Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the main routes through which horticultural qualifications may be obtained.
Answered by Baroness Barran
Qualifications in horticulture can be obtained through apprenticeships, vocational and technical qualifications, and through higher education (HE), including at degree level. T Levels in Agriculture, Land Management and Production, designed by relevant employers, will be available from September 2023. New higher technical qualifications in horticulture are also expected to be available from September 2025.
Employers in the horticultural sector have developed high-quality apprenticeship standards ranging from level 2 Horticulture or Landscape Operative, level 4 Arboriculturist, up to level 6 Professional Arboriculturist.
The government’s free courses for jobs offer at level 3 includes several qualifications in horticulture.
As autonomous institutions, HE providers are free to decide which courses they provide, depending on a number of factors including student demand.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many acres of land are occupied by (1) private gardens, and (2) public parks and gardens, in England.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
633,400 hectares (1,565,100 acres) of land in England is classified as private residential gardens: this equates to approximately 5 per cent of England's total land area
Source: Live Table P400b, Land Use in England 2018 statistics attached (DLUHC): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-land-use
The Ordnance Survey’s OS Open Greenspace spatial data product provides information on the number of hectares of land occupied by open greenspace, including public parks and gardens, within Great Britain (attached): https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/products/open-map-greenspace
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the consideration by the European Commission of a dossier which has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Agency on the safety of Ligustrum delavayanum.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The UK has not been listed for export of all of the genera of plants/trees covered by the EU High Risk Plants legislation (Regulation 2018/2019). This has meant that since 1January 2021 these genera, which include Ligustrum, are subject to prohibitions pending individual risk assessments conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The UK made a case in February 2020 that a number of otherwise prohibited items, including the tree and shrub species regarded as High Risk Plants, should be recognized and exempt from such a prohibition through EU legislation, so as to allow imports to continue. This case was rejected by the Commission in late 2020.
The rejection of this request means that we are required to use the same process for seeking listing which is followed by all non-EU countries. The listing process involves submitting technical dossiers to EFSA for individual species within each of the prohibited genera. Defra has been working closely with trade associations and individual businesses on priorities for such dossiers, including certain Ligustrum species.
Once a dossier has been accepted by EFSA and their review commences, based on experience to date, it is likely to take in excess of 18 months for the EU commission to introduce new import conditions in legislation. There is no guarantee that the outcome of a review will be that trade can commence and only a small number of submissions made by third countries have resulted in new import conditions since the initiation of this process in 2019.
In June 2021, in an attempt to speed up the listing process, we sought agreement from the EU Commission for a more streamlined approach be applied to the assessment of dossiers submitted by the UK to EFSA. This request was rejected and EFSA confirmed that requests from the UK will need to follow the same process which applies to other non-EU countries.
Defra and Fera Science Ltd. have worked with the trade to develop a dossier for Ligustrum delavayanum and this was submitted to EFSA on 03/12/21. EFSA acknowledged receipt of the dossier in April 2022 but requested further information be provided. We believe the request for additional information goes beyond EFSA’s own guidelines and their approach to applications from other countries and we are challenging their request on the basis of fairness and proportionality.
Unfortunately, now that the dossier is with EFSA we have no control over how long it will take them to consider it and we are therefore unable to give an indication of when the EU commission will make a final decision on this application. However, we will continue to press them and to seek regular updates on progress.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported problems faced by British horticultural firms unable to complete export orders to the EU involving the use of topiary created from Ligustrum delavayanum.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The UK has not been listed for export of all of the genera of plants/trees covered by the EU High Risk Plants legislation (Regulation 2018/2019). This has meant that since 1January 2021 these genera, which include Ligustrum, are subject to prohibitions pending individual risk assessments conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The UK made a case in February 2020 that a number of otherwise prohibited items, including the tree and shrub species regarded as High Risk Plants, should be recognized and exempt from such a prohibition through EU legislation, so as to allow imports to continue. This case was rejected by the Commission in late 2020.
The rejection of this request means that we are required to use the same process for seeking listing which is followed by all non-EU countries. The listing process involves submitting technical dossiers to EFSA for individual species within each of the prohibited genera. Defra has been working closely with trade associations and individual businesses on priorities for such dossiers, including certain Ligustrum species.
Once a dossier has been accepted by EFSA and their review commences, based on experience to date, it is likely to take in excess of 18 months for the EU commission to introduce new import conditions in legislation. There is no guarantee that the outcome of a review will be that trade can commence and only a small number of submissions made by third countries have resulted in new import conditions since the initiation of this process in 2019.
In June 2021, in an attempt to speed up the listing process, we sought agreement from the EU Commission for a more streamlined approach be applied to the assessment of dossiers submitted by the UK to EFSA. This request was rejected and EFSA confirmed that requests from the UK will need to follow the same process which applies to other non-EU countries.
Defra and Fera Science Ltd. have worked with the trade to develop a dossier for Ligustrum delavayanum and this was submitted to EFSA on 03/12/21. EFSA acknowledged receipt of the dossier in April 2022 but requested further information be provided. We believe the request for additional information goes beyond EFSA’s own guidelines and their approach to applications from other countries and we are challenging their request on the basis of fairness and proportionality.
