Found: During our evidence session with Ministers on 20 May 2024 we discussed with Lord Benyon, Minister of

Found: Pet welfare and abuse Rt Hon the Lord Benyon , Minister for Biosecurity, Marine and Rural Affairs,

Found: Rt Hon Lord Benyon, Minister for Rural Affairs, Access to Nature, & Biosecurit y, and Jonathan Baker

Found: Lord Benyon , relating to plant and forest reproductiv e material, dated 15 November 2023 Correspondence

Found: Lord Benyon: Per unit, yes.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 28 February 2023 (HL5643), what plans they have to reissue the 2019 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse as binding statutory guidance on local councils and outsourced firms.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, published in 2006, is already statutory and local councils and other duty bodies must have regard to it when carrying out their duty to keep relevant land clear of litter and refuse.

Separate guidance on enforcement was published in 2019 and attached to the Code of Practice but is not statutory.

At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of how it can further support local authorities to tackle litter.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 16 March 2023 (HL6230), what progress has been made in the review of the F-gas regulations, both (1) generally, and (2) with regard to the greenhouse gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6); what steps they are taking in reducing its carbon footprint in electricity transmission, distribution, and hydronic heat pump equipment; and how they intend to ensure that expansion of the electricity grid does not increase carbon emissions through increased use of fluorinated greenhouse gases.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is in the process of reviewing the F-gas Regulation, including consideration for reducing the use of SF₆ in the power sector.

Alternative technologies to the use of SF₆ in the power sector are being developed, with some already available and being deployed. As the review of the F-gas Regulation progresses, we will review the need for any future action within the F-gas regulatory regime to support the transition.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his Department is taking to help support a (a) sustainable and (b) peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is concerned by intensification of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its humanitarian consequences. We continue to urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through regional peace processes. We welcome the recent mediation efforts facilitated by the Angola-led Luanda peace process and continue to urge all parties to commit to further political dialogue. In March, Lord Benyon travelled to Kinshasa where he met with a range of representatives of the Government of DRC, including President Tshisekedi, to underline our support for the regional mediation efforts. Lord Benyon was also in Angola last month and discussed the conflict in eastern DRC with President Lourenco.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the US and (b) France on the war in Sudan since the start of that conflict.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is working with a range of partners to end hostilities, allow safe, unhindered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians. Foreign Office Ministers are in regular contact with international partners on Sudan. The Deputy Foreign Secretary discussed Sudan with USAID Administrator Samantha Power on 29 January 2024. Lord Benyon spoke to US and French colleagues at the Paris Humanitarian Conference on 15 April 2024. The UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and Red Sea also regularly engages with her American and French counterparts.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 18 December 2023 (HL838), whether they have had any discussions with the government of Kenya regarding the eviction and destruction of property of the Ogiek people in the Mau forest of that country.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. I have not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 14 March (HL2885), what percentage of aid provided to Nigeria between 2015 and 2024 has been allocated to central states.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

The UK remains committed to supporting a more stable, resilient and prosperous Nigeria. The FCDO does not capture HMG Official Development Assistance (ODA) figures on a regional level in Nigeria. Further information relating to UK ODA can be found on the Government's website in the April 2024 publication of Statistics on International Development: provisional UK aid spend 2023.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 12 February (HL1985), what percentage of the UK’s 2023-24 humanitarian aid package to Sudan will support internally displaced persons facing extreme hunger in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions of Sudan.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)

Sudan currently represents the largest displacement crisis in the world, including over 9 million people internally displaced. This financial year, the UK bilateral official development assistance to Sudan will nearly double to £89 million, up from nearly £50 million in 2023/24. We do not hold information specifically on what percentage of the UK's 2023/2024 humanitarian aid package supported Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. However, the lack of humanitarian access across Sudan, including to IDP camps, continues to make it extremely difficult for humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary levels of assistance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much and what proportion of funding announced at the pledging conferences for (a) Sudan and (b) Ethiopia is new; and how will that funding be released.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

On 15 April Lord Benyon attended the Sudan Humanitarian Pledging Conference in Paris where the UK re-affirmed our funding for Sudan this financial year of £89 million. We are still in the process of allocating funding in Sudan for 2024/25, but part of it includes funding to UNICEF which will provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. At the high-level pledging conference for Ethiopia which took place in April, I announced £100 million in UK funding. This support had not been previously announced. This included £30 million to treat acute malnutrition for those in greatest need.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking with international partners to maintain global focus on the Sudan (a) conflict and (b) humanitarian crisis.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

I visited Chad in March. I met with the President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister to discuss the impact the conflict in Sudan is having on the country and to press Chad to support regional and international efforts to bring about a permanent ceasefire through political dialogue. I also met some of the over 700,000 refugees who have fled Sudan, reaffirmed the UK's commitment to the people of Sudan and announced a near-doubling of UK ODA to Sudan (£89 million). On 15 April, Lord Benyon represented the UK at the Paris Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Sudan. The Conference called upon the warring parties to stop fighting and meaningfully engage in a peace process. On the same day, the Foreign Secretary tweeted calling for a ceasefire. On 8 March, the UN Security Council adopted a UK-drafted Resolution calling for immediate ceasefire.

Found: and then mid- point and final evaluations . 14 In May 2024, the then Foreign Office Minister Lord Benyon

Found: The government said the UK was a “committed partner” to the DRC. 123 Lord Benyon, then a Minister of

Found: the reconstruction of the country’s health system Lead Member: Lord Crisp Answering Member: Lord Benyon

Found: and then mid- point and final evaluations . 14 In May 2024, the then Foreign Office Minister Lord Benyon

Found: of State (Europe)The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP Minister of State (Indo-Pacific)The Rt Hon Lord Benyon

Found: Last month our Minister, Lord Benyon, convened our annual roundtable with children affected by conflict

Found: 2023 • Trudy Harrison MP , Parliamentary Under Secretary of State until 13 November 2023 • Lord Benyon

Found: 2023 • Trudy Harrison MP , Parliamentary Under Secretary of State until 13 November 2023 • Lord Benyon

Found: • Lord Benyon, Minister of State from 30 October 2022 to 14 November 2023.

Found: Dame Amelia and Defra minister, Lord Benyon, co-hosted a dinner attended by other ministers, scientists

Found: Mairi Gougeon MSP T: 0300 244 4000 E: scottish.ministers @gov.scot  The Rt Hon Lord Benyon

Found: Siobhian Brown MSP/BPA T: 0300 244 4000 E: scottish.ministers @gov.scot  The Rt Hon Lord Benyon

Found: Response from the Minister for Victims and Community Safety to Lord Benyon - 14 November 2023

Found: developed.The letter the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown MSP, sent to The Rt Hon Lord Benyon

Found: clarification from Defra about th e outcomes of the recent meeting between insurance providers and Lord Benyon

Found: Siobhian Brown MSP/BPA T: 0300 244 4000 E: scottish.ministers @gov.scot  The Rt Hon Lord Benyon

Found: November 2023 Letter from Siobhan Brown MSP, Minister for Victims and Community Safety, to The Rt Hon Lord Benyon