Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that effective biosecurity measures are in place to protect flora in the UK.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We are committed to doing all we can to prevent plant pests and diseases reaching our borders and to build the resilience of our flora and other trees and plants. Our approach, led by the Government Chief Plant Health Officer, involves the systematic, proactive screening of potential new and emerging risks, which are listed in the Plant Health Risk Register.
There are regulations on importing plants and products from outside the UK where it is known that certain pests or pathogens are present. These are updated regularly in response to new evidence, such as that published by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation. We are working collaboratively with the EU and the broader international community, industry, NGOs, landowners and the public to reduce the risks of pests and diseases entering the country and the impact of newly established pests, including substantial programmes of work on, for example, the oak processionary moth and ash dieback.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential health risks caused by the urban fox population; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Foxes can carry a range of parasites and diseases relevant to the health of people and domestic pets. There is, however, no evidence that foxes are a major risk to public health, or to pet dogs in England. Britain is currently rabies-free and measures are in place to keep it that way.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with local authorities on increases in the urban fox population; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We have not had recent discussions with local authorities about increases in the urban fox population.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that online marketplaces abide by all UK and EU laws on the sale of seahorses.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Seahorses are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Trade of seahorses into, and from, the EU is regulated by CITES permits, however they can be freely traded within the EU without a CITES permit provided that they have been legally acquired.
It is for the police, including the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which is partly funded by Defra, to investigate any cases involving the illegal trading of seahorses, including intelligence concerning potential illegal trading on online marketplaces. The NWCU has investigated a number of such cases.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have taken place for the illegal sale of seahorses in the last five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Identifying the number of defendants prosecuted for the illegal sale of seahorses from those prosecuted for the illegal sale of other endangered species recorded in data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice would incur disproportionate costs.
Defra does not hold any other data regarding the number of prosecutions for the illegal sales of seahorses.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department will make staged funding available for the England Coastal Path as it opens.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Natural England will provide funding for the England Coast Path as stretches of the coast are opened under Part 9 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. We are aiming to complete the England Coast Path by 2020.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to reinstate the three year funding cycle for the English National Trails as set out by Natural England in 2013.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, on 7 March 2017, PQ66037
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department plans to make available for the maintenance and improvement of the English National Trails in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, on 7 March 2017, PQ66037
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to improve the level of information provided to farmers on how claim payments under the Basic Payment Scheme are broken down.
Answered by George Eustice
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has provided detailed guidance on how BPS 2015 payments are calculated and this is published on the GOV.UK website.
For BPS 2016, the RPA will provide updated guidance on GOV.UK which will explain how payments are calculated including BPS entitlement values and payment rates, reductions and penalties and the Financial discipline mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider providing bridging payments to Rural Payment Agency claimants awaiting payment after 31 March 2017.
Answered by George Eustice
The RPA’s focus remains on paying 90% of farmers their payment by the end of December. The RPA will aim to pay those still to receive a payment as quickly as possible beyond that.