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 when they will publish the statutory post implementation reviews of (1) the African Horse Sickness (England) Regulations 2012, (2) the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015, (3) the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, (4) the Sea Fishing (Points for Masters of Fishing Boats) Regulations 2014, and (5) the Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra expects to publish the below PIRs as follows:
(1) The African Horse Sickness (England) Regulations 2012 - July 2023
(2) The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015 - Autumn 2023
(3) The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 - August 2023
(4) The Sea Fishing (Points for Masters of Fishing Boats) Regulations 2014 - September 2023
(5) The Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 - July 2023
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, and if so to what extent, they provide direct financial support for the development of veterinary clinical skill laboratories in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen animal health systems.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While we do not provide direct financial support for the development of veterinary clinical skill laboratories in low- and middle-income countries, we proactively support country and regional partners with Official Development Assistance funding to strengthen health systems, including through our £5m Animal Health Systems Strengthening Project, which is providing technical assistance and other capability-building to veterinary services in Africa.
In addition, and to ensure the UK effectively drives better and sustainable health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, our world-class laboratories are actively involved in delivering global health outreach programmes, including laboratory twinning projects to build diagnostic capability for the surveillance and detection of animal diseases.
We have also developed and delivered e-learning modules for over 200 veterinary professionals and paraprofessionals working in low- and middle-income countries to build skills in laboratory diagnostics, surveillance strategies, pandemic preparedness training, epidemiology, and veterinary medicine residue surveillance.
All UK Aid spend is published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as Statistics on International Development, and is available at GOV.UK.
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 are supporting lower and middle income countries with weak animal health systems to combat avian influenza effectively.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to play a leading role in this critical area as part of our wider work to tackle zoonotic diseases, which are responsible for around 60% of all human diseases and 75% of all new and emerging infectious diseases.
Our world-class laboratories provide capability-building services to global partners including lower and middle income countries, integrating technical support, surveillance, risk analysis and epidemiology expertise, and participating in numerous global research and development networks which offer a multi-disciplinary approach for early detection systems and emergency preparedness and response coordination, with a focus on animal and zoonotic diseases, including avian influenza.
We also support country and regional partners through our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to strengthen global health systems, so they are better able to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to a wide range of health threats, including zoonotic diseases like avian influenza. This includes our Animal Health Systems Strengthening Project, International Health Regulations Strengthening Project and Tackling Deadly Disease in Africa Programme, all of which take a One Health approach, emphasising the connections between human, animal, plant and environmental health.
In addition, we are providing ODA funding to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to build avian influenza prevention, preparedness and response capacity in West Africa. Furthermore, we are funding The One Health Poultry Hub, a multistakeholder development research partnership working in Southeast Asia to support safer poultry systems. We are also strengthening genomic surveillance capability through the New Variant Assessment Platform, which will help countries to deal more effectively with pathogens of pandemic potential, including avian influenza.
All UK Aid spend is published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the form of Statistics on International Development and is available at GOV.UK.
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 (1) ecological, and (2) human health, impacts of continuing to allow emergency use of asulam to control growth of bracken after such use was denied in Wales and Scotland; and whether they have a (a) plan, or (b) timescale, for ending such authorisations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Decisions on the regulation of pesticides are devolved. The decision to grant an emergency authorisation for the limited and controlled use of Asuloxin in England in 2023 was taken after careful consideration of the potential impacts on human and animal health and the environment. To minimise risks to human health and the environment, strict conditions have been applied to its use. These include, but are not limited to, the use of protective equipment for those applying the pesticide, unsprayed buffer zones to protect non-target terrestrial plants and aquatic organisms, and restrictions on when and where the herbicide can be sprayed to protect mammals and nesting birds.
All applications for emergency authorisation are considered on their individual merits, However, emergency authorisation is not a permanent solution. The Bracken Control Group, as the Applicant for emergency authorisation, has carried out work on alternatives and the owners of Asulox are working towards standard authorisation of the product. The Minister for Food, Mark Spencer, plans to meet the company in the near future to assess progress towards a long-term solution.
