Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the fishing landing obligation on discard reduction.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many tonnes of fish above quota have been landed by fishers as a result of the landing obligation; and what percentage of total landings this represents.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have taken place in relation to illegal discarding since the introduction of the fishing landing obligation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that fishing quotas are not above the levels recommended by scientific advice.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As an independent coastal State, the UK sets total allowable catches (TACs) through negotiations with other coastal States, led by the best scientific advice, including advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) on maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Per our obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement, we seek to achieve, or contribute to the achievement of the fisheries objectives. In particular, we strive for outcomes that ensure environmental sustainability, including increasing the total number of stocks fished at MSY, as well as bring socio-economic benefits. In early 2024, following the conclusion of the annual fisheries negotiations, the Government will publish an independent assessment of the number of TACs set consistent with ICES advice for 2024.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to make a determination on WCA 547 Modification Order 2021 regarding the addition of a footpath and a restricted byway at Metherell in the Parish of Calstock, Cornwall.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Planning Inspectorate administer rights of way casework for Defra. We are unable to comment on individual cases, to avoid prejudicing the outcome, and individual timescales can vary considerably.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken (1) to prepare for the introduction of mandatory recycling labelling on packaging, and (2) to ensure business is able to implement these reforms effectively and at a reasonable cost.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We confirmed our intention to require recycling labelling on packaging in March 2022 in the Government’s Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility consultation response. We continue to engage with stakeholders as we develop these requirements, the approach to assessing recyclability and the regulations to introduce mandatory labelling.
Labelling will be required by 31st March 2026 for all packaging except plastic films and flexibles which will be required to be labelled by 31st March 2027. This should provide sufficient time for business to adopt labelling as part of typical business cycles and to avoid unnecessary costs. It will also allow time for collection services to develop such that all local authorities collect the same packaging materials for recycling.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that mandatory recycling labelling on packaging will enable consumers to recycle easily and accurately.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government set out its proposals for recycling labelling on packaging in the consultation response published in March 2022. We stated that the labelling requirements would comprise a recycling symbol (the Recycle Now ‘swoosh’) and the appropriate wording (Recycle or Do not recycle). This will provide clear information to help consumers recycle easily and avoid confusion caused by the variety of current labelling.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the new regulations regarding mandatory recyclability labelling are enforced.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The regulations will set out the role of the enforcement authority and the offences and penalties that will apply to businesses that do not comply with the labelling requirements. The Office for Product Safety and Standards has agreed in principle to become the enforcement body and is advising us on the development of the monitoring and enforcement regime.
Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to assist the under 10 metre fishing sector in meeting its increased fuel costs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra will continue to support the fishing sector through the £100 million UK Seafood Fund, which as one of its main objectives seeks to increase the sustainability of the sector, including through investing in the transition to renewable energy.
Defra is also making £32.7 million in annual funding available across all four nations of the UK, which last year enabled grant schemes to be opened in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, benefiting hundreds of UK businesses. The grant scheme for England, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, delivers investment to safeguard the long-term sustainability, resilience and prosperity of the seafood sector. This includes a wide range of support aimed at fishing vessels, with enhanced funding rates of up to 80% made available to members of the small-scale coastal fleet.
In recognition of the challenges in the maritime sector, including the fishing industry, in the 2022 Spring Budget the Chancellor overturned the 2020 announcement to remove the red diesel entitlement for commercial boat operators, meaning the industry can continue to use red diesel, in addition to the Marine Voyages Relief, which gives 100% relief on fuel duty costs.
The increasing cost of fuel is affecting a wide range of sectors including the fishing industry and vessels of all sizes are being affected. Our primary focus is on analysing how the UK fleet is being affected by fuel and fish prices. Defra Ministers and officials are working with colleagues across government, along with a wide range of stakeholders, and are closely monitoring the situation.
The Government has shown long term commitment to the sector and will continue to do so in the future. As part of this long term commitment we are not planning to repurpose funds to mitigate the impacts of high fuel prices. We consider this is a cross cutting issue, and so are liaising with colleagues across government to determine the longer-term impacts and any mitigating actions.