Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for system resilience, including physical infrastructure, as well as communications, resourcing.

As the independent regulator for energy, Ofgem has also announced a review into the impact of Storm Arwen. This will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining resilience of the system, which includes physical infrastructure, and their emergency response.

The impacts of Storm Arwen were very unusual. All customers that lost their electricity supply were restored by the 8^th December.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for communications, resourcing and system resilience. This will include a review of communications between Government, power distribution companies and the public.

As the independent regulator for energy, Ofgem has also announced it will undertake a review into the impact of Storm Arwen. This will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining the resilience of the system and their emergency response, including their communications with customers.

BEIS officials are in regular contact with the British Plastics Federation (BPF) who have informed them that there are global pressures affecting the demand and supply for some plastics polymers including polypropylene. These pressures are currently shared with a number of different materials sectors.

The BPF regularly surveys its members on key issues and have passed on information outlining that these pressures are due to a variety of issues including the current pandemic and some instances of extreme weather that has affected production. Officials will continue to work with the sector and with other government departments to monitor the effects of such issues, especially if they appear to have an impact on vital supplies of products that are needed for medical use.

In line with our Net Zero target, the Government is committed to phasing out unabated coal-fired power generation by 2025, and is consulting on moving this date forward to 2024. This policy applies to coal-fired power stations only – it does not apply to other coal consumers such as heritage railways, or to domestic coal mines. Companies do not require permission from the Government to import coal; the sourcing of coal for use in heritage railways and other industries is a private commercial decision for the companies involved.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector, including those operating in the night-time economy, to understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.

Night-time economy businesses have been able to benefit from government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.

On 5 January, when the new national lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring. A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.

Local communities are already able to benefit from the sale of electricity from Energy from Waste (EfW) plants in those instances where the local authority has made a provision to retain revenue from the sale when tendering a waste processing contract.

For EfW plants that utilise combined heat and power (CHP) technologies the local area can also benefit from the supply of low carbon heat, either via a heat network to heat homes and commercial premises or by direct connection to an industrial site to help incentivise businesses.

The Government is supporting EfW-based networks through its £320m Heat Network Investment Project and from 2022 an additional £270m will be available through the Green Heat Network Fund.

Regulation of the electricity network is a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. It is the responsibility of network companies to provide the infrastructure required to transmit electricity generated from renewables and they do this according to the framework set out by Ofgem through the price control. A number of methods can be used to transfer energy to transmission and distribution systems, including overhead powerlines. The choice of which method to use depends on a range of factors, including technical assessments, environmental impacts and costs.

The Offshore Transmission Network Review is currently considering how best to connect offshore renewable energy in the most efficient way, with a view to finding the appropriate balance between environmental, social and economic costs.

A number of methods can be used to transfer energy from battery storage facilities to transmission and distribution systems. The choice of which method to use (undergrounding or overgrounding) depends on a range of factors, including technical assessments, environmental impacts and costs.

Battery storage is often connected at the distribution network rather than national grid transmission level, and as it is often located close to existing grid supply points requirements for additional pylons are reduced. Any proposals for the use of pylons will be subject to careful consideration through the planning regime, taking account of the views of local people and other relevant stakeholders.

Batteries can provide a range of services to the electricity system, such as storing electricity from renewable generation during periods of low demand and releasing electricity when prices are high, as well as helping to reduce the cost of balancing the system. They can provide services at both local (community) and national levels.

Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) also operate local markets for flexibility services. These provide additional opportunities for batteries to support the decarbonisation of, and provide energy to, their local communities.

Work on amendments to the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 to provide permanent procedural rules for the moratorium introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 is ongoing and the relevant regulations will be laid when Parliamentary time allows. The Government is aware that the current temporary provision expires on 30 March 2021 (subject to any extensions) and will have regard to that fact for the purpose of preparing and laying the permanent rules.

The Government intends that consultation with the Insolvency Rules Committee regarding these rules, as required by law, will commence in November 2020.

Separate rules will be required for Scotland and, since this area is partially devolved, the timing of those rules will be subject to further discussions with the Scottish Government.

Extended spells of dry sunny weather during spring are primarily a consequence of the large-scale circulation and buckling of the jet stream allowing for the development of persistent high-pressure systems close to the UK. In spring 2020 the jet stream shifted to the north-west of the UK and successive areas of high pressure dominated the country, leading to sunny, warm and dry conditions. Weather conditions in February 2020 were also due to a change in the jet stream. In this instance, a strengthening of the jet over the UK delivered multiple storms and record rainfall. In both cases, the conditions were predicted in some detail days ahead in Met Office short-range weather forecasts and also anticipated in its long-range outlooks.

The role of the jet stream in influencing UK weather is well understood. The next step is to understand what is driving the behaviour of the jet steam when there are extremes. There is strong evidence from research by the Met Office that global connections from the tropics were responsible for the behaviour of the jet stream during February 2020. Work is ongoing to examine what influenced the jet stream during spring 2020. Future research by the Met Office will examine current variability in the jet stream and the effect on UK weather.

The two existing business grants schemes have helped supported many thousands of small businesses.

To ensure that Local Authorities can help these businesses, the Government has allocated additional up to £617 million funding to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants.

It is our intention that the following businesses should be considered as a priority for these funds:

· Businesses in a range of shared workspaces;

· Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment;

· B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and

· Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Defra continues to work closely with industry and other Government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the UK agricultural sector.

The Government has announced that the seasonal worker visa route will be extended to 2024 to allow overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available for 2022. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 if there is clear evidence of need.

While acknowledging the sector’s reliance on foreign workers, the UK is committed to becoming a high-skilled, high-wage economy and the Government has been clear that more must be done to attract UK workers through offering training, career options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.

Defra’s Review of Automation in Horticulture will be published shortly and will inform a range of policy decisions regarding automation and seasonal labour from 2022 onwards.

In addition, agricultural businesses can continue to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status and EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in 2022 and beyond. Over 5.7 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors among UK workers.

Defra is also working closely with the Home Office to ensure that the requirement for these sectors is understood across Government.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

Defra is monitoring the position on wheat closely, alongside other commodities which are used to make up animal feed rations for all species including the pig sector, with regular intelligence from industry on both availability and price. Domestic production of wheat comprises 85% of demand, which means the UK is less exposed to import availability than other countries, or on some other products. Currently, there is no direct impact of the Ukraine crisis on UK wheat imports.

Defra is working closely with its industry-led groups – the Arable Chain Advisory Group and Agri-Supply Coalition – alongside UK Flour Millers to monitor the wheat situation, including on prices. We are also working closely with grain trader associations including the Grain and Feed Trade Association, Openfield, Seed Crushers and Oil Processors Association, and cross cutting organisations including the NFU, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the Agricultural Industries Confederation and pet food manufacturers.

We recognise the significant and ongoing challenges that the pig sector has faced over the last year. This is due to the pandemic and the loss of the Chinese export market to certain processing plants; global labour shortages; and disruption to supplies of carbon dioxide, which is used as a stunning method for pigs. In addition, in 2021, the UK pig herd was the largest for 20 years. Together these factors have resulted in a backlog of pigs on farm.

This supply chain disruption has not impacted animal welfare of pigs in slaughterhouses. Our concern is that increased numbers of animals on farms can create animal welfare issues if there is insufficient space or housing.

The Government has been working closely with the pig industry to put in place measures to alleviate the situation, including temporary visas for pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment Schemes to incentivise processors to increase their throughput of pigs in slaughterhouses. These interventions are, together, making a significant contribution to reducing the backlog of pigs on farms. The Farming Minister, Victoria Prentis, has chaired two roundtables – on 10 February and 3 March - with pig industry representatives from across the UK to discuss the challenges that the sector has been facing. Minister Prentis has also met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for the provision of official veterinarians to monitor and enforce animal welfare regulations in slaughterhouses. The FSA has maintained veterinary supervision in all slaughterhouses, which includes providing veterinary resource for additional slaughter shifts.

