Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of fruit and vegetable shortages in UK shops.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response and is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Defra is closely monitoring markets and supply chains to explore the factors that have contributed to ongoing supply chain pressures, including requesting weekly data from supermarkets on supplies of the foods affected to ensure we have the latest available data. We know that some supermarkets have applied item limits to a small number of fruit and vegetables due to poor weather affecting the harvest in Spain and North Africa, where a high proportion of produce consumed in UK at this time of year is grown.
Minister Spencer met with major retailers on 27 February to discuss the current supply issues, their procurement contracts with growers and how to work together to find solutions. Supermarkets are confident their supply chains will return to normal over the course of this month.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the National Farmers' Union about reducing antimicrobial resistance in livestock.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals and to strengthening animal health and welfare standards. We are delivering on this through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway; NFU representatives have been part of the co-design team looking at how reducing the prevalence of endemic disease and encouraging more responsible use of antibiotics can contribute to slowing the rise of antimicrobial resistance.
Also, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, which coordinates action across Defra under the UK AMR National Action Plan, works closely with the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA). The National Farmers' Union is an active member of RUMA. RUMA chairs the ‘Targets Task Force’ of vets and farmers which has been instrumental in achieving our national progress in reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals: antibiotic use in livestock has fallen by 55% since 2014, accompanied by a reducing trend in antimicrobial resistance.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 'One Health' approach outlined in the report by the United Nations Environment Programme's Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the One Health response to antimicrobial resistance, published on 7 February.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is aware of the report and Environment Agency staff contributed to initial United Nations workshops that led to its commission. Now that the report has been published, we will assess the content and conclusions. Defra, the Environment Agency and UKHSA are currently working together to investigate antimicrobial resistance in the environment under the Treasury-funded Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment (PATHSAFE) project. The Environment Agency is developing possible surveillance methods and data systems that could be used in the future to help us better understand and mitigate environmental antimicrobial resistance.
In 2019, the UK Government published a 20-year Vision of a world in which antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated by 2040. In support of the Vision, the Government also committed to developing a series of five-year national action plans that will each prioritise actions and direct resources based on the latest information about what the biggest risks are, and which interventions are most effective addressing them. The first of these plans, published in 2019, takes a comprehensive One-Health approach across humans, animals, agriculture the environment and food. The vision and national action plan were co-developed across government departments, agencies, the health family, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and with input from a wide range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with water companies to mitigate the risks of antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Environment Agency (EA) have been working with the water industry to research the occurrence and transport of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics through wastewater treatment works as part of the industry-funded Chemical Investigations Programme. Investigations have been carried out at 10 sites across the country to understand how the different treatment processes affect the presence and prevalence of particular organisms and resistance genes. The results were published by UK Water Industry Research in February 2023. In addition, the EA has completed a study to look at the amounts of antifungal substances that remain in biosolids as one of the final products of these wastewater treatments. These results will also be published in early 2023.
The EA has also been working with water companies on chemicals investigations which have included a range of pharmaceuticals and veterinary medicines discharged from treated sewage effluent which might contribute to AMR. This work allows the EA to sift and screen any chemical substance nominated using, where available, hazard data and environmental monitoring data to prioritise whether a substance may be a possible chemical of concern in England. Many pharmaceuticals are included on this list. Monitoring also takes place for a wide range of pharmaceuticals within the water environment using a semi-quantitative screening methodology.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths were attributed to antimicrobial resistance in England in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, and (5) 2021.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency runs national surveillance programmes to collect and analyse data on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Data is reported in the annual English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance report.
The table below shows the estimated number of deaths attributable to severe antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
Year | Deaths attributable to AMR |
2017 | 2,288 |
2018 | 2,419 |
2019 | 2,596 |
2020 | 2,228 |
2021 | 2,213 |
Note: Data for 2017 may use different inclusion criteria from data for 2018 onwards, which is influenced by reporting against the current United Kingdom AMR national action plan, and so may not be directly comparable.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost effectiveness of Evusheld in the treatment of immuno-compromised persons with complex health needs against the cost of an admission to hospital, given the increase in COVID-19 hospital admissions and the pressure on the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The decision not to procure Evusheld for prevention through emergency routes is not based on cost considerations, but rather on independent clinical advice by RAPID C-19 (a multi-agency group) and a UK National Expert Policy Working Group. These groups considered a full range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies, as well as the epidemiological context of Omicron and wider policies in the Government’s pandemic response and recovery. Their conclusion is that there is insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend deployment at this time.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is now conducting a Health Technology Evaluation of Evusheld, which is the routine process for new medicines to be evaluated for clinical and cost effectiveness and will provide recommendations through NICE’s guidance on the use of Evusheld in the National Health Service.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the development of bio-pesticides in England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government recognises the importance of biopesticides in supporting sustainable pest management now and in the future. This is reflected in the growth of the market, with the number of biopesticide active substances approved for use in the UK increasing from 2 in 1997 to 44 in 2020.
Officials are engaging with biopesticides stakeholders in research and industry to better understand the barriers to biopesticide development and uptake in the UK. Feedback from these engagements will help inform future policy in this area.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the British bio-pesticide industry.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to supporting farmers and growers to control pests sustainably. This will require innovation, including the development of biopesticides, which often have a lower risk profile than conventional chemical pesticides
Manufacturers seeking authorisation of new biopesticide active substances benefit from tailored advice and reduced fees from the Health and Safety Executive through the Biopesticides Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to British farmers for the development of alternatives to dairy milk products, such as oat milk.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will always support British farming. We are introducing schemes and policies that enable farmers to have resilient businesses, produce the food our nation needs, enhance animal health and welfare and also to protect and enhance the natural environment.
For example, the Farming Innovation Programme will support the pull-through of R&D to deliver farmer-led solutions to productivity challenges. It will also address longer term strategic challenges such as producing nutritious food more efficiently and sustainably, whilst helping the sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve Net Zero goals.
Going forward, farmers will be able to pick and choose from a range of grants and ongoing payments to find a package that works for them. We will work with all farm types, regardless of size, location, ownership or the systems they use, to ensure that that they are able to access our funding and support in a way that works for them.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with amenity societies in relation to the installation of solar panels on listed buildings.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
In the Government's British Energy Security Strategy, published earlier this year, we committed to reviewing the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency measures, including solar panels on listed buildings. The review commenced during the summer and has involved extensive engagement with the heritage sector, including amenity societies. An announcement will be made on the outcomes of the review in due course