Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to bring into force Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the publication of the review for making sustainable drainage systems mandatory in new developments on 10 January 2023, the Government will now give consideration to how Schedule 3 will be implemented. This will be subject to final decisions on scope, threshold and process, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector. A public consultation will be held later this year that will help to shape our new approach, with implementation expected during 2024.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of tenant farmers to benefit from Environmental Land Management Schemes.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are designing the schemes to be simple, flexible, fair and accessible to as many types of farmers and land managers as possible, including tenant farmers. We are aiming to remove barriers to tenants entering schemes where possible, such as in the Sustainable Farming Incentive where tenants can enter without their landlord's explicit consent and tenants with annually renewing tenancy agreements can enter if they expect to have management control for the duration of their 3-year agreement. The independent Rock Review on the tenanted sector, led by Baroness Rock, noted that SFI’s agreement length and no penalty exits when management control of the land is lost unexpectedly have made the scheme more open to tenant farmers. The first round of Landscape Recovery was open to any land manager or groups of land managers, including tenant farmers, that could pull together a 500 to 5,000 hectare project of broadly contiguous land in England - around half of the 22 projects selected for round one involve tenant farmers. We are monitoring how these schemes are working for tenants and any impacts on tenants as part of the schemes' Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced on 1st December that rather than delivering the new Local Nature Recovery scheme as previously planned, we would build on the success of the existing Countryside Stewardship scheme to achieve the ambitious outcomes we had intended to deliver through Local Nature Recovery. This evolution was recommended by the Tenancy Working Group in the early conversations with Defra, with the group stating that many tenants were comfortable and familiar with CS. We are continuing to develop the Countryside Stewardship scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Landscape Recovery schemes through co-design with stakeholders, farmers, foresters, and other experts while considering the recommendations of the Rock Review to inform our decisions on tenanted land in these schemes.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to bring fully into force Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government is completing a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and will confirm the outcomes in due course.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in the development of a vaccine for domestic birds against avian influenza; and what assessment they have made of the entrance of vaccinated birds into the food chain.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra continues to invest in avian influenza research and monitors the situation in Europe and globally. In conjunction with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), Defra will continue to monitor the development and availability of vaccines for use to protect against avian influenza and as a control measure during avian influenza outbreaks, as they are put forward for marketing authorisation by vaccine manufacturers.
Currently, outside of zoos in England, the vaccination of birds as a routine preventative measure is not permitted. Therefore, there are no vaccinated birds entering the food chain. Any future decisions on disease prevention and control measures, including the use of vaccination, will be based upon the latest scientific, ornithological, and veterinary advice. Any proposed changes in the use of vaccination will be subject to risk assessments including in conjunction with the Food Standards Agency, assessments of their safety in the food chain.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to encourage the restocking of domestic birds following the outbreak of avian influenza.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
When avian influenza is confirmed at a premises, in order to limit the risk of the disease spreading, all birds on the premises are humanely culled. Keepers will be paid compensation for clinically healthy birds culled by government for disease control purposes as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. Following the completion of culling and disposal, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will carry out preliminary cleansing and disinfection (C&D) at the premises. The costs for culling, disposal and the preliminary C&D are paid by government. Before a premises can be restocked the keeper will either need to undertake secondary C&D at their own expense or wait 12 months from the date of preliminary C&D.
Whether to undertake secondary C&D and how quickly the process is completed, and therefore when restocking and business activity can resume is a commercial decision by the keeper. APHA will work with the bird keeper to explain the requirements and monitor the effectiveness of C&D.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Director General of Environment in the European Commission about the creation of a common approach to the treatment of migratory birds in order to reduce avian influenza rates in the UK.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra’s approach to avian influenza is set out in the Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales.
The UK Government recognises the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), but there are limited effective actions that can be taken to control avian influenza in migratory wild birds as opposed to poultry and other captive bird flocks. We will however continue to take and recommend whatever actions we can, in accordance with international best practice and the latest evidence. International collaboration and knowledge exchange is facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and her counterparts in the EU and globally through the World Organisation for Animal Health.
At the international level, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) virologists and epidemiologists collaborate with colleagues in Europe and around the world to closely analyse viruses involved in outbreaks in both poultry and other captive birds and those found in wild birds, with the aim of understanding what makes these viruses different and how they might change in the future. The UK National Reference Laboratory remains informally connected to colleagues in EU laboratories, including the EU Reference Laboratory, and continue to share and gather intelligence.
The UK’s membership of the OSPAR-HELCOM-ICES Joint Working Group on Birds and the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement are also key forums for improving collaboration, monitoring and information sharing on avian influenza in migratory birds.