Ahead of the new environmental land management schemes being fully rolled out, between 2021 and 2024 we will help farmers to manage their land sustainably and prepare to take part in our environmental land management schemes. This will include:

• extensions to Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship;
• new Countryside Stewardship agreements, available until 2023, with the final round of agreements starting in January 2024;
• piloting our environmental land management scheme offers;
• core elements of our Sustainable Farming Incentive – the first in our package of environmental land management schemes - available to all farmers in receipt of BPS from later this year with the first payments due by the end of the year.

We have already launched a new Farming in Protected Landscapes programme in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

We have also opened a number of productivity and innovation grant opportunities for farmers, and have already awarded grants to the value of more than £48 million.

We have a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. Our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low, so we do not expect any significant direct impact on UK food supply. Farmers are facing a number of challenges, including rising input costs. We are already taking a number of steps to support British farmers, including ensuring they have the workforce they need through our seasonal workers scheme, and informing policy through the establishment of the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group. On Thursday 31 March, we held an industry roundtable chaired by the Farming Minister, Victoria Prentis, to look at the issues faced by the fertiliser industry and the impact on farmers. Alongside this, last week, we announced steps to assist farmers with the availability of fertilisers to address uncertainty among growers and keep costs down for farmers. This package of measures included delaying changes to the use of urea fertiliser by at least a year; revised and improved statutory guidance has been published on how farmers should limit the use of slurry and other farmyard manure at certain times of year. Farmers will be further supported through new slurry storage grants as of this year, helping meet the Farming Rules for Water and reducing dependence on artificial fertilisers by storing organic nutrients until needed or for onward processing. We also published further detail on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) which will help farmers move towards sustainable farming practices over time, supporting farmers to build the health and fertility of their soil and to reduce soil erosion which are essential for sustainable food production, helping to bolster food security and the longer term resilience of the sector.

We believe food production and environmental protection go hand in hand; they are two sides of the same coin. That is why the SFI will open for early rollout of core elements of the scheme in summer 2022, to allow us to make the first SFI payments before the end of the year. We are planning to introduce a Nutrient Management Standard to the SFI in 2023 that will reward growers who make better use of naturally occurring sources of crop nutrients. Given current fertiliser prices, the priority must be to pioneer new technologies to manufacture more organic-based fertiliser products, and rediscover techniques such as using nitrogen fixing legumes and clovers as an alternative to fertiliser.

All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the animal. This is supplemented by detailed legislation to protect the welfare of livestock while on farm, as well as legislation to protect animal welfare during transport and at slaughter.

Defra works closely with the livestock sector to encourage a productive, efficient and profitable sector. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway will push forward and support the gradual and continual improvement in farm animal health and welfare. The pathway is a critical part of the farming reforms set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, delivering benefits for animal health and welfare, farm productivity, food security, public health, UK trade and the environment. It does this by financially rewarding farmers who deliver public goods, stimulating market demand for higher welfare products and strengthening the regulatory baseline.

We continue to monitor the evolving situation and to work closely with the pig industry to help them respond to challenges caused by the pandemic, including the loss of exports to the Chinese market for certain pig processors, disruption to CO2 supplies, and a temporary shortage of labour in the processing sector. This has led to a growing backlog of pigs on farms, which can pose challenges to animal welfare.

We have provided a package of measures to help address these unique circumstances, which includes temporary work visas for up to 800 pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid (PSA) and Slaughter Incentive Payment (SIP) schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs. Together with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and other Government Departments, we are working to both expand existing markets and to identify new export markets for pork, particularly lightly processed pork. We are also working with industry to support their efforts on the recruitment and retention of domestic workers.

On 10 February, the Farming Minister Victoria Prentis chaired a roundtable with pig industry representatives from across the UK to discuss the challenges that the sector has been facing in recent months. We are launching a UK-wide review of supply chain fairness in the pig sector. We will be engaging with industry on this straight away, with a consultation expected later this year. We want to elicit industry views on improvements to fairness and transparency that could be made to ensure a profitable and productive future.

We have also introduced additional flexibility to the SIP scheme to further encourage uptake and reduce the backlog. This will remove all restrictions on the end destination of products killed during SIP shifts from 18 February.

It is the responsibility of the registered keeper or owner to ensure the health and welfare of the animals in their care and to apply and adjust contingency plans, in response to a changing situation. Contingency plans may involve movement of animals to another holding, or on-farm culling of animals that are suffering, or at imminent risk of suffering, adverse welfare impacts. Farms have contingency plans to deal with short-term disruptions. In some cases, this has resulted in animals being culled on-farm to prevent animal welfare issues or to address issues that have arisen.

While the shortage of butchers has reduced the opportunity for processors to butcher meat, particularly for the domestic retail market, it has not impacted the number of pigs slaughtered. Defra records show that the number of pigs slaughtered throughout 2021 was higher than the 5-year average. GB Pig slaughter numbers were up by 0.2 million to 11.4 million pigs in January-November 2021, compared to the same period 2020. Slaughter numbers were also 0.3m or 3% higher than the 2018-20 average.

In December 2021, the Government published the UK Food Security Report, an analysis of statistical data on food security. This is the first in a series of reports to be published triennially. This landmark report shows we have a resilient and stable food supply-chain which adapted quickly throughout the pandemic. Perishable products across the food supply chain have continued to be delivered to meet demand.

Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

We are engaging with the food industry to collect evidence to devise appropriate solutions to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks.

Some of these Government-led key measures include: the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency's action to increase HGV tests to 3,000 per week; the Department for Transport's 16-week skills bootcamps to train new and returning drivers; and the streamlining of the HGV testing regulatory framework, increasing testing capacity by around 50,000.

In addition, the Transport Secretary has relaxed driver hours regulation, allowing more flexibility in response to supply disruptions from the Omicron variant. This relaxation will last until 10 February 2022 in England, Scotland, and Wales.

We will publish the environmental principles draft policy statement as soon as possible, following the consultation we carried out last year. In the meantime, we are working closely with departments to support them in planning for implementing the duty to have due regard to the policy statement.

Leaving the EU has provided a huge opportunity for UK agriculture to boost domestic productivity and improve its competitiveness - developing the next generation of food and farming technology, adopting the latest techniques and investing in skills and equipment. As a government we will always champion our farmers and producers, supporting them to grow more of our great British food.

In November we opened the new Farming Investment Fund which will provide grants to farmers, foresters, and growers in England (including contractors to these sectors) so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment.

We will also work with the sector to boost exports, building on the UK's growing reputation for high-quality food and drink, with high standards of animal welfare, traceability and sustainability. The Government will add eight new agri-food and drink attachés in priority markets. As well as posts in China, USA, India, Canada and Mexico, the agri-food attachés will be covering growth markets in the Gulf, Africa, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Existing attachés in China and the UAE have been pivotal in securing access for a greater range of products, driving export growth and building mutually supportive relationships with trading partners.

During the PM's visit to the US last year agreement was made regarding the small ruminant rule, which opens a valuable path for UK exports of lamb to the US. This achievement follows on from last year’s commencement of UK beef exports to the US for the first time in over 20 years. The UK beef sector can now begin to reap the economic benefits of trade with the US – with industry estimating beef exports will be worth £66 million over the next five years. The Mexican market is now also open for British pork for the first time, which means a potential boost of £50m over the first five years of trade. British exporters can now tap into this brand-new market, which boasts high demand for high quality pork meat. Last year, over £597 million of British food and drink exports headed to Gulf Co-operation Council countries. Farmers and food producers could now benefit hugely from better market access to a region that imports virtually all its food and has high demand for top-quality British produce including lamb.

Defra’s avian influenza disease control measures aim to minimise the economic burden of the outbreak on the food, farming and tourism industries and the wider economy.

The Department works closely with poultry industry stakeholders and the impacts of the avian influenza outbreak are being monitored closely. Where avian influenza is confirmed on a premises, the producer receives compensation for any healthy birds culled for disease control purposes. Compensation is not available for sick birds or those that have died, or for consequential losses such as lost sales opportunities as a result of movement restrictions. These are well-established arrangements in line with the Animal Health Act 1981 (As amended).

