Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of avian flu on the colony of gannets on Bass Rock near North Berwick, and the resulting loss of population.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of the impact of avian flu on UK colonies of seabirds.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how many seals have died around the UK or its territorial waters as a result of avian flu spread through seabird colonies.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise the significant threat posed by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to the UK’s seabird populations and it is deeply concerning to see the impact this is having on these important species.
Details of findings of HPAI in wild birds in Great Britain are updated weekly and published via GOV.UK/Bird-Flu, together with outbreak and risk assessments. These reports include the recent mortalities of gannets on Bass Rock. Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and NGOs to monitor and respond to the effect of HPAI on wild birds. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance and carry out year-round HPAI surveillance of dead wild birds from across Great Britain.
While HPAI viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for HPAI in seals, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory. While the scale of HPAI findings in seabirds during the 2021/2022 avian influenza outbreak have been unprecedented, to date there is no evidence of increased mortality in UK seal populations or an increase in clinical cases brought into wildlife rehabilitation centres.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they intend to take to ensure that seabird colonies, such as colonies of gannets, are adequately protected, including in respect of (1) invasive species, (2) marine pollution, and (3) overfishing.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's seabirds are an important part of our natural heritage, and we continue to support actions to address the range of threats they are facing. Defra have commissioned Natural England to assess the vulnerability of seabird species in light of the pressures they are facing and propose actions to address them. We will work closely with stakeholders to understand the best way to implement and prioritise these actions in early 2023.
To protect the UK's 42 seabird island Special Protection Areas, Defra is funding work through the RSPB's Biosecurity programme which seeks to address the need for biosecurity measures through the removal of introduced predatory mammals.
The UK is a global leader in tackling plastic pollution that enters our waterways, rivers, and ocean. As set out in the UK Marine Strategy Part Three, the UK government is taking action to reduce pollution in the marine environment to help protect marine species, including seabirds. We aim to publish an updated UK Marine Strategy Part Three later this year, outlining the programmes of measures that will continue to move us towards Good Environmental Status in our seas.
We are also assessing the impact that fishing for forage fish species has on the marine ecosystem, including on vulnerable seabirds. Following the recent call for evidence, Defra, working with others, will be developing a policy on a future management strategy for industrial fishing in UK waters. This includes reviewing our policy for the sandeel fishery in the North Sea.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 July (HL1116), what steps they will take, together with international partners, to seek restitution from the government of Russia for civilian populations in Ukraine which has resulted in (1) extensive loss of life, and (2) damage to buildings in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Putin alone is responsible for the damage and destruction caused by his illegal war in Ukraine. This requires full and urgent reparation by Russia.
The UK Government is considering all options for seizing assets that could be used to support the people of Ukraine and contribute towards the reconstruction of their country, closely with international partners.
The Foreign Secretary announced (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ukraine-recovery-conference-foreign-secretarys-remarks-4-july-2022) the UK vision for supporting Ukraine's Reconstruction and Development Plan at the Lugano Ukraine Recovery Conference (4-5 July) and the UK's commitment to host next year's 2023 Reconstruction Conference.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to coordinate a response to the outbreak of avian influenza in seabird colonies across Britain, (2) to put in place a surveillance programme that will improve the early detection of avian flu in wild bird populations in the future, and (3) to (a) plan for, and (b) mitigate the risk of, the spread of avian flu to other species, including marine mammals such as grey seals.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK’s seabirds are an important part of our natural heritage, and their protection is a high priority for the Government. We recognise the significant threat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) poses to our seabird populations.
Defra is working with Devolved Administrations, Arm’s Length Bodies and charities to monitor and respond to the effect of avian influenza on wild birds. This includes providing advice on mitigation measures that can be put in place to both protect public health and the impact on wild birds where possible. However, avian influenza is a natural transmission process in wild birds and there is limited evidence that mitigation measures are effective at reducing mortality or morbidity in seabird colonies.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) operate a robust programme of wild bird surveillance across Great Britain and engages in year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols. Between 25 October 2021 and 8 July 2022, over 3,000 wild birds have been tested. Of these, 1422 have tested positive for H5 HPAI. There have been findings in 343 different locations in 61 different species in 78 different counties. A report (updated weekly) of findings of HPAI in wild birds is published on GOV.UK together with outbreak and risk assessments (www.gov.uk/government/publications/avian-influenza-in-wild-birds).
Last month a new consortium was launched, led by Defra and APHA, to fund research to look into how avian influenza viruses are emerging in wild populations and help us understand the risk posed to both domestic and wild birds.
While avian influenza viruses are predominantly considered a pathogen of birds, the virus can infect mammals. While there is no routine surveillance for avian influenza in seals in Great Britain, causes of death of stranded marine mammals are monitored and investigated through the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme. Where appropriate, stranded seals are tested for avian influenza in collaboration with the APHA avian influenza National Reference Laboratory.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Russia pays restitution to Ukraine after the war in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Mr Putin alone is responsible for the damage and destruction caused by his illegal war in Ukraine. His regime must pay for the damage that it has caused. The UK will continue to support efforts to achieve accountability for crimes committed during the illegal invasion, including by the provision of assistance to the International Criminal Court investigation.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with European allies to condemn President Putin’s policy of aggression in Ukraine and the detrimental effect on the people of that country, including injuries and fatalities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary continues to ensure the UK is playing a leading role driving the international response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, regularly meeting and speaking with Foreign Minister counterparts, including our European allies. We are working with international partners to support Ukraine across a range of areas, including: strengthening their military capabilities; providing economic support; sharing expertise and experience on recovery and reconstruction; unlocking routes to export grain from Ukraine; humanitarian support; and investigations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. We will continue to support the Ukrainian Government in the face of this assault on their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will work with international partners to provide food supply guarantees to developing countries at risk of food shortages as a result of global food shortages and increasing food prices, caused by the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Over the next 3 years, the UK will direct £3 billion of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable countries and people to help them recover from crises. The UK played a leading role in persuading the World Bank to commit $12 billion of new funding in the next 15 months to respond directly to the food security crisis, as part of its global lending package of $170 billion. The UK is keen to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the global response through strong coordination and collaboration, and we are therefore supportive of the G7 Global Alliance for Food Security and the US-led road map and country coalition. The UK has committed another £10 million to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) to build resilience in agriculture and food security in the poorest countries, bringing our total contribution to £186 million.
Asked by: Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Russian military has (1) attacked civilians in Ukraine indiscriminately, and (2) attacked hospitals, schools, and railway stations in that country, causing injuries and loss of life.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is a premeditated and barbaric assault on a sovereign democratic state. Russia's deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, railway stations and cultural sites constitute war crimes. The UK and its partners will ensure Putin's regime is held accountable.
The UK is a leading bilateral donor to Ukraine, having committed £220 million in humanitarian assistance. We have delivered over 11 million medical items and are donating ambulances, generators and multiple non-food items. Frontline medical aid charity UK-Med will also receive funding of up to £300,000 to help train Ukrainian doctors, nurses and paramedics on how to deal with mass casualties.