Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans (1) to bring forward their proposed ban on the sale of all peat-containing products, or (2) revise the list of items exempted from the ban until 2030.
Answered by Lord Benyon
In August 2022 we announced that we would ban the sale of peat for use in amateur gardening; we remain committed to this and plan to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows. It remains our policy that we intend to legislate to restrict, and ultimately ban, the sale of peat and peat containing products. Our proposals, announced in March this year, include technical exemptions up to 2030. We are continuing to hold discussions with the horticulture sector on possible technical exemptions for the continued use of peat in the professional sector up to 2030, and for conservation purposes thereafter.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of (1) trading standards, (2) environmental health, and (3) food safety personnel in local authorities, and what plans they have to ensure sufficient numbers.
Answered by Lord Markham
Data for local authority food inspectors on 31 March 2023 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the attached document. Local authorities report their resources by food hygiene and food standards as there are two separate returns.
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance with food safety and standards legislation for most food businesses. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has statutory duties to monitor and report on their performance in doing so. It does this by collecting data from local authorities. The most recent data from October 2023 survey found:
- Full Time Equivalent (FTE) allocated by local authorities to deliver food hygiene work is 1,616 with 1,464 occupied; and
- The allocated FTE for food standards is 432 with 384 occupied.
The FSA recently commissioned research to understand the challenges and opportunities to recruit and retain Local Authority Officers to deliver Official Food and Feed Controls. A copy of Local Authority Capacity and Capability: Executive Summary is attached.
The overall findings of the research are complex, and the FSA has started to address the areas they have direct influence over, for example by reviewing the qualifications and competence requirements for local authority food officers.
The FSA has started to collaborate with other government departments and relevant professional bodies to discuss the findings and work together to shape and influence potential solutions.
At the FSA board meeting on 13 December 2023, the board considered a paper on local authority performance where one of the recommendations is to write to Local Authority Chief Executives and section.151 Finance Officers to set out their concerns about resourcing and delivery, and to remind them of the statutory nature of official food controls when considering and setting the budget allocation for the next financial year. A copy of the paper is attached.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of (1) vets, (2) food inspectors, and (3) other personnel who contribute to maintaining food safety, and what plans they have to ensure sufficient numbers.
Answered by Lord Markham
Data for local authority food inspectors on 31 March 2023 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in the attached document. Local authorities report their resources by food hygiene and food standards as there are two separate returns.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) employs vets in abattoirs, through a Service Delivery Provider (SDP), who deliver Official Controls in England and Wales. They also directly employ vets to approve, audit and assurance Food Business Operators. There are approximately 270 Official Veterinarians (OVs) in abattoirs every day.
The FSA is implementing a suite of measures to maintain sufficient numbers of both OVs and Official Auxiliaries (OAs) in a difficult recruitment environment. This includes, but is not limited to, careful consultation and consideration through our SDP Retender Programme, planning for contingency measures, working across government to address the systemic veterinary challenges impacting on the ability to recruit OVs and running both trainee and qualified OA recruitment exercises.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of organised crime relating to food and drink, and what plans they have to facilitate information sharing among relevant public authorities and industry stakeholders.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a dedicated National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) to prevent, detect and investigate food crime. The NFCU plays a key role in the prevention of food crime by monitoring current and future threats. The unit can also lead and support partners in conducting investigations to enable the prosecution of food criminals. The FSA’s understanding of the nature and levels of food crime within the food and drink sector is set out within their Food Crime Strategic Assessment. The publication of an updated Food Crime Strategic Assessment, compiled in partnership with Food Standards Scotland, is planned for spring 2024.
The FSA has a strong partnership with industry to detect food fraud risks and vulnerabilities. One such partnership is with the Food Industry Intelligence Network who the FSA liaises closely with on sampling data and potential authenticity issue signals. The FSA works closely with local authorities, who enforce food hygiene and safety standards across much of the food sector. The FSA has regular communication through their networks where intelligence is shared on issues that would fall under their remit for enforcement. The FSA also has well established links with other enforcement agencies and the police to share and discuss relevant intelligence around serious criminality in the food sector and to explore crossovers with other offending so that an effective and collaborative response can be applied to such issues.
Earlier this year, the FSA established a working group with industry, focusing on food fraud. The working group agreed improvements to the format, content, timeliness, and distribution of intelligence-based alerts, issued by the NFCU to industry networks to allow them to better protect themselves against the threat. All members agreed to promote or otherwise support a new freephone confidential food fraud hotline operated by the FSA. The working group also agreed to the provision of more information to the FSA from voluntary Third-Party Assurance schemes. Sharing arrangements around information exchange with Third-Party Assurance schemes are being explored.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to start recording official data on e-bike usage as part of the National Travel Survey.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
The National Travel Survey records data on all personal domestic travel by its respondents by any mode of transport. The figures presented in our statistical publications are kept under constant review, through assessment of the reported prevalence for different modes and journey types.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Drinking Water Inspectorate found that more than 11,000 samples had tested positive for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 2022.
Answered by Lord Benyon
Although detected in a tiny number of raw water samples, there is no evidence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations above the 0.1 µg/l guideline value in drinking water supplies. The Government is aware of the 3.8% of water samples that tested positive for PFAS in 2022. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has assessed these results and provided further direction to companies to develop appropriate and focused strategies to protect drinking water supplies going forward. Work is continuing across Government, which the DWI is involved in, to help us assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources and potential risks to safeguard current high drinking water quality and ensure our regulations remain fit for purpose.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why their response to the 2022 consultation on improved food waste reporting by large food businesses in England has been withdrawn, and when they expect to publish a new response.
Answered by Lord Benyon
We intend to gather further evidence and re-consider all the options using the latest available data in order to retake the decision in the next four to six months.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they envisage the work of Ofwat will contribute to the revised Growth Duty, which was announced alongside the Autumn Statement.
Answered by Lord Benyon
Ofwat lead the independent price review process to determine investment plans for water companies from 2025 to 2030, with proposed business plans currently containing a planned £96 billion of investment between 2025 and 2030.
Ofwat are now in the process of scrutinising these plans to ensure they meet the targets for environmental improvements and other obligations, without unduly impacting customers’ bills. Once the Growth Duty requirements come into force on 6 April 2024, Ofwat will also need to consider the promotion of economic growth throughout this scrutiny process.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they envisage any conflicts arising between the statutory duties of Ofwat and the revised Growth Duty, which was announced alongside the Autumn Statement; and if so, which duties should be prioritised.
Answered by Lord Benyon
As an independent regulator, Ofwat are well placed to balance their own decision making on statutory duties. This will include striking the right balance between competing pressures or duties, informed by an understanding of what approach might best support sustainable growth.
There may be instances where a regulator has considered growth and reached a view that other duties or objectives may take precedence. To support this, the proposed updated guidance for the Growth Duty assists regulators in considering the importance of economic factors and how to fulfil the Growth Duty.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that 96 per cent of respondents to their 2021 Call for Evidence on the fur trade strongly agreed that it is wrong for animals to be killed for fur, what plans they have to bring forward legislation to ban the (1) import, and (2) sale, of fur.
Answered by Lord Benyon
We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. This includes commissioning the Animal Welfare Committee to explore current responsible sourcing practices in the fur industry. Any future measures would be subject to consultation.