Around 9 million British turkeys are reared for Christmas every year to some of the highest standards in the world. Although the supply of vets, catchers, farm staff and drivers remains a challenge for the poultry industry, recent avian influenza outbreaks at turkey farms are very unlikely to have any detrimental impact on the supply of British turkeys this Christmas.

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 ban the commercial third-party sale of puppies and kittens in England. This amendment, also known as Lucy's Law, came into force in April 2020. Any cases of pet dealers attempting to circumvent the ban on third-party sales should be reported to the relevant local authorities, as enforcers of the legislation. Defra does not hold the data for the application of Lucy’s Law by local authorities.

Defra recognises that raising awareness of deceitful sellers is another integral step towards tackling low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies. That is why we launched the communications campaign "Petfished" in March 2020 to raise the public's awareness of the consequences of buying from a low-welfare seller and challenging the assumption that it is easy to spot bad practice. The campaign also signposts to resources available to help people make good decisions and source from responsible breeders or rehoming centres in the UK.

We are committed to tackling the issues caused by wet wipes. On 20 November, we launched a call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastics, and this includes a chapter on wet wipes.

Defra continues to encourage the water industry and wet wipe manufacturers to work together to raise consumer awareness about the appropriate disposal of wet wipes and other non-flushable products.

Farmers have reported an overstocking of pigs on farms because of staff shortages in processing plants. This has the potential to lead to welfare issues for pigs on farm, due to overcrowding. The Government has implemented a number of measures to address the backlog and to reduce any on-farm animal welfare implications. Defra is not aware of any animal welfare issues in other meat processing sectors due to a shortage of workers.

The package of measures that Defra has provided to help to alleviate the backlog of pigs on farms and to ease potential welfare implications includes temporary work visas for up to 800 pork butchers and Private Storage Aid (PSA) and Slaughter Incentive Payment (SIP) schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs.

Furthermore, in England and Scotland, the two meat levy bodies, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Quality Meat Scotland, suspended the statutory levy for pig farmers and producers during November 2021.

The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation and is working closely with the industry through this challenging period.

Water companies set out the measures that are to be taken as part of a price review period in their business plans. For 2020-2025, water companies have committed £3.1 billion to a programme of improvements to monitoring and management of sewer overflows, including £1.9 billion of investment in the Thames Tideway Tunnel. This will deliver over 800 improvement schemes in response to Event Duration Monitoring insights and implementing additional monitoring to cover 100% of the network by the end of 2023.

Companies have also already re-opened their business plans as part of our efforts to build back greener from the pandemic. In July 2021, Ofwat approved a draft package of over £2.7 billion and as part of this new package of investment, companies committed an additional £144 million to help eliminate the harm caused by Storm Overflows and to trial the creation of two bathing rivers.

However, the Government has been clear that the current number of sewage discharges is unacceptable and that there is more to do. We have made tackling this a priority and are the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue.

In July, the Government published a new draft set of strategic priorities for the water industry's financial regulator, Ofwat. In this publication, the Government set out its expectation that water companies must take steps to "significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows."

The Environment Act then placed this direction on a statutory footing, setting a duty for water companies to achieve a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from Storm Overflows. Defra intends to set out the level of ambition expected by this in due course.

Precisely which measures will be achieved by Water and Sewerage Companies in the next price review period will be a case for the Environment Agency and Water Companies to agree in the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and will be reflected in water company business plans, but we have been clear that increased ambition is needed, and this will be laid out early in the new year.

Wet wipes are a significant contributor to sewer blockages - which can in turn contribute to flooding. Defra has recently launched a call for evidence to better understand the impact of wet wipes in sewers and is exploring options such as a ban on wipes containing plastic, a mandatory standard and labelling for all wipes. More information can be found at: Call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items - Defra - Citizen Space. More broadly, litter of all types can make flooding worse, and Defra’s proposed measures to reduce the use of single-use plastics, as well as broader measures to control litter and illegal waste will help mitigate this issue.

The Government is currently undertaking a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review will report in 2022.

The Government is working to ensure that the design of our future farming schemes is broadly accessible to as many land managers as possible including tenant farmers. As part of this we are considering questions around landlord consent and length of scheme agreement and we are exploring and testing how our new schemes might work in practice across different types of holdings and different types and lengths of tenancy agreements.

For our new environmental land management schemes to be successful, we need them to work for a wide range of farmers, foresters and other land managers including tenant farmers.

As part of the development of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, we have considered the needs of tenants and have worked closely with a number of organisations including the Tenant Farmers Association, Country Land and Business Association and National Farmers’ Union. We’re also working with tenants through our pilot, test and trials and user research

For the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot, participants must have management control of the land included within the agreement for the duration of the pilot agreement. This is so that participants can fulfil the actions on the land whilst under agreement but has allowed tenants with land covered by short term tenancies to apply for the scheme pilot.

We are embedding the pilot learning and will continually review this eligibility to inform our development of all the future schemes including the early roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in 2022.

Whilst land under Agricultural Holdings Act Tenancy Agreements and Farm Business Tenancy Agreements is substantially for agricultural use, landlords and tenants can work together positively to agree to diversifications including using the land for environmental improvements which can often be delivered alongside agricultural production.

To encourage this the Tenancy Reform Industry Group recently produced a Code of Good Practice CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE (rics.org) providing guidance to help tenants, landlords and their advisers take a positive and practical approach to agreeing variations to agricultural tenancy agreements that will help the sector adapt and make the most of new opportunities as we move through the agricultural transition period.

The Government encourages all tenants and landlords to work together and follow the Code of Practice on agreeing diversifications as we transition to new agricultural polices based on public money for public goods.

The Government is working to ensure that the design of our future farming schemes is broadly accessible to as many land managers as possible including tenant farmers. As part of this we are considering questions around landlord consent and length of scheme agreement and we are exploring and testing how our new schemes might work in practice across different types of holdings and different types and lengths of tenancy agreements.

For our new environmental land management schemes to be successful, we need them to work for a wide range of farmers, foresters and other land managers including tenant farmers.

As part of the development of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, we have considered the needs of tenants and have worked closely with a number of organisations including the Tenant Farmers Association, Country Land and Business Association and National Farmers’ Union. We’re also working with tenants through our pilot, test and trials and user research

For the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot, participants must have management control of the land included within the agreement for the duration of the pilot agreement. This is so that participants can fulfil the actions on the land whilst under agreement but has allowed tenants with land covered by short term tenancies to apply for the scheme pilot.

We are embedding the pilot learning and will continually review this eligibility to inform our development of all the future schemes including the early roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in 2022.

Whilst land under Agricultural Holdings Act Tenancy Agreements and Farm Business Tenancy Agreements is substantially for agricultural use, landlords and tenants can work together positively to agree to diversifications including using the land for environmental improvements which can often be delivered alongside agricultural production.

To encourage this the Tenancy Reform Industry Group recently produced a Code of Good Practice CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE (rics.org) providing guidance to help tenants, landlords and their advisers take a positive and practical approach to agreeing variations to agricultural tenancy agreements that will help the sector adapt and make the most of new opportunities as we move through the agricultural transition period.

The Government encourages all tenants and landlords to work together and follow the Code of Practice on agreeing diversifications as we transition to new agricultural polices based on public money for public goods.

The Government is working to ensure that the design of our future farming schemes is broadly accessible to as many land managers as possible including tenant farmers. As part of this we are considering questions around landlord consent and length of scheme agreement and we are exploring and testing how our new schemes might work in practice across different types of holdings and different types and lengths of tenancy agreements.

For our new environmental land management schemes to be successful, we need them to work for a wide range of farmers, foresters and other land managers including tenant farmers.

As part of the development of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, we have considered the needs of tenants and have worked closely with a number of organisations including the Tenant Farmers Association, Country Land and Business Association and National Farmers’ Union. We’re also working with tenants through our pilot, test and trials and user research

For the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot, participants must have management control of the land included within the agreement for the duration of the pilot agreement. This is so that participants can fulfil the actions on the land whilst under agreement but has allowed tenants with land covered by short term tenancies to apply for the scheme pilot.

We are embedding the pilot learning and will continually review this eligibility to inform our development of all the future schemes including the early roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in 2022.