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 the forthcoming national land use frameworks will balance the competing demands for agriculture, development, energy, and infrastructure in a way that actively promotes the installation of solar panels on suitable brownfield land and rooftops.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government considers that there is a strong need for increased solar deployment. As set out in the Energy Security Plan in March 2023, deploying rooftop solar remains a key priority for the Government. To meet our objectives for energy security and climate change, we will also need to make significant use of ground-mounted solar development mainly on brownfield, industrial and low and medium grade agricultural land. The Government encourages deployment of solar technology that delivers environmental co-benefits, with consideration for ongoing food production.
Meeting energy security and climate change goals is urgent and of critical importance to the country, and these goals can be achieved together with maintaining food security for the UK. We recognise that, as with any new development, solar projects may impact on communities and the environment. The planning system allows all views to be taken into account when decision makers balance local impacts with national need.
Striking the right balance between different land uses is a challenging task, which will involve trade-offs. There are many uses of our land that we need to anticipate for the future: growing food, planting trees, building homes, natural habitats, energy, land for infrastructure, and leisure and recreation. The Land Use Framework for England, to be published this year, will help to inform how we manage trade-offs and maximise co-benefits on the land, thereby supporting the delivery of multifunctional landscapes that will be dependent on the local context and national needs.
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 promote the creation of a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to working with all Parties to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to continue to support the modernisation of the organisation and to ensure it remains the international body for the conservation and management of cetaceans.
At the 68th meeting of the IWC, the UK supported the proposal by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to create a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary and encouraged all Contracting Governments to support its adoption. We were disappointed that the IWC did not reach agreement to take forward this proposal but will continue to push for the conservation of these unique creatures that play a vital role in our wider ecosystem.
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 (1) soil microbe community diversity, and (2) the change in this diversity over time.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s second statutory Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23), published on 31st January 2023, builds on the Government’s commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. It sets out the actions that will drive us towards reaching our long-term environmental targets and goals, including improving and protecting soil health.
This is aided by substantial new Government investment over three years towards delivering the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme. Soil monitoring as part of the NCEA programme will yield valuable new data to improve understanding of national soil condition, including soil microbial activity, and set up long-term monitoring capability to track change over time.
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 Water targets detailed evidence report, published on 6 May 2022, what progress they have made towards formally adopting the proposed nutrient pollution reduction targets.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19th December the Government laid The Environmental Targets (Water) (England) Regulations 2022 Statutory instrument. This introduced legally-binding targets to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment loads from agriculture by 40% by 2038 against a 2018 baseline, and to reduce phosphorus loads from wastewater by 80% by 2038 against a 2020 baseline.
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 anthelminthic concentrations in (1) freshwater generally, and (2) chalk streams specifically.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our monitoring on emerging chemicals is conducted through targeted screening based on risk. Twelve anthelminthic chemicals are monitored across 21 fresh water sites. Of these sites 18 are chalk streams. There is currently no evidence of adverse effects from exposure to these substances.
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, in revising the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, they intend to ensure harmonised veterinary antimicrobial stewardship with the European region, and to enable British farmers to continue to be able to export to the EU.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. Since 2014, the UK has reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics by 55% making the UK one of the lowest users of veterinary antibiotics across Europe, with only seven other European countries having sold less antibiotics in 2021 (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia). We are currently revising our veterinary medicines legislation in ways which will strengthen our laws to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Our legislative proposals on AMR bear many similarities to recently updated EU legislation on veterinary medicines, while being tailored to the circumstances in the UK.
The EU has introduced two new AMR-related requirements in law for countries trading with the EU to comply with: a prohibition on the use of antimicrobial medicinal products as growth promoters, and a prohibition on the use of certain named antimicrobial substances, which are important for human health, in animals. The UK’s current legislation already prohibits both of these types of use in food animals, and this will remain unchanged by the revision of our Veterinary Medicines Regulations; therefore, British farmers’ exports will continue to comply with these requirements.