Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many freight trains they expect to use East West Rail per day.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The current scope of EWR enables up to two new freight train paths per day per direction from Felixstowe, routed via Cambridge, through to Oxford and beyond, and around two new freight train paths per day from Southampton, routed via Oxford, Bletchley and onto the West Coast Main Line. Other enhancements on the network would be required for freight to exceed these levels.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the identification of a case of avian influenza in a sheep in Yorkshire, what assessment they have made of the risk of transmission to other livestock, and the risk to human health.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been detected in a sheep in England, following routine surveillance of co-located livestock on a premises where highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 had been confirmed in other captive birds. To mitigate the risk of further disease spread the affected birds and the infected ewe have been humanely culled. Further official testing of the remaining flock of sheep was all negative for the presence of avian influenza virus. Surveillance in the disease control zones in force in the area surrounding these premises will be undertaken, and these zones will remain in force until all disease control and surveillance activities have been successfully completed.
While this is the first time avian influenza virus has been detected in a sheep, it is not the first time influenza of avian origin has been detected in livestock in other countries. Whist we remain vigilant for any changes in risk, there is no evidence to suggest an increased risk to the nation's livestock population.
In response to the unprecedented global outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in recent years, the UK's avian influenza national reference laboratory has increased its surveillance for avian influenza virus in mammals and genome analysis of the virus itself. The case definition for influenza of avian origin has been updated and provides guidance for animal keepers and veterinary professionals on how and when to report suspicion in mammals. Additional information on how we monitor influenza of avian origin in wild mammals and how the public can report suspicion is available via GOV.UK/birdflu.
Following this detection, the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance group have carried out a risk assessment, and assessed the probability of infection with influenza of avian origin from lactating livestock as very low for the general population and low for individuals interacting with infected lactating livestock.
While risk levels remain low, keepers are encouraged to maintain strict biosecurity in order to protect the health and welfare of their animals.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the passenger and freight trains on East West Rail will be powered.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
At the recent non-statutory consultation, EWR Co confirmed their preference for discontinuous electrification to power passenger services once the full route is open from the mid-2030s. The rolling stock used for freight services will be a matter for freight operators to decide.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the identification of a case of avian influenza in a sheep in Yorkshire, what action they have taken to introduce additional monitoring of livestock to detect other cases of avian influenza crossing the species barrier.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Influenza of avian origin (H5N1) has been detected in a sheep in England, following routine surveillance of co-located livestock on a premises where highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 had been confirmed in other captive birds. To mitigate the risk of further disease spread the affected birds and the infected ewe have been humanely culled. Further official testing of the remaining flock of sheep was all negative for the presence of avian influenza virus. Surveillance in the disease control zones in force in the area surrounding these premises will be undertaken, and these zones will remain in force until all disease control and surveillance activities have been successfully completed.
While this is the first time avian influenza virus has been detected in a sheep, it is not the first time influenza of avian origin has been detected in livestock in other countries. Whist we remain vigilant for any changes in risk, there is no evidence to suggest an increased risk to the nation's livestock population.
In response to the unprecedented global outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in recent years, the UK's avian influenza national reference laboratory has increased its surveillance for avian influenza virus in mammals and genome analysis of the virus itself. The case definition for influenza of avian origin has been updated and provides guidance for animal keepers and veterinary professionals on how and when to report suspicion in mammals. Additional information on how we monitor influenza of avian origin in wild mammals and how the public can report suspicion is available via GOV.UK/birdflu.
Following this detection, the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance group have carried out a risk assessment, and assessed the probability of infection with influenza of avian origin from lactating livestock as very low for the general population and low for individuals interacting with infected lactating livestock.
While risk levels remain low, keepers are encouraged to maintain strict biosecurity in order to protect the health and welfare of their animals.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many passengers they expect to travel between Oxford and Cambridge each day on East West Rail.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
EWR Co are continuing to model forecast passenger numbers and are working with the Government to understand overall trends.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their target for the number of badgers to be vaccinated against bovine tuberculosis in England in 2024.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
There is no specific target number for badger vaccination in 2024. In 2023, just over 3,000 badgers were vaccinated in England. This was the highest annual number vaccinated since the vaccine was authorised in 2010. Whilst we expect numbers to increase this year, the absolute number vaccinated will depend on which areas are targeted and factors such as weather and annual changes in badger populations.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - 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 number of badgers that will be killed in (1) Oxfordshire, and (2) England, in 2024 as part of the bovine tuberculosis control programme.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
No estimate has been made on the number of badgers to be removed in Oxfordshire and England in 2024, as part of our bovine tuberculosis eradication strategy. The minimum and maximum numbers for each licensed cull area will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the yearly targets for manufacturers of electric vehicles will be in line with the Climate Change Committee's balanced net zero pathway.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
We are continuing to analyse responses to the technical consultation on zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate policy design, and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course. We remain committed to targets entering into force from January 2024.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of the sustainability objective in section 2(b) of the Fisheries Act 2020, what steps they will take in order to determine whether current fleet capacity matches available fishing opportunities.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The UK produces an annual fleet capacity report which assesses how effectively the fleet is operating.
The Government is committed to engage with stakeholders to address sustainability and fleet management issues through Fisheries Management Plans.
The current management system of licences and quota restrictions ensure that the sustainability objectives in the Fisheries Act are addressed, with licence conditions amended where necessary to match demand against fishing opportunities.
Asked by: Lord Krebs (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what new financial support they will allocate to support building a (1) sustainable, (2) low carbon, fishing industry.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The £100 million UK Seafood Fund has been carefully crafted to support projects that will support the long-term viability of the sector. This is being done through all four elements, infrastructure, science and innovation, skills and training, and exports.
Additionally, one of the UK Seafood Fund’s overarching objectives is to increase environmental sustainability. It is one of the mandatory criteria that applicants must cover if applying under the Infrastructure pillar.
Funding is also available to enable each of the devolved administrations to deliver their own grant funding schemes. The scheme for England – the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme – has driven meaningful change to increase sustainability, provide world-class fisheries management and support a thriving marine environment.
The Marine Management Organisation is looking to relaunch the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme this month. The new iteration of the scheme will continue to deliver investment to safeguard the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of the seafood sector across England. It will include support for projects that limit carbon emissions, reduce the environmental impact of fishing, enable the collection of marine litter, and deliver professional advice for seafood businesses on environmental sustainability.