Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 3 February (HL4305 and HL4306), what is their timescale to decide the next steps and respond to the ‘Fairer food labelling’ consultation, which ran from 12 March to 7 May 2024.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps. We recognise that this is an important matter and will respond to this consultation as soon as we are able to.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce mandatory labelling across meat and dairy products stating how animals were kept and, where appropriate, where animals were not stunned prior to slaughter.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the ‘Fairer food labelling’ consultation, which ran from 12 March to 7 May 2024.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that prime farmland is not downgraded to allow the construction of solar farms.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Government has laid a written ministerial statement about our plans for solar power whilst protecting our food security and Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land (defined as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification). This can be found here.
In particular, it sets out that the Government has heard concerns about the perceived inaccuracy and unfairness of soil surveys undertaken as part of the planning process for solar development. The Government will address this by supporting independent certification by an appropriate certifying body, subject to relevant business case approval, to ensure Agricultural Land Classification Soil Surveys are of a high standard, requiring surveyors to demonstrate meeting an agreed minimum requirement of training/experience.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many acres of prime farmland have been used for solar farms, what assessment they have made of impact such practices, and what assessment they have made of the proportion of land used for solar farms in particular areas.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
While the Government does not currently publish the figures requested, the WMS laid before parliament on 15 May commits that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will expand the Renewable Energy Planning Database to include additional information on the types of agricultural land used by existing projects and those in the planning pipeline. This will enable us to carefully monitor the use of land by renewable projects in all regions of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - 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 impact of land use and food security, and what steps they are taking to ensure that farmland is reserved for the production of food.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. In 2023, 69.7% of the UK’s land was used for agricultural production. The UK Food Security Index, the first edition of which was published at the Farm to Fork Summit earlier this month, includes indicators on self-sufficiency and agricultural land use. The relationship between land use and food security is complex and will be explored in more detail in the UK Food Security Report, which will be published later this year. Our Land Use Framework, due to be published before summer recess, will set out how we can use land more effectively to deliver our environmental targets, net zero and food security objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when considering whether an area should be designated or retained as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, they take into account whether they wish more housing to be built there, or whether it is designated purely on environmental, nature and beauty considerations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
To designate an Area of Natural Beauty, Natural England must issue an order under section 82 of the CROW Act for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of that area. The area must meet a set of natural beauty criterion. Based upon the legislation, the designation process includes technical assessment against designation criteria and assessment of the desirability of designating the area. The desirability tests recognise that a designation may have an impact beyond the immediate statutory purpose. As such, consideration is also given to government policy which will influence how AONBs operate in relation to wider policy areas, such as housing, the economy and planning.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Surrey Hills has lost its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Natural England, the responsible body for designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, confirms that the Surrey Hills remain an AONB. There are no plans for it to be de-designated and, in fact, Natural England are currently considering potential extensions to the Surrey Hills AONB boundary. As part of a national rebranding of AONBs to ‘National Landscapes’, the Surrey Hills AONB is now referred to as the Surrey Hills National Landscape but, legally, it remains an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which body designates areas with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Natural England is responsible for the designation of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use the next stages of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway to ensure that the highest standards of animal welfare are applied in all abattoirs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway maps out how farmers and the Government will work together to continually improve the health and welfare of our farmed animals, supported by the best science and evidence. It involves three mutually reinforcing pillars in making this change: financial incentives to help farmers deliver on-farm improvements; stimulating market demand through labelling and mandatory public disclosure to improve the accessibility, availability and affordability of higher welfare products; and, where needed, strengthening regulation to ensure the changes made endure. Following the post-implementation review of our welfare at killing legislation, and as part of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are looking at a wide range of welfare at slaughter improvements that could be made to strengthen the regulatory baseline in slaughterhouses. Welfare at slaughter is a devolved matter, and the Government remains committed to working closely with the devolved administrations on our shared aims for animal welfare.