Whilst land under Agricultural Holdings Act Tenancy Agreements and Farm Business Tenancy Agreements is substantially for agricultural use, landlords and tenants can work together positively to agree to diversifications including using the land for environmental improvements which can often be delivered alongside agricultural production.

To encourage this the Tenancy Reform Industry Group recently produced a Code of Good Practice CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE (rics.org) providing guidance to help tenants, landlords and their advisers take a positive and practical approach to agreeing variations to agricultural tenancy agreements that will help the sector adapt and make the most of new opportunities as we move through the agricultural transition period.

The Government encourages all tenants and landlords to work together and follow the Code of Practice on agreeing diversifications as we transition to new agricultural polices based on public money for public goods.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement requires both Parties to share information on records of catches from each other’s waters. The UK receives information on records of catches of quota and non-quota species from the UK Exclusive Economic Zone by EU vessels on a monthly basis.

The Government is committed to promoting a more competitive, profitable and sustainable fishing industry across the whole of the UK, and setting a gold standard for sustainable fishing around the world. We are also committed to delivering 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 to deliver net zero. We recognise the spatial challenges this presents, for these industries and others.

Our existing English Marine Plans, which are in place for all English waters, seek to encourage opportunities for co-existence between fishing and other activities as well as promote new ways of working. However, we recognise that a greater level of spatial prioritisation may be required to enable this. A new cross-UK Government programme has been established to create a shared 2050 strategic vision for the marine environment. It will enable the Government to deliver on its commitments including net zero and sustainable fisheries.

This month, my department is also hosting a workshop with both the fishing and offshore wind industries to discuss the opportunities and challenges for co-location of activities.

There are over 200 non-quota species (NQS). We are working to develop our evidence base for the current management regime for NQS, which is complex and irregular in places. Some of our most valuable and vulnerable species are NQS and there would be a significant impact on the inshore fleet and other fishers if the stocks are not well managed.

We are looking at how best to improve management and believe that the Fisheries Management Plans offer the best way to do so, working with the EU where appropriate.

The Government has set out a new timetable for introducing full import controls for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods being imported from the EU to the UK.

The new timetable considers the challenges businesses have faced due to the global pandemic, as well as its impact on supply chains across the UK and Europe. The Government believes a more pragmatic timetable will help give businesses time to recover from the pandemic and adjust to the new processes.

The controls will now be phased in across 2022.

From 1 July 2022:

• The new requirements for GB Export Health Certificates from EU exporters, which were due to be introduced on 1 October 2021, will now be introduced on 1 July 2022.
• Phytosanitary certificates for lower risk plant produce, due to be introduced on 1 January 2022, will now be introduced on 1 July 2022.
• Physical checks on SPS goods at Border Control Posts will now begin on 1 July 2022.

All current controls for live animals, products of animal origin under safeguard measures and high priority plants and plant products remain unchanged.

In addition, the following customs controls will be phased in:

• Full customs declarations and controls will be introduced on 1 January 2022 as previously announced.
• Safety and Security declarations on imports will be required as of 1 July 2022 as opposed to 1 January 2022.

The new timeline allows importers, exporters and EU certifiers more time to prepare for the requirements and controls. It will ensure we reduce any anticipated disruption when these measures are introduced.

Defra has been working hard with businesses to ensure they are prepared and has run numerous webinars and advice sessions, attended by around 4,000 businesses.

Around 4,600 businesses are already registered for the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS). More than 13,000 individual users are registered for IPAFFS.

The process is simple and only requires a Government Gateway account to register. We have sought to make these processes as straightforward as possible, and many thousands of businesses are already prepared for their introduction.

Defra is working closely with customs agents who are keen to provide import and export support to businesses. We are looking to provide digital solutions to simplify processes and encouraging more agents to offer pre-notification support and support to EU exporters.

Pre-notification procedures from January 2022 to July 2022 have been reduced and now mirror the current import process introduced for live animals in January this year, requiring importers or their agents to complete 15 simple information boxes on IPAFFS.

We have had regular engagement, at all levels, with the European Union on implementation of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in relation to fishing in the Channel Islands’ territorial seas and will continue to do so.

The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement puts in place a framework that allows the UK and the EU to take informed decisions to reduce their respective SPS controls, with a commitment to avoid unnecessary barriers. It is in both Parties’ interests to use this framework to reduce the rate of SPS checks required.

We are open to discussion with the EU on an agreement that goes further in reducing trade frictions between us, but it cannot be on the basis of alignment with EU rules as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws

• The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for a number of Specialised Committees which sit underneath the Partnership Council. The Specialised Committee on Fisheries will provide a forum for discussion and co-operation in relation to sustainable fisheries management.

• Until the TCA has been ratified in European parliament, the Partnership Council and Specialised Committees will not become operational. The membership and administration of the Partnership Council and the supporting Specialised Committees is being worked through at a UK level in anticipation of ratification.

The Export Health Certificate Online (EHC Online) service is currently live with digitised forms covering all EU exports and currently covering just over 80% of rest of the world trade. To date, in excess of 130,000 EHC's have been applied for on the service and the system is working well.

The Government understands the importance of securing the long term viability of the Heritage Sector. The legislation which will come into force from May 2021 is applicable in England only and will end the sale of bituminous coal and smaller quantities of wet wood to households which will lead to significant health benefits. The legislation will not directly impact on the sale of coal to businesses such as the Heritage Sector, although we acknowledge the potential indirect impact this may have on the supply.

Defra currently has no further plans to restrict the use or sale of bituminous coal in England, however the Devolved Administrations are considering their approach to the burning of household solid fuels. On 13 January the Welsh Government published a consultation on reducing emissions from domestic burning of solid fuels to ensure only the cleanest forms of solid fuel and appliances are used in Wales, containing proposals in line with the new legislation in England.

Over 1.52 million properties in England are signed up to the Environment Agency's (EA) free flood warning service, which sends a message directly by voice message, text or email when a flood warning is issued.

Our latest assessment from September 2020 showed that the EA’s Flood Warning Service is available to 84% of those who live in areas of flood risk (target 83%).

The take up is 82% by those who are offered the service (target 80%). The EA continues to work on improving performance against measures on flood warning quality (timeliness and accuracy, message quality).

There are millions of visits every year to the online Flood Information Service. This provides the public with an opportunity to give feedback on the service provided. From July to December 2020, 61% said that they were either satisfied or very satisfied.

Direct user feedback helps to target where improvements are needed and make best use of government funding. For example, as part of the discovery work for the NeXt Warning System, the EA looked into how the current flood warning service and supporting systems are designed, support and delivered. The report proposes recommendations on how they can build a next generation flood warning system to better support the needs of the users, the business and wider government.

Since 2010 the Environment Agency (and Natural Resources Wales) has worked with telephone providers to access and automatically register landline phone numbers onto the flood warning system. The service, which automatically adds phone numbers registered in areas at risk of flooding, now encompasses all four major Mobile Network Operators – O2, Three, Vodafone and EE.

From April 2021, the new 6-year £5.2 billion capital investment programme, announced in the March 2020 Budget, will start. This will ensure a further 336,000 homes and non-residential properties such as businesses, schools and hospitals are better protected from flooding and coastal erosion.

£24.9 million of this investment will be allocated annually to run the Flood Incident Management service which directly supports costs for Flood Warnings. In addition, £23.1 million will be spent over the next 5 years for developing and enhancing the service.

The Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme has also allocated £150 million from 2021 to 2027 for ‘resilience actions’, such as tailored flood warning systems.

Ministers and officials meet regularly with water companies, the Association of Drainage Authorities and other stakeholders to discuss these and other matters that will help secure our long term resilience to flooding and costal erosion.

In July 2020 the Government published its long-term Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Policy Statement which sets out the Government's ambition to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement sets out five key policies and over 40 actions, to deliver an integrated approach to managing water and develop a diverse range of sustainable funding and finance opportunities.

Between 2015 and 2020 we committed over £1 billion on the maintenance of flood defence assets. This is a real term increase in spending compared to the £812 million spent in the previous five years. Our Policy statement includes our commitment to ensure that there is a long-term approach to maintain our network of flood defences across the country, through a combination of investment and action by risk management authorities, government, riparian owners and wider beneficiaries. This, and all the actions set out in the Government's Policy Statement will continue to be delivered in partnership with all our stakeholders.

