Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they closed the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund; and what plans they have to ensure that there are enough trained tree surgeons and arborists to meet demand and to deal with the number of urban trees planted in the past 50 years.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises forestry skills as vital for achieving environmental targets, enhancing biodiversity, and supporting the economy through sustainable woodland management and green job creation. The Government is facing a very challenging wider fiscal context. This has meant that Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding which has included not to continue with the Forestry and Arboriculture Training Fund in 2025/26. The Forestry Commission is collecting feedback from course attendees and will be working with key stakeholders throughout 2025/26 to deliver the Forestry Sector Skills Plan. There are new technical, higher technical and professional education routes being developed into the forestry sector, and work is underway to improve links with allied sectors such as arboriculture, agriculture and horticulture.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why and when they authorised the use of cost-plus instead of fixed-price contracts for payment of contractors on HS2; what consultations they held prior to the change; and who authorised that change.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This government has been clear that the position on HS2 is totally unacceptable for passengers and taxpayers. It is acknowledged by this government and new CEO Mark Wild that the past contractual performance of our delivery partners has failed to meet cost and schedule expectations.
We have taken action to grip the project and tasked Mark Wild to reset the project, including reforming and resetting the relationship with the supply chain, and to deliver Phase 1 safely and at the lowest reasonable cost.
Throughout the development of the HS2 programme there has been engagement with industry, and input sought from wider government stakeholders, to seek to ensure that the commercial approaches and contracts adopted are appropriate for the individual assets being delivered. Consequently, a variety of different contract forms are in use across the HS2 programme including both fixed price and defined cost contracts (similar to cost plus), as well as other contract forms. For example, HS2 Ltd’s Main Works Civils Contracts (MWCC) are defined cost, incentivised, two-stage design and build contracts based on the NEC 3 Option C target cost contract model. Such NEC contracts are in common usage throughout the UK construction industry as they provide flexibility and encourage a collaborative approach.
Notice to Proceed was granted on HS2 Ltd’s Phase One Main Works Contracts in 2020. At that time there was no prospect of determining a reliable fixed price, nor getting the supply chain to agree to such a model given the residual risk. Therefore fixed price contracts were not viewed as viable.
As with all procurement activity on HS2, these contracts were let in line with HS2 Ltd’s governance and assurance requirements which conform with UK procurement law.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether owners of property purchased for the route of HS2 were required to enter non-disclosure agreements as a condition for receiving compensation, if so why, and who authorised this.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
It is not a condition of receiving compensation for property purchased on the HS2 route that the owner must enter into a non-disclosure agreement.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the HS2 project has cost to date; what estimate they have made of the cost of completing the project; and when they anticipate that it will be completed.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government inherited an exceptionally bad position at HS2, and has been working hard to grip HS2’s spiralling costs and has tasked HS2 Ltd’s CEO with conducting a comprehensive review of the programme, including assessing the current position on cost and schedule. He will provide advice for government to assess leading to agreeing a reset budget in 2026.
As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament in December 2024, overall spend to date was £30.2 billion (2019 prices). An update will be provided in the next report to Parliament.
The date for delivery of initial HS2 services between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common by 2033 remains, but there are significant pressures on this schedule.
We will report to Parliament once we have agreed a revised estimate for cost and schedule.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to establish the level of (1) the demand for carbon dioxide of the UK’s tree cover, and (2) the amount of carbon dioxide available to it.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The UK government is not currently undertaking any estimates of the demand for atmospheric carbon dioxide for the UK’s trees. However statistics published on behalf of the government by Forest Research estimate that the amount of carbon stored in UK forests is currently the equivalent of approximately 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
The current global carbon dioxide concentration is measured to be around 420 parts per million (0.042%), higher than at any time over at least the last 2 million years.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what cloud seeding operations are permitted over the United Kingdom, and who is responsible for controlling them.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
The Government is not aware of any cloud seeding operations taking place in the UK and is not deploying such technologies and has no plans to do so. There are no UK or international laws specific to the regulation or governance of weather modification, however, there are many relevant existing legal frameworks and principles .
