Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Substitution of Cut-off Date Relating to Rights of Way) (England) Regulations 2023

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Redesdale (LD)]

My Lords, I want to support the Government on a couple of points, which I know the Minister will find surprising. Is it just me, or is it cynical to suggest that the date for the cut-off was set not for after this Government, nor for the next Government, but for the Government after, which always gives the impression that we have moved to the point where it is in the long grass and nobody is thinking about it?

The noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, talked about the 2000 Act, and I remember being part of the debates when we discussed that in 2000. There was great hope at that point that there would be money pouring into the rights of way from the Labour Government, but that sort of dissipated. I very much hope that the Minister can raise with his officials whether there could be discussion with the national heritage fund about coming forward with some funding, because it is not going to come from local authorities and the volunteer groups are going to find it difficult to push this forward.

I want to speak on this because I am one of those very rare individuals—one of the landowners that the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, talked about: a rapacious landlord in the north of Northumbria. The success I have had recently is introducing a new right of way, in relation to higher-level stewardship. I give a note of caution to anybody who goes down that route, which is that we agreed the right of way on a map. This summer I decided to actually follow the right of way, as set out by Northumberland National Park. The first half a mile is absolutely fabulous, through bucolic pastureland. However, you then hit a stile, and if you go over the stile and follow the path, you go down a near-vertical cliff face, which is almost lethal. In fact, it is totally lethal because it is covered in bracken. If you manage to get to the bottom of this without breaking your ankle, you hit the next helpfully placed marker, which directs you straight through a bog, which my children used to call a “welly-eater”—a bog you get half way through and then realise it has sucked your welly off and you will never see it again. After that you get to the most beautiful site on the riverbank, before you then have to think about going back the other way. I was told by the local authority that I could change it, but that it would probably be a harder process than taking the route in the first place.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, and my noble friend Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts for introducing these Motions, and all noble Lords who have contributed to this debate. I notice that the noble Baroness, Lady Mallalieu, is in her place and did not contribute to this debate, but I take the opportunity to wish her a very happy birthday.

The Government are committed to increasing access to nature. The environmental improvement plan sets out an ambitious commitment, as pointed out by the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, for everyone to live within a 15-minute walk of green or blue space, and to reduce other barriers that prevent people accessing it. My Secretary of State feels very passionately about this whole debate and, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, got me and various others in, when I had responsibility for access at Defra, to drive forward an agenda that coalesced in the Agnew commission. A lot of fresh thinking is now taking place and breathing new life into that, and he is really committed.

This is part of a much wider debate, and I just want to put this on the record. We have nearly completed the 2,700-mile King Charles III England Coast Path, a product of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which we firmly support and are proud to have delivered on our watch. We are delivering a £9 million levelling up parks fund to improve green space in more than 100 disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the UK—a point that the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, raised—and delivering the £14.5 million Access for All programme to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive. There are much wider issues around well-being, the social prescribing agenda and the success we have had through our farming and protected landscapes grant schemes, which have seen many new miles of footpaths in some of our most amazing landscapes.

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[Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)]

I sense that my noble friend has reached his peroration. Could we just go back to Oflog? I absolutely accept his good intentions and what he has told us, but we know that we will leave this Chamber, that things will move on and that this Office for Local Government will give those of us who are interested in this topic a chance to chase the laggards, because there will be information, if Oflog has this as part of its remit. Could my noble friend look at this and come back to those of us who have contributed to the debate with conclusions as to what he has found out?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I thank my noble friend. I noted his point about Oflog. I will write to him with a detailed reply and convey his sensible suggestion to my colleagues at Defra. I hope they will be able to take that forward because it is a good suggestion.

I am conscious of the time, but I know there is concern about resourcing. I have talked about local authorities but, on funding for voluntary bodies, we recognise and value the important work carried out by the voluntary sector over many years to identify and apply for historic rights of way to be legally recorded. We want to continue the good working, particularly at a local level, between organisations such as the Ramblers and the land managers and the local authority through local access fora to get these issues resolved in a timely way.

A concern was raised about exceptions. Regulations to except certain historic rights of way from extinguishment will be laid as soon as possible. Officials are currently working with stakeholders to complete these regulations as part of our wider package of rights of way reforms.

There was some interest in what exactly is going to be excepted. We have committed to introduce regulations that will except unrecorded historic rights of way from extinguishment in a number of different ways. This will include all rights of way subject to applications that have not been concluded before 1 January 2031, rights of way in urban areas, and those that appear on the list of streets or National Street Gazetteer that are shown as maintainable at the public expense. Where the recorded width of a historic right of way is less than the actual true width, regulations will ensure that the width necessary for the continued safe and convenient passage of users will be saved from extinguishment—a key concern of many campaign groups.

[Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)]

I am sorry to interrupt the Minister. I am not a rambler and I do not walk on footpaths nowadays, but I fail to understand why the Government are prepared to extinguish some unrecorded rights of way. I find that very odd: you will have some exceptions but there may be many that are extinguished. I fail to understand, from what the Minister has said, why the Government are doing this.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

This was a product of an Act that was passed many years ago. There was a cut-off date of 2026 to give certainty, because otherwise this will roll on and on. It is also for people to be able to understand the complications in certain areas, such as biosecurity and safety. In the past, many footpaths went through farmyards, which are now not safe places for walkers to go, so this is also to be able to divert those paths to where they are safe, and protect stock from issues related to that. But the key point is about creating certainty; that is what we seek to do. By 2031, we should be able to get most of those historic rights established. I hope I have been successful in getting that point across, but I am happy to follow this up with meetings or further correspondence with noble Lords.

We recognise the benefits that our rights of way reforms will bring, and are working to complete and lay the necessary secondary legislation as soon as we can. Officials will continue to work closely with key stakeholders, including Members of this House, to ensure that all sides will benefit from these reforms.

The noble Earl, Lord Russell, raised a point about the cut-off date; there are approximately 4,000 applications for definitive map modification orders waiting to be determined by local authorities, most of which are applications to recorded historic rights of way. We expect the volume of applications to increase up to the cut-off date, which is why we have committed to ensuring that all applications remain live after the cut-off date until they are concluded—a key concern of the noble Lord, Lord Rosser. The reforms we are introducing will help to address the backlog, making it faster and less expensive to resolve historic rights of way applications. Commencing and extending the cut-off date now has provided certainty to all parties, both that the cut-off date will have effect and over when it will apply. By extending the date to 2031, we have provided an additional five years to submit these applications. We fully recognise the importance of regulations specifying exemptions from extinguishment, and we are committed to introducing these as soon as possible.

The noble Earl, Lord Russell, asked about the additional financial burden. I think I have addressed that. This will be a continuing concern for local authorities. We recognise that, but we hope that there are existing resources available to suit this. The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, asked how many local authorities are affected. All local authorities in England are affected—all 317 of them. The stakeholder working group meets monthly and has all parties of interest attending. It is chaired by a senior Defra official, and Ministers take close interest in what they bring forward and have been key to the debate surrounding this.

I recognise that a great many other points were raised. I do not believe I have the opportunity to answer them all in detail, but I will reply in letter form, if I may. I thank noble Lords for their attention. I hope that what I have said has persuaded the Members who tabled these Motions of this Government’s commitment to greater access and to seeing historic paths recorded.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who took part in the debate. I particularly welcome my noble friend Lord Rosser, and listened to him speak with such passion and authority today.

When the Minister started, I thought perhaps he had listened to the debate and seen the light, as he seemed so keen on rights of access and preserving public rights of way. It was disappointing that he then went on to not acknowledge the challenges facing local authorities and voluntary groups to manage the task ahead of them. On the consultation point, I recognised in my speech that the cut-off date could not be postponed beyond 2031, but consultation does not have to be just about timing. It could have looked at exemptions and resources, and considered that as part of a wider consultation on the matter. But I hope the debate will enable the Minister to focus on the task ahead and keep a close watch on progress, because that is what we all want. Having said that, I beg leave to withdraw my Motion.

Wine (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2023

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Benyon]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 25 October be approved.

Relevant document: 2nd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, leaving the EU gives us a unique opportunity to review our retained EU wine law to ensure that it better suits our domestic needs. The UK wine market was worth more than £10 billion in 2022 in off-trade and on-trade sales and the UK’s developing domestic production sector has attracted significant global investment. It is therefore vital to reform retained EU laws to give us the opportunity to boost growth and development in our domestic industry and to give it the capacity to tackle future environmental and economic challenges. To do this, the reforms that I am setting out to the House today will address a number of issues faced by our wine businesses. They will remove barriers, support innovation and simplify regulations to help to support growth in our wine trade and production industry, giving them the freedom to meet new and evolving demands while maintaining the high standards that consumers have come to expect.

First, the regulations will amend current importer labelling requirements. The instrument will remove a stipulation that imported wine must show the prefix “Importer” or “Imported by” before the address of the business responsible for importing that wine to England. It will mean that the general food law provisions relating to the identification of the responsible food business operator will apply to wine in the same way as they apply to other food products, without any additional importer labelling requirements in wine law on top of that. Changing importer labelling provisions means that businesses do not have to face unnecessary costs and bureaucratic administrative burdens. With approximately 1.3 billion litres of wine being imported into the UK in the 12 months leading up to December 2022, these burdens from inherited EU labelling rules must be removed. This Government will always stand with businesses to create growth opportunities.