Unfortunately, now that the dossier is with EFSA we have no control over how long it will take them to consider it and we are therefore unable to give an indication of when the EU commission will make a final decision on this application. However, we will continue to press them and to seek regular updates on progress.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much peat has been extracted from peatlands in England for horticultural purposes over the last five years for which statistics are available.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Peat is extracted in England for, primarily, horticultural purposes. Commercial extraction in England is licensed on approximately 664 hectares of peatland, across 29 sites. Whilst this represents less than 1% of England’s peatlands, extraction is a major source of carbon emissions, causes biodiversity loss and destroys habitats.
Industry data tells us that in 2020 alone, 2.2 million cubic metres of peat were sold in the UK, 70% of which was imported.
Recent years have seen the development of a number of high-quality peat-free alternatives that are as effective as current peat-based options, many of which are much less damaging to the environment than using peat.
We are therefore continuing to focus on reducing demand for peat in horticulture in England, to protect peatlands at home and abroad. We have published a full consultation on ending the use of peat, with our preferred option being to ban the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament. We are also turbo-charging current levels of peatland restoration through the Nature for Climate Fund, which will aim to provide funding for the restoration of approximately 35,000ha of peatland by 2025. This represents a tripling of historical average annual restoration levels.
More information about our actions to protect and restore our vulnerable peatlands is available at these links to the consultation (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ending-the-retail-sale-of-peat-in-horticulture-in-england-and-wales) and the England Peat Action Plan (England Peat Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Relevant documents are also attached to this answer.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total acreage of peatland in England; and how many acres are used for the production of peat for horticultural purposes.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Peat is extracted in England for, primarily, horticultural purposes. Commercial extraction in England is licensed on approximately 664 hectares of peatland, across 29 sites. Whilst this represents less than 1% of England’s peatlands, extraction is a major source of carbon emissions, causes biodiversity loss and destroys habitats.
Industry data tells us that in 2020 alone, 2.2 million cubic metres of peat were sold in the UK, 70% of which was imported.
Recent years have seen the development of a number of high-quality peat-free alternatives that are as effective as current peat-based options, many of which are much less damaging to the environment than using peat.
We are therefore continuing to focus on reducing demand for peat in horticulture in England, to protect peatlands at home and abroad. We have published a full consultation on ending the use of peat, with our preferred option being to ban the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament. We are also turbo-charging current levels of peatland restoration through the Nature for Climate Fund, which will aim to provide funding for the restoration of approximately 35,000ha of peatland by 2025. This represents a tripling of historical average annual restoration levels.
More information about our actions to protect and restore our vulnerable peatlands is available at these links to the consultation (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ending-the-retail-sale-of-peat-in-horticulture-in-england-and-wales) and the England Peat Action Plan (England Peat Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Relevant documents are also attached to this answer.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the horticulture sector to ensure that the delayed introduction of the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) for plant import pre-notification is suitable for the industry’s requirements.
Answered by Lord Benyon
We have regular engagement with key stakeholders and membership groups representing the horticulture sector to understand and manage implications of the introduction of the new Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) service. Officials have held a number of IPAFFS briefings and walkthrough sessions during May and June 2021 which received positive and valuable feedback.
The purpose of these sessions has been to introduce the IPAFFS service to trade who may not have had the benefit of seeing it in advance. Further training sessions are planned and will be communicated with trade. Business readiness teams have developed guidance materials and videos to support trade with their transition to the new service, as well as working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to answer all of the questions and queries trade have raised about the service.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of delays to the introduction of the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed system (IPAFFS) for plant import pre-notification on the horticultural sector.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The IT systems used to facilitate the prenotification of imports of plants and plant products will be changing, moving from the current PEACH system to a new Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed system (IPAFFS). We are managing the impact on trade by phasing in the introduction of the new IT system in stages. From 1 January 2022, traders who are prenotifying plants and plant products for the first time will be required to do so on the new IPAFFS service. Importers who are using and registered for PEACH should continue to use that system until instructed to move over to IPAFFS.
All existing and new IT services have undergone intense scrutiny and stress testing to ensure they can cope with the increased volumes of plant imports and exports transactions since the end of the transition period. Businesses trading in ‘high-priority’ plants (those regulated since 1 January 2021) from the EU have joined thousands of other businesses who have successfully used PEACH and eDomero for nearly two decades to trade with non-EU countries.
The Early Adopter phase of the plant health IT service (IPAFFS) started in August 2021. Nominated traders were invited as some of our initial users in this first phase. The wider transition of trade will continue during the rest of 2021. PEACH will continue to be accessible and live throughout this period of transition, as previously agreed with traders.
Officials held a number of IPAFFS briefings and walkthrough sessions throughout May and June 2021 which received positive and valuable feedback. The purpose of these sessions has been to introduce the IPAFFS service to trade who may not have had the benefit of seeing it in advance. Further training sessions are planned and will be communicated with trade. Business readiness teams have developed guidance materials and videos to support trade with their transition to the new service, as well as working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to answer all of the questions and queries trade have raised about the service.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to ban the import of animals killed by trophy hunters, and (2) to introduce related penalties for offenders.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government takes the conservation of endangered species very seriously, which is why we are banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species, as set out in the Government’s manifesto.
Our approach will be comprehensive, robust and effective and will deliver the change we promised to help protect thousands of species worldwide. We will be setting out our plans soon.
Asked by: Baroness Fookes (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding their treatment of the followers of Falun Gong.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practice, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation with the Chinese authorities, and will continue to do so.