The Government's Strategic Policy Statement already requires Ofwat to ensure water companies improve planning and investment to prevent wastewater flooding and to improve infrastructure resilience against extreme flood events. Following the 2019 Price Review the water sector has committed to invest more than £1 billion to protect the environment, homes, businesses and drinking water from flooding.

Water companies are developing Drainage and Sewerage Management Plans that will inform the next price review. These plans provide a framework for organisations to work together, through which joint solutions and approaches can be developed to improve drainage and environmental water quality. Water companies are participating in and, in some cases, fund the Catchment Based Approach which is one of the Government's key mechanisms to deliver integrated catchment management.

Ahead of the next price review in 2024, the Government has committed to consider if additional outcome measures are required through future Price Reviews and the Environment Agency and Ofwat will develop a joint approach for how water companies should address flood and coastal resilience.

Between 2015-2021 the government's partnership investment programme has generated over £500 million from private and public sources to complement the government's grant in aid budget. This investment has helped deliver flood defence projects across England helping the Government meet its commitment of better protecting 300,000 homes from flooding.

The Government's Policy Statement sets out how we will explore opportunities to further incentivise contributions from others including from businesses and the private sector. On 1 February we published a call for evidence on strengthening the assessment of local factors in the government's flood and coastal defence programme, including how we can incentivise increased private sector contributions to flood and coastal defence projects.

Farmers have a crucial role to play in implementing the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity at home.

This role was evident from the evaluation of Biodiversity 2020, the Government’s previous strategy for implementing the Convention commitments in England. This report, published in 2019, found strong partnerships that included farmers and landowners had supported progress in driving forward our biodiversity goals on land, by managing habitat condition, extent and connectivity. Agri-environment schemes were considered in the report to be the main mechanisms by which biodiversity improvements have been delivered. It highlighted how farmers and landowners, through agri-environment options and partnership working with Government and the conservation community, had supported the recovery of declining species, including cirl bunting and turtle dove.

Domestic biodiversity and land management policy is devolved in the UK. We are developing a new strategy for nature to replace Biodiversity 2020 in England. We expect the new strategy will continue to stress the importance of farmers, farming and wider land management as we take forward our plans under a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework under the Convention on Biodiversity, as well as those set out under our 25 Year Environment Plan.

Our new Environmental Land Management Scheme will be a powerful tool for delivering the goals of our 25 Year Environment Plan, including for biodiversity, on farmed land in England. Environmental Land Management will also play a role in supporting the “30by30” target, to protect 30% of England’s land for biodiversity by 2030, through habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.

The 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Kunming, China in 2021. The make-up of the UK delegation will be confirmed closer to the time and will be dependent on the conference agenda.

Farmers have a crucial role to play in implementing the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity at home.

This role was evident from the evaluation of Biodiversity 2020, the Government’s previous strategy for implementing the Convention commitments in England. This report, published in 2019, found strong partnerships that included farmers and landowners had supported progress in driving forward our biodiversity goals on land, by managing habitat condition, extent and connectivity. Agri-environment schemes were considered in the report to be the main mechanisms by which biodiversity improvements have been delivered. It highlighted how farmers and landowners, through agri-environment options and partnership working with Government and the conservation community, had supported the recovery of declining species, including cirl bunting and turtle dove.

Domestic biodiversity and land management policy is devolved in the UK. We are developing a new strategy for nature to replace Biodiversity 2020 in England. We expect the new strategy will continue to stress the importance of farmers, farming and wider land management as we take forward our plans under a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework under the Convention on Biodiversity, as well as those set out under our 25 Year Environment Plan.

Our new Environmental Land Management Scheme will be a powerful tool for delivering the goals of our 25 Year Environment Plan, including for biodiversity, on farmed land in England. Environmental Land Management will also play a role in supporting the “30by30” target, to protect 30% of England’s land for biodiversity by 2030, through habitat creation and restoration, or securing long-term management and protection for wildlife-rich habitats.

The 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Kunming, China in 2021. The make-up of the UK delegation will be confirmed closer to the time and will be dependent on the conference agenda.

The UK is in the process of finalising the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The UK expects to sign the MoU in time for it to enter into force on 1 January 2021.

The cost to the UK for advice received from ICES will be outlined within the MoU.

Defra has commissioned a number of projects to assess the impact of underwater noise pollution. These include several projects to set targets for Good Environmental Status (GES) under descriptor 11 (marine noise) of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which assesses noise and its effects on marine species including fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates. Most recently, we have this year published a risk assessment of underwater noise pollution in Special Areas of Conservation for marine mammals, wider Marine Protected Areas and throughout the UK Exclusive Economic Zone.

A Defra project is currently investigating effectiveness of existing, new and emerging mitigation techniques for offshore wind. We are working with other Government bodies, The Crown Estate, industry and wider stakeholders to mitigate against, and prepare for, any environmental impacts of growth in the offshore wind sector

To mitigate the impact of underwater noise in the Southern North Sea we have worked with the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies to publish guidance for assessing the significance of noise disturbance against Conservation Objectives of harbour porpoise Special Areas of Conservation and continue to work with industry and marine regulators on its implementation.

As we have left the EU we will no longer participate in, or be bound by, EU structures, including the EU Scientific Review Group which comprises representatives from EU Member States’ Scientific Authorities. Our Scientific Authorities, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, will continue to provide scientific advice on a range of CITES matters and collaborate internationally with other CITES Scientific Authorities to ensure we remain a world leader in environmental protection.

The Environment and Wildlife (Miscellaneous Amendments etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 do not lessen government powers or weaken our implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The provision in Council Regulation 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein states that Member States ‘may prohibit the holding of specimens, in particular live animals of the species listed in Annex A’.

Rather than conferring any legislative powers, this provision simply states that EU Member States have discretion to act should it be considered necessary. At the end of the Transition Period, the UK will continue to be able to act, meaning the inclusion of the provision in retained direct EU legislation would be an unnecessary statement of the government’s ability to put in place legislation. Its omission does not lessen existing powers or weaken our controls on endangered species.

CITES offences and penalties are used as a deterrent to illegal wildlife trade which in turn protects wildlife and endangered species. The collection of fines resulting from convictions under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations (COTES) is undertaken by HM Courts & Tribunals Service.

With the agreement of HM Treasury (HMT), as part of its Spending Round 2015 settlement the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been permitted to retain receipts from all fine collections. These receipts form part of the overall settlement provided by HMT to MoJ to operate the Courts and Tribunals Service and are used for this purpose.

In 2013, the UK and Welsh Governments jointly commissioned an independent study looking at the impacts of sky lanterns and helium balloons on livestock and the environment. The report concluded that the impact was generally low, though did highlight a potential fire safety risk.

Any action the Government takes must be proportionate to the level of risk and we have concluded, based on the results of this research, that an outright ban would be disproportionate in the circumstances. Should evidence that this approach is no longer sufficient arise, we will take the necessary action.

We do recognise the need to protect our environment and wildlife and have therefore used media messaging to encourage people and businesses to consider the risks before releasing lanterns.

There may be times when a local ban is appropriate as part of a wider strategic approach. and local authorities already have powers to restrict or ban the use of sky lanterns on council or public land. Many councils in England, Scotland and Wales have applied such a ban. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of single-use products.

Voluntary actions and initiatives aimed at minimising the risks associated with sky lanterns and driving up safety standards have been effective. This includes a voluntary Code of Practice for sky lanterns developed by industry with Government support to ensure that they are manufactured to be safe and are sold responsibly. Sky lanterns also fall in scope of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which oblige producers and distributors to place only safe consumer products on the market.

As the law stands in England, it is conceivable that a magistrates’ court would conclude that a release of sky lanterns constitutes a littering offence. Section 87 of the?Environmental Protection Act 1990 says: “A person is guilty of an offence if he throws down, drops or otherwise deposits any litter in any place to which this section applies and leaves it”. Ultimately it would be for a court to rule whether this phrase would cover sky lantern releases.