Secondly, we will allow wines with a protected designation of origin to be produced from any permitted grape variety or hybrid variety rather than just the species Vitis vinifera. Permitting the use of non-Vitis vinifera species and hybrid varieties in PDO wines can bring significant benefits to both the industry and to the environment. Hybrid varieties often exhibit higher disease resistance compared to traditional Vitis vinifera varieties. The use of hybrid grape varieties can contribute to greater crop consistency and thus supply chain resilience. These hybrid grapes are often bred to withstand various climatic conditions and soil types, leading to more predictable yields. That predictability can mitigate the impacts of climate-related fluctuations and contribute to a stable supply of grapes, supporting both producers and consumers.

Thirdly, the instrument will remove the ban on the production of piquette, a wine-based beverage produced by adding water to grape pomace. Ending this ban will allow wine producers to create a new product offering using a by-product of the wine production process. This is an exciting and interesting opportunity that the Government want to provide to our wine producers.

The Government will also continue to support the thriving wine industry by enabling the blending of imported wine in England. This reform is permissive in nature, so take-up from the sector is voluntary. Our aim of allowing the blending of any wine in England will enable the wine industry to blend different varieties of wine from the same or various origins to achieve greater consistency in their products and to create entirely new products that suit consumer tastes. The Government are delighted that this measure also offers the opportunity for more British jobs in English wineries and bottling plants.

The Government are also keen to make the recycling of wine bottles easier in line with collection and packaging reforms. The instrument therefore intends to remove the mandatory requirements for foil caps and mushroom-shaped stoppers to be used in the marketing of sparkling wine. In addition to reducing waste, our aim is to make the production of sparkling wine more competitive.

The instrument will remove the wine certification scheme. The Government have listened to our wine industry and acted to remove unnecessary bureaucracy. The Government opposed the wine certification scheme policy as an EU member; now that we have left, we can seize the opportunity to determine our own laws. The instrument therefore intends to remove the wine certification arrangements. The current cost of the application process is £15 plus VAT per varietal wine. By removing the scheme, the relevant wine producers are avoiding that unnecessary cost.

I recognise that a majority of these first-phase reforms will apply only in England. However, the Welsh Government and Defra have agreed to pursue future reforms together, allowing these benefits to flow to the wine industry across both nations. As we have done from the outset, we continue to encourage Scotland to make similar reforms.

Together, the changes I have set out will liberalise the growing domestic wine industry and address several issues that our wine businesses face. They will remove barriers, support innovation and simplify regulations to help support growth in our wine trade and production industries. These proposed reforms give them the freedom to meet new and evolving demands while also maintaining the high standards that consumers have come to expect.

Our wine industry and producers support the changes set out in this instrument and welcome the flexibility it provides. The Government intend to bring further changes to allow the wine industry the benefits of leaving the European Union. This instrument is part of a broader package of reforms giving our thriving wine and alcoholic drinks sector greater flexibilities that will support it in the future. I beg to move.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for presenting the regulations before us this afternoon; overall, they are a very positive contribution to the wines and spirits industry. I declare my interest: I chair the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board, of which the wines and spirits trust is a member. I was very grateful for its briefing as part of my preparations for this afternoon.

I have just a couple of questions for my noble friend. While it is welcome that the regulations will benefit both consumers and indeed the wine industry, my noble friend mentioned that there are one, if not two, further statutory instruments to come before the House in the next six months. Would it not have been better to do all three statutory instruments together? I understand that the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which prepared a report in advance of the regulations being laid before us this this afternoon, expressed concern about the lack of a uniform approach and level playing field across Great Britain, and the way the department has introduced and promoted the instrument.

I welcome my noble friend’s having reached an agreement between the department and the Welsh Government. Can he tell us the status of the agreement between his department and the Scottish Government in that regard? Also, it is particularly welcome that, as my noble friend said, only one label will be required, so we are in fact restoring the situation that existed before Brexit. It looked at one time as though two labels would be required on one bottle, one for consumption in the EU and one for consumption in the UK, and it is very good news indeed that these labelling changes have gone ahead in such a sensible way.

With those few remarks, can my noble friend explain the thinking behind having one statutory instrument before the House now, with two to follow in short order? Also, can he explain the precise situation with the Scottish Government regarding the instrument before us this afternoon? However, I welcome these regulations.

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I wonder what the Government are doing to address the concerns that emerged from the consultation. Although it was positive overall, there were sufficient negative responses and issues raised for the Government to need to give a more detailed response. I will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say about that.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I am grateful to my noble friend and the noble Baroness for their views on this instrument. I believe we all recognise the importance of the wine industry. These changes support this aim and will ensure greater flexibility. I recognise that a majority of these first-phase reforms will apply only in England. As I said earlier, the Welsh Government and Defra have agreed to pursue reforms together, allowing these benefits to flow to the wine industry in both nations.

We are working with Scotland. Of the wine we drink in this country, I think only 1% is produced here. Most of that is produced in the south-east of England but a wine industry is now emerging across the United Kingdom. We want to encourage this. It shows farmers and land managers adapting to a changing climate and opportunities for a home-grown industry that we want to see flourish