https://co-create-project.eu/publication/scoping-note-on-applicable-legal-frameworks/
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the fall in overall domestic beef production resulting from the proposed changes in agricultural policies and payments.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The British beef sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high- quality meat for both the domestic market and for export. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain. The government continues to work closely with the beef industry and to monitor the impacts of the range of commercial, environmental and market related factors which influence a farmer’s decision to rear beef.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years: historical production figures, including for the commodities you reference, can be found in “Agriculture in the United Kingdom”, a publication of annual statistics about agriculture in the United Kingdom at GOV.UK. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Domestically, the Government has committed to broadly maintain the current level of food we produce. This includes sustainably boosting production in sectors where there are post-Brexit opportunities, including horticulture and seafood, and the Agriculture Act imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to have regard to the need to encourage environmentally sustainable food production. Our farming reforms aim to support a highly productive food producing sector by supporting farmers to manage land in a way that improves food production and is more environmentally sustainable, and by paying farmers to produce public goods such as water quality, biodiversity, animal health and welfare and climate change mitigation, alongside food production.
Speaking at the recent National Farmers Union Conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, which provides support for farmers to invest in automation and robotics, as well as solar installations to build on-farm energy security. The Prime Minister also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index, which will capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security, and announced plans to hold the Farm to Fork Summit annually.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the fall in overall domestic sugar beet production resulting from the proposed changes in agricultural policies and payments.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
For around 2,300 growers in the East of England sugar beet plays a vital role in soil and crop health in the arable farm rotation, allowing a season of “rest” from cereal production. Farmers consider a range of factors, including global market developments in price, their soil type and their long-term agronomic strategy, when deciding which crops they should include in their crop rotation. Domestic disease and pest pressures and the weather will also impact the quality of the crop and resulting sugar production levels.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years: historical production figures, including for the commodities you reference, can be found in “Agriculture in the United Kingdom”, a publication of annual statistics about agriculture in the United Kingdom at GOV.UK. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Domestically, the Government has committed to broadly maintain the current level of food we produce. This includes sustainably boosting production in sectors where there are post-Brexit opportunities, including horticulture and seafood, and the Agriculture Act imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to have regard to the need to encourage environmentally sustainable food production. Our farming reforms aim to support a highly productive food producing sector by supporting farmers to manage land in a way that improves food production and is more environmentally sustainable, and by paying farmers to produce public goods such as water quality, biodiversity, animal health and welfare and climate change mitigation, alongside food production.
Speaking at the recent National Farmers Union Conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, which provides support for farmers to invest in automation and robotics, as well as solar installations to build on-farm energy security. The Prime Minister also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index, which will capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security, and announced plans to hold the Farm to Fork Summit annually.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Offord of Garvel on 14 February (HL2130), whether the Government were informed of any action by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman resulting from the sub-postmaster's complaint.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) reports to Parliament directly and is held to account through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Therefore, the Department for Business and Trade is unable to respond on their behalf.
The Ombudsman’s officials have indicated to my Department that they will take no further action on the complaint, at least until the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and the GLO compensation scheme have run their course.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the fall in overall domestic wheat production resulting from the proposed changes in agricultural policies and payments.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years: historical production figures, including for the commodities you reference, can be found in “Agriculture in the United Kingdom”, a publication of annual statistics about agriculture in the United Kingdom at GOV.UK. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Domestically, the Government has committed to broadly maintain the current level of food we produce. This includes sustainably boosting production in sectors where there are post-Brexit opportunities, including horticulture and seafood, and the Agriculture Act imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to have regard to the need to encourage environmentally sustainable food production. Our farming reforms aim to support a highly productive food producing sector by supporting farmers to manage land in a way that improves food production and is more environmentally sustainable, and by paying farmers to produce public goods such as water quality, biodiversity, animal health and welfare and climate change mitigation, alongside food production.
Speaking at the recent National Farmers Union Conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, which provides support for farmers to invest in automation and robotics, as well as solar installations to build on-farm energy security. The Prime Minister also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index, which will capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security, and announced plans to hold the Farm to Fork Summit annually.