to the Health and Safety Executive’s most recent published data, 14.16 tonnes of chlorothalonil were reported as having been exported from the UK in 2023, to the EU and Tunisia.
The export of pesticides from Great Britain (GB) is regulated under the GB Prior Informed Consent (PIC) regulatory regime for the export and import of certain hazardous chemicals. Companies intending to export any of these chemicals from GB must notify the importing country via the HSE. In addition, the explicit consent of the importing country is required before export of chorothalonil can take place. In this regard the UK goes beyond current international requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to follow the recommendation in the report by the Animal Welfare Committee, Advice on emergency culling for the depopulation of poultry affected by high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) – consideration of ventilation shutdown (VSD), published in June 2023, that research should be undertaken to identify products that could be used as an in-feed or in-water sedative/anaesthetic/culling method as an alternative to ventilation shutdown as a culling method for poultry.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) leads government action on animal disease control in Great Britain. APHA and its contractors utilise a range of culling methods to humanely remove birds on infected premises where highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or other notifiable disease has been confirmed.
One of the Animal Welfare Committee’s key recommendations was that ventilation shutdown should not be used for the culling of any poultry in disease control procedures due to the unacceptable impact on bird welfare.
Whole house gassing represents a better option, and this approach is deployed as a priority. Operational plans for the deployment of whole house gassing and other approved culling methods take account of the epidemiological risk for each case.
We are continuing to consider whether there are additional humane culling methods, such as high expansion nitrogen foam for poultry, that could be utilised but there are currently no plans for research into in-feed or in-water medications.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to support plant health professionals to guard against unknown and novel pests and diseases not currently listed on the UK Plant Health Risk Register.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Pests are added to the UK Plant Health risk register based on horizon scanning for new threats to plants in the UK, carried out by Defra’s plant health Risk and Horizon Scanning Team. A variety of scientific and other sources are used and the process is dynamic, with new pests regularly added in response to information gathered during such horizon scanning. Risks of existing pests are also regularly reviewed in response to new information. The ‘Risk Register News’ section on the Risk register website can be used to check which pests have recently been added or reviewed.
A risk-based approach to import inspections is undertaken at the UK border, to protect plant health professionals and others against known threats as well as new ones. Import requirements and inspection rates are kept under continuous review and adjusted as necessary, for example in response to an upsurge of interceptions of pests or a new threat emerging.
If a pest is identified at an import inspection, or through inland surveillance, which has not been identified during the horizon scanning process described, or has not yet been regulated, Article 29 of the plant health regulation (PHR), assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, applies. This requires action to be taken against any pest which on the basis of a preliminary assessment meets the criteria to be a GB quarantine pest. Where a pest which is not present in GB is considered to meet the criteria to be a GB quarantine pest, action would be taken against plants or plant products it has been found on, most likely resulting in their destruction.