Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to resume the chemical control of bracken to protect human health, biodiversity and the historic environment.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the challenge that bracken presents to land managers, particularly in upland regions. Mechanical control and chemical control using glyphosate can be useful tools in controlling bracken, though the government recognises their limitations. It is for individual land managers to decide how to control bracken within safe and legal means.
The Government encourages industry and other external partners to develop new tools that will help to address the challenge of managing bracken. Any herbicides not currently allowed for bracken control would require authorisation for that purpose by the Health and Safety Executive.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to restricting tick and flea treatments for pets containing fipronil or imidacloprid to prescription only, in the light of evidence of their human and environmental toxicity and their detrimental effects on aquatic life.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Parasiticides, such as those containing fipronil and imidacloprid, play an essential role in protecting both animal and human health against fleas and ticks and their associated vector-borne diseases, which can lead to parasitic disease in pets and present zoonotic risks to humans, as well as causing distress and discomfort. The concerns regarding the potential contribution of flea and tick treatments to the levels of imidacloprid currently being detected in UK surface waters are recognised. The Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) is currently gathering evidence on this issue and has initiated the formation of a cross-governmental Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group.
The PiE Group has set out a roadmap of activities to address levels of fipronil and imidacloprid in UK waterways. The immediate priority is to collaborate with key stakeholders to enhance and promote consistent messaging to users on the appropriate use of topical parasiticides for cats and dogs, aiming to reduce potential environmental impacts. Beyond this, actions will focus on developing our evidence base through research and monitoring. The group will use this evidence to improve understanding of the issue and inform future policy activities in the longer term.
At this stage, there are no plans to restrict flea and tick treatments to prescription only. Any future regulatory decisions will be based on robust scientific evidence to ensure both environmental protection and continued access to essential veterinary medicines.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a timetable for implementing the provisions in the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Secretary of State has recently announced that the secondary legislation necessary to implement the Precision Breeding Act for plants in England will be laid by the end of March.
Defra is also considering the animal welfare framework outlined in the Precision Breeding Act.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of their commitment to introduce secondary legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for a new trade deal with the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The European Commission has proposed to adopt a new, less restrictive, regulation for the marketing of plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (NGTs) and their use for food and feed. An approach similar to that used in the Precision Breeding Act.
The proposal is still under consideration in the European Council and its contents are subject to change.
We will continue to monitor progress in the EU to understand implications for trade, including in the context of the Government's commitment to seek to negotiate a veterinary / Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the EU.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 3 January (HL3645 and HL3646), what are their considerations on the impact of deer and grey squirrels on woodlands; whether they have consulted any stakeholders; and if so, who.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is responsible for woodlands in England, and we are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels and deer on our woodlands. We recognise the pressure on new and existing woodlands from the increasing damage caused by over-foraging of young trees and woodland flora by wild deer and from squirrels stripping bark from trees. In England this damage is primarily from grey squirrels due to their prevalence. As part of routine policy development, the department regularly engages with a variety of stakeholders, including the UK Squirrel Accord and the Deer Initiative Partnership.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the update to the grey squirrel action plan; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of grey squirrels on our woodlands and will have an update in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the deer management strategy; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are considering how to go further to reduce the impacts of deer on our woodlands and will have an update in due course.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as part of their rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan, they will consider combining all soil health measures into a Soil Health Action Plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Healthy functioning soil is at the heart of restoring natural systems and underpins our plans for environmental improvement. The Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of all commitments made by the last government to ensure they align with our new priorities and a decision regarding any future soil strategy or action plan will be made in due course.
Central to this is our rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan. We will develop a new, statutory plan to protect and restore our natural environment with delivery information to help meet each of our ambitious Environment Act targets. It will focus on cleaning up our waterways, reducing waste across the economy, planting millions more trees, improving air quality and halting the decline in species by 2030.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of Grade 1 and 2 lowland peat is let on annual farm business tenancies; and what steps they are taking to ensure this land is not being farmed in a manner that is accelerating its degradation and threatening future food security.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Peat policy is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Defra does not have any data on the percentage of Grade 1 and 2 lowland peat let on annual farm business tenancies.
In the Environmental Improvement Plan, we said that we are committed to halting the degradation of our lowland peat soils which causes such significant harm to the environment.
We have also agreed to take forward action on all recommendations of the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force Chair's report, recognising the vital role that lowland peat soils play in producing food for our nation and supporting our rural economies.
We are currently funding approximately £12.5million on projects on paludiculture, local collaboration, and water management, as first steps towards a more sustainable future for lowland agricultural peat.
We are also developing a new England Peat Map that will help us identify areas for future intervention.
Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure there are no delays by the Animal and Plant Health Agency in processing applications for new seed varieties; and when they will determine the causes of the current backlog of applications so that in future new varieties are made available to UK growers in a timely manner.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The backlog of applications for variety listing following EU exit has now largely been resolved.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency and Defra are working closely with stakeholders to monitor the processes involved in variety listing and are currently instigating improvements and resilience in the system.
The UK authorities are working together to develop the first UK Plant Variety and Seeds strategy. Following a Call for Ideas and further industry engagement, additional improvements in the plant variety listing process are anticipated.