New requirements for export health certificates (EHCs) for goods moving from Great Britain to the EU from 1 January 2021 may increase demand for EHCs for products of animal origin (POAO) by up to five times, compared with the approximately 57,000 issued for third country trade in 2017. To meet this possible demand, we have increased the number of Official Vets (OVs) holding the relevant qualification to certify POAO exports from around 600 in February 2019 to more than 1200 today, with further funded training announced on 1 October 2020. In addition, around 1000 Food Competent Certifying Officers (FCCOs) working in 153 different local authorities across Great Britain can certify some exports and therefore contribute towards certification capacity. We have also introduced the role of Certification Support Officers (CSOs) to help reduce the burden on OVs and FCCOs. CSOs are able to carry out preliminary and administrative work to prepare consignments for export. On 1 October, we announced additional funded training to help increase the number of CSOs from 96 qualified and authorised by APHA.

The Department is aware of staff shortages within the veterinary profession which has an existing job vacancy rate of around 10%. Defra is working with the UK veterinary profession to address the UK’s veterinary resourcing needs and to ensure capacity in both the short and long term.

With support from stakeholders, the Department was successful in ensuring that veterinarians were added to the UK Shortage Occupation List in September 2019. This will make it easier for UK employers to recruit vets from overseas. Additionally, two new veterinary schools have been opened to expand the number of UK veterinary graduates in the future.

To support official veterinarians further, Defra created a Certification Support Officer (CSO) role to help work on export certification. Additionally, to ease the burden of statutory TB skin testing of cattle, from 2 November 2020, Approved Tuberculin Testers (ATTs) can be employed and trained by private veterinary businesses in England.

The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out rotational burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats, and we are looking at how legislation could achieve this. Real progress is being made in promoting sustainable alternatives. We have urged landowners to adopt these and continue to work with them constructively.

Any legislative proposals will be developed with consideration of the expert advice of Natural England. These considerations are complex, but it is important that we take the right steps to restore and protect this valuable habitat.

Defra, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) have been working together since April 2020 to establish a national monitoring programme to detect fragments of genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in waste water. The programme was announced by Defra in a press release on 12 June. Data from the programme is being used as an early warning system to detect the presence of the virus in the population. The programme could not have been established without close collaboration with the water companies. Defra, EA and JBC continue to work with water companies to further develop and refine the work programme.

The Government has a clear manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.

We will use all appropriate policy levers available to us to achieve our policy aims ensuring that trade agreements live up to the values of farmers and consumers across the UK.

The National Food Strategy recommends that the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission consider this issue. As noted in the public record of its meeting of 21 August, available online, the Commission has already started discussing its response. The membership agreed to deliberate further on some of the report’s recommendations on the international framework of rules and standards.

Defra is working closely with the Devolved Administrations to agree the common frameworks that we will need for those returning EU powers that intersect with Devolved competence. We have made significant progress in developing the policy content of the frameworks mentioned and these will be shared for parliamentary scrutiny at the appropriate stage of policy development. The set of principles, including the need to ensure that frameworks support the UK’s international trade obligations, agreed at the Joint Ministerial Committee for EU negotiations in October 2017 guide Defra and the Devolved Administrations in the development of these frameworks.

The UK has agreed in principle a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). This will ensure the advice we require is in place so that the UK can continue to meet its international and domestic commitments and obligations on sustainability. The MoU will be signed by December 2020, entering into force on 1 January 2021.

The UK has been a member of ICES since its inception in 1902 and we intend to continue playing a strong role in it in the future. UK scientists make a significant contribution to the science that generates ICES’s advice, including annual recommendations for total allowable catches, and they will continue to provide their scientific expertise. The UK will continue to provide strong support for ICES’s scientific activities in 2020 and beyond.

The Government is aware that coronavirus represents a very significant challenge, affecting daily life and every part of the economy. We are working closely alongside the agricultural industry to ensure that we understand and manage the impacts on farming and the agricultural sectors.

Defra’s Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG) is meeting regularly to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the food and farming sectors across the UK, and what actions are needed to support the sectors. This group includes the National Farmers Union (NFU), other industry stakeholders and the devolved administrations.

Since 18 March, the UK Agricultural Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) has increased the frequency of its meetings to weekly. Its aim is to monitor UK agricultural markets and provide forewarning of any atypical market movements. During the coronavirus outbreak this is allowing Defra and the devolved administrations to share the latest stakeholder information to assess the effects of COVID-19 on the agricultural industry, as well as prepare the evidence base for a possible range of interventions needed in specific markets, or geographical regions.

Officials are having regular meetings with the different agricultural sectors to understand the specific issues affecting each sector. We have also provided all agricultural industry stakeholders with a central point of contact to send details of any emerging impacts as and when they arise.

The Secretary of State remains in regular contact with representatives of the farming and agricultural sectors and will continue to engage with them on the effects of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation and to work closely with the farming sectors to respond to emerging issues as they arise.

Fly-tipping is unacceptable and the Government is committed to tackling this crime.

We are aware of reports of an increase in fly-tipping and that, anecdotally, this may be a result of the decisions taken by local authorities to close household waste recycling centres. However, this does not appear to be consistent across the country. We have requested fly-tipping incident data through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), chaired by Defra, which includes local authorities and other key stakeholders, to help us to monitor the situation.

We have published guidance to help local authorities prioritise waste services. This recommends keeping household waste recycling centres open if it is safe to do so and that the clearance of fly-tipped material should be given a high priority. The Government has been working with local authorities to explore ways in which household waste recycling centres that have been closed might be re-opened, whilst observing social distancing and other requirements. The Government published guidance on this on 5 May 2020.

Through the NFTPG, we have also disseminated messaging aimed at householders promoting the secure storage of waste, use of registered waste carriers and reiterating that waste must not be fly-tipped.

The UK Government takes a science-based approach to genetically modified organism (GMO) policy and regulation. Our view is that genome-edited organisms should not be subject to GMO regulation if the DNA changes could have occurred naturally, or through traditional breeding methods.

No genetically modified or genome-edited crops are grown commercially in the UK.

The UK Government supports choice for both farmers and consumers. Before any GMO crops are grown here, we will need to put rules in place to segregate production methods and facilitate that choice. These rules will be based on independent scientific advice and they will take the potential for cross-pollination into account.

The Government implemented recommendations from Sir Michael Pitt’s review through the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on the Post-legislative scrutiny of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 was in its Sixth Report of Session 2016–17, published on 26 April 2017.

The Government response to the Committee’s report notes that planning practice guidance includes a hierarchy for sustainable drainage options that favours non-sewer solutions. Draining to a combined sewer should be the least favoured option in new development, to be considered when sustainable drainage options are not reasonably practicable. Removing the right to connect to an existing sewer therefore would offer no clear benefits over current arrangements and is likely to add costs and delay to the planning process for new housing.

Combined sewers that carry surface water from roofs and roads together with sewage from homes are a common sewage system. On occasion, storm sewage discharges occur from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) when the risk of sewer flooding is high and pipework capacity is exceeded. This is done to reduce the flood risk to homes and businesses. The Environment Agency (EA) has looked at the reasons for rivers not achieving good ecological status and found that about 3% of water bodies are failing due to the impact of CSOs.

To prevent spillages, between 2015 to 2020 water companies are installing monitors on up to 13,000 of the 15,000 CSOs in England. These will measure how often and for how long they operate, helping inform where improvement works may be required and providing information to the public about spills. This information has been used to help develop the environmental programme that the water companies will be implementing over the next five years. This includes further monitoring of CSOs, over 700 investigations and more than 200 schemes for environmental improvement or to reduce the spills from CSOs.

Our landmark Agriculture Bill sets out a clear path for future policy to support farming and the environment which includes commitments to regularly review our food security.

As part of the Bill, we are including a new requirement for the UK Government to regularly report on food security to Parliament, demonstrating the importance we place on this subject. The report will contain information on the role of strong domestic production alongside diverse sources of supply. It will encompass a range of current issues relevant to food security including global food availability; supply of food sources; the resilience of the supply chain for food; household expenditure on food; food safety and consumer confidence in food.

The UK has a high degree of food security, built on access to a range of different sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries, demonstrated by the UK's current production to supply ratio of 75% for indigenous-type foods and 60% for all foods

The National Food Strategy will cover the entire food chain from field to fork, building on work already underway in Defra.

It will address the challenges of supporting people to eat healthy diets, producing food sustainably and protecting national food security, whilst also looking at related issues such as food price and trade.

The Ministerial Forum for Trade last met on 22^nd April 2020. It has been convened twice since it was established in January of this year and will meet again in the coming weeks. The Forum is chaired by my Hon Friend, the Minister of State for Trade Policy, and membership comprises Ministerial representatives from each Devolved Administration and UK Government Territorial Offices. The forum covers matters of trade policy, including the UK’s current and future negotiations, priorities at the WTO and trade disputes.

The Department for International Trade has announced on Friday 10 July further details of the new Trade and Agriculture Commission which has been set up to act as an advisory board to my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade.

The Commission will be chaired by Tim Smith, former director of FSA, and will have a fixed term of six months to consider trade policies that Government should adopt to secure opportunities for UK farmers, producers and exporters. The Commission will ensure the sector remains competitive and that animal welfare and environmental standards in food production are not undermined. At the end of its work, the Trade and Agriculture Commission will produce an advisory report which will be presented to Parliament by the Department for International Trade. The recommendations will not be binding as the Commission has an advisory role.

The Global Travel Taskforce outlined plans for the safe and sustainable reopening of international travel using a traffic light system. The traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Country categorisation is published on gov.uk.

The Government continues to work with the travel industry and private testing providers to further reduce testing costs, while ensuring travel is as safe as possible. The price of tests has reduced significantly over recent weeks, and several providers are offering Day 2 tests for green arrivals for under £50.

The passenger locator form is designed to track and trace those individuals who may have come into contact with another person who has, or goes on to develop, coronavirus. It is also used to monitor self-isolation of those individuals who have been abroad and returned to the UK and who are not exempt from self-isolation measures.

The PLF was introduced as an electronic form, and allows Public Health England to conduct fast and efficient contact tracing.

The vast majority of arriving passengers are complying with all the requirements of the Covid-19 related health regulations at the border.

Border Force Officers are on hand at the Border to help passengers who may struggle to submit an electronic form.

The Government keeps the matter of licencing at airports under consideration. There are tough penalties in place for drunk and disruptive behaviour onboard an aircraft, including imprisonment for up to two years or an unlimited fine. Pilots also have the power to deny boarding or force passengers to disembark a plane if they are drunk and threaten the safety of the aircraft or its passengers.

The Government recognises that connectivity between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is vital, which is why we secured a £5.7 million support package in May this year to temporarily support the last remaining service from Belfast to London during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK policy on public service obligations (PSO) is to protect existing routes into London that are in danger of being lost. It is for the relevant local authority or devolved administration to determine the need for a PSO on a route and to submit a business case to DfT for consideration. The local authority must also hold a full and open tender to select an airline to operate the route on an exclusive basis. Airlines select the airports they wish to operate from, if there is more than one option available, as part of their bid.

The Government remains committed to delivering the aims and ambitions set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and progress to date is set out in the first Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Report to Parliament published in February 2020.

On the 9 May, the Government announced a £2 billion package of funding for cycling and walking over the next five years. Later this summer, the Government will say more about plans to update the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to build on the new opportunities that this funding provides.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy produce annual statistics and future projections of UK energy demand currently up to 2035. Of electricity generated in 2019, low carbon electricity’s share of generation amounted to 54.2 per cent. This comprised 36.9 per cent renewables and 17.4 per cent from nuclear generation. Fossil fuel’s share of generation was 43.4 per cent, of which 40.9 per cent was from gas, 2.1 per cent coal and 0.3 per cent oil. The remaining 2.4 per cent generation share came from pumped storage and other fuels including the non-renewable component of waste. It is not possible to identify accurately what proportion of energy is used to recharge electric buses and other electric vehicles.

This guidance has been fast-tracked without consultation because of the need to make sure the opportunity to improve cycling and walking facilities is not missed – the Government has only a few weeks in which action can be taken. The guidance will be reviewed after 3 months and local authorities and others will be involved in that process.

The guidance sets out our vision for ensuring active travel is embedded in local authorities’ green restart plans. We expect them to be prioritising walking and cycling and considering how to make adjustments to their roads to enable social distancing. The Department is not responsible for policing what local authorities implement on their roads.

On 14 October, the UK Health Security Agency published an online review into changes to COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidance to help ease pressure on the National Health Service, Recommendation 4: a more flexible approach to patient consultations in primary care and general practice. The review states that face to face consultations should be permitted where this is safe for patients and staff, whilst recognising that telephone and video consultations continue to have an important role. Physical distancing can be reduced from two metres to one metre with appropriate mitigations, such as the continued use of face coverings or masks.

Dispensing practices continue to be reimbursed for additional costs related to COVID-19 in the same way as non-dispensing practices. At the beginning of the pandemic the COVID-19 support fund for general practice (GP) reimbursed practices for additional expenditure they incurred for absence cover, bank holiday opening and the costs of some consumables.  A further £270 million has been made available from November 2020 until September 2021, allocated to systems and ring-fenced exclusively for use in GP to ensure practices can continue to provide the necessary care for all patients.

The NHS COVID-19 app is kept under close review and is continually being refined and enhanced to ensure it can continue to break chains of transmission. Research from academics and bodies such as The Alan Turing Institute and The University of Oxford have shown that the app continues to work effectively, and user research and feedback are continually considered and incorporated into app releases. Constant evaluation is conducted to ensure the app can continue to support present and future requirements.

People with osteopenia will not necessarily go on to develop osteoporosis. In those found to have a bone density within an osteopenic range, preventative lifestyle measures, such as healthy eating, exercise and taking vitamin D supplements, are recommended to protect against developing osteoporosis.

Clinicians may wish to monitor patients found to have a bone density within an osteopenic range, depending on what risk factors they have for osteoporosis or fragility fracture.

Currently, in England, more than 98% of the population is within 10 miles of a vaccine service. In a small number of highly rural areas, the vaccination centre will be a mobile unit. The mobile model helps more remote rural communities, particularly those where public transport is limited.

General practices, including dispensing practices, form just one part of the plan for delivering COVID-19 vaccination and will operate as part of a system of providers, ensuring the best possible coverage of the UK population. Each Primary Care Network grouping is required to work with their local regional team to understand the current healthcare provision for vulnerable groups. Where there are gaps in provision, NHS England will commission additional providers, such as community pharmacy, hospital hubs, and mass vaccination centres, to provide COVID-19 vaccinations. The first community pharmacy sites and mass vaccination centres opened the week commencing 11 January 2021.

The National Health Service has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and will work with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively. Detailed planning is underway building on the NHS’s expertise delivering immunisation programmes including the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations include the size and make-up of the workforce needed to deliver a potentially extensive vaccination programme at pace, training requirements, guidance, consumables and other equipment. They also include the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.

The National Health Service has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and will work with existing partners across the healthcare system, including general practices, to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively. Detailed planning is underway building on the NHS’s expertise to deliver immunisation programmes, such as the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations, includes the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.

Assessments on the potential reliance on medication in alleviating possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccination are not finalised as we do not yet know the full characteristics, including side effects, of any of the vaccines in development. All plans for deployment remain flexible as there are no certainties in the development, production, formulation and timing of any new vaccines.

Detailed planning is underway building on the National Health Service’s expertise to deliver immunisation programmes, such as the flu vaccination programme. Planning considerations, includes the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics for transport across the nation and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.

Medication such as paracetamol can also be purchased from supermarkets and other retail outlets, as a ‘general sales’ medicine. Paracetamol can also be purchased online, including in a larger quantity from an online pharmacy.

The flu vaccine programme is currently underway, with priority given to those who are most at risk from the effects of flu, and frontline health and social care workers. We have announced that we will be extending the programme to those aged 50-64 from 1 December.

The Department has procured additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available this winter. General practitioners who have exhausted their own supply are now able to order from this central stock.

Overall, there is sufficient vaccine for more than 30 million people to be vaccinated in England this winter.

On 5 August 2020 we published the Annual Flu Letter Update 2020/21, which set out our ambitions for uptake for all eligible groups.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local areas to ensure that regional teams have plans in place to increase coverage of the influenza vaccination this winter. In addition to developing the existing system of providing vaccinations through general practice, community pharmacies, schools, community and other National Health Service settings to reach new cohorts and increase uptake in existing cohorts; new models of delivery have been shared with regional commissioning teams to encourage innovative thinking such as mobile and mass vaccination models to allow for increases in uptake safely whilst observing social distancing and personal protective equipment requirements.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have had discussions with the British Medical Association, and other representative bodies to discuss delivery of the expanded flu programme.

In addition to developing the existing system of providing vaccinations through general practice, community pharmacies, schools, community and other National Health Service settings to reach new cohorts and increase uptake in existing cohorts; new models of delivery have been shared with regional commissioning teams to encourage innovative thinking to deliver the programme this winter.

Public Health England (PHE) local health protection teams respond to notifications of suspected outbreaks in food processing plants by undertaking a risk assessment, providing public health advice, including on infection prevention and control and social distancing measures, and advising on the testing of employees. In doing so, an assessment is made as to whether transmission may be occurring in or outside the workplace.

An enhanced outbreak investigation protocol has been developed which will allow PHE to further understand the factors relating to infection transmission in meat-related food production settings to ascertain potential routes of transmission: within the workplace through a more detailed understanding of the workforce, the working environment and working practices; staff and environmental biological sampling; factors outside the workplace, such as transport arrangements, housing, employment conditions.

The learning from such investigations can identify measures that may help prevent outbreaks from occurring in these settings.

The majority of dispensing practices are live with the prescribing functionality of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). In the next round of general practitioner contract negotiations, the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement will look at what further support can be provided to dispensing practices to implement the EPS.

The Department is in regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement over the provision of services during this pandemic.

The Secretary of State has enabled Regulation 61 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. Regulation 61 allows NHS England and NHS Improvement to commission a dispensing doctor to provide pharmaceutical services to patients to whom the dispensing doctor is not otherwise entitled to provide pharmaceutical services during an emergency.

The prerequisite is the temporary closure of pharmacy premises which results, in NHS England and NHS Improvement’s opinion, in inadequate provision of pharmaceutical services in an area. There are currently few pharmacies closed across England and whether this extra provision is needed, in any particular area, is an operational decision for NHS England and NHS Improvement’s regional teams.

As of 14 April, since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak we have delivered over 923 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to 58,000 different health and care settings including National Health Service trusts, general practitioners, pharmacies and community providers. We have provided PPE equipment to over 26,000 care homes including home care and hospices across the country. Over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, over 48 million PPE items were delivered.

We are working around the clock to give the NHS and the wider social care sector the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak. We have brought together the NHS, industry and the armed forces to create a new nationwide PPE distribution network, delivering critical PPE supplies to those who need it.

We have a 24 hours a day, seven days a week helpline for those experiencing supply disruption with business as usual ordering channels. Where there may be any shortages, we act on this immediately. Local Resilience Forums are also supporting care homes, hospices, home care and primary care in getting hold of PPE equipment.

On 5 March 2020, the Government added COVID-19 to its list of notifiable diseases.

Insurers’ policies that cover notifiable diseases will typically only cover a specific subset of notifiable diseases (such as cholera or anthrax) that the insurer will reference in the policy documentation. These policies will exclude any notifiable disease not on the insurer’s list, as well as future/unknown diseases such as COVID-19. The price that the insurer charges for the policy is modelled against the risk posed by this set list of diseases.

Some businesses will have purchased add-ons for their insurance that cover for ‘unspecified notifiable diseases’. These policies effectively cover any disease listed as a notifiable disease, enabling the business to claim for losses for all notifiable diseases as well as from diseases that are unknown at the point the policy is written.

The effect of the Government adding COVID-19 to its list of notifiable diseases is to ensure that businesses with unspecified notifiable disease cover are able to make a claim – subject to the terms and conditions in their policy. For example, someone infected with COVID-19 may need to have been on the premises.

The National Health Service and wider health system are extremely well prepared for these types of outbreaks and follow tried and tested procedures of the highest standards to protect staff, patients and the public. The Department has stepped up its efforts to assess risks to the availability of medical supplies and put in place contingencies to help ensure uninterrupted supply.

These efforts have included:

- a response group has been established to evaluate the potential impacts of this situation on continuity of supply of medical goods;

- asking suppliers to conduct a full risk assessment of the impact of the situation on their supply chains;

- requesting that suppliers who still retain some or all of their European Union exit stockpiles, should hold on to them, while the Department considers more targeted approaches;

- directing NHS Supply Chain to pause ramp-down activity of the centralised stock-build of medical devices and clinical consumables; and

- contacting all known medical suppliers trading from or via China.

Working closely with industry, the NHS and others in the supply chain, we continue to monitor the situation to help prevent shortages and minimise the risks to patients.

On Monday 9 November, The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the UK’s intention is issue its inaugural Sovereign Green Bond (SGB), subject to market conditions, in 2021.

Further details on timings and other aspects of the policy, such as the issuance framework, which will set out the projects that the SGB will help to finance, will be provided in due course.

While it is possible that government expenditures on projects relating to waste recovery and energy generation from waste could be financed with the proceeds of the SGB, such decisions will be made in the coming months following discussions with other government departments, structuring advisors and other stakeholders. The government will provide updates as appropriate.

The government is already taking powers in the Environment Bill to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes which promote waste recovery. These require producers to fund the end of life costs of their products and can deliver higher collection, recycling and recovery rates.

In addition, the Landfill Tax was introduced in 1996 with the aim of diverting waste away from landfill to more environmentally friendly alternatives, such as Energy from Waste. It has been hugely successful in achieving this aim alongside other waste policy – since 2000, Local Authority waste sent to landfill in England has fallen by 87%.

The Government has set out a package of measures to support businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

The Chancellor previously announced a 100% rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in 2020-21. On 25 March the Government went further and removed some of the exclusions for this relief, so that eligible retail, leisure, and hospitality properties that will have to close as a result of the measures announced by the Prime Minister in his statement of the 23 March, will now be eligible for the relief.

Support is also available to those not eligible for business rates relief. This includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, a statutory sick pay relief package, the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England for larger firms.

The Chancellor has made clear that, for those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers pandemics, government’s medical advice of 16 March is sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.

In addition, the FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.

However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers pandemic related losses. As such, any affected businesses should note the government’s full package of support.

The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of motoring offences in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which is already reasonably accessible to you here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales.

However, information on the type of vehicle issued with a motoring offence, including a fine or penalty points is not collected.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of motoring offences in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which is already reasonably accessible to you here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales.

However, information on the type of vehicle issued with a motoring offence, including a fine or penalty points is not collected.

Information on numbers and types of vehicle seized is not held centrally.

The Metropolitan Police seized over 1,000 scooters in June 2021.

Legislation was amended in July 2020 to allow for rental e-scooter trials around England which will run for 12 months with the trial period beginning in each area as and when e-scooters become available to the public. It remains illegal to use privately owned e-scooters on the road as they do not meet the requirements of stringent construction regulations, registration, road tax, insurance and MOT testing.

It is not illegal to sell an e-scooter as they can be used legally on private land. However, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, there is a general obligation for traders to give consumers sufficient information about goods and services at the point of sale, so consumers are not misled.

Electric scooters have to abide by the same road traffic legislation as mopeds and motorcycles. To drive or ride any motor vehicle without permission onto a footpath, common land, moorland or land of any description that does not form part of the road is an offence under section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. To drive or ride a powered scooter on a pavement, as with pedal cycles, is an offence under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835.

Enforcement of road traffic laws on the illegal use of e-scooters is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands. Where e-scooters amount to anti-social behaviour, then local authorities make byelaws/injunctions and Anti-Social Behaviour orders to curb the misuse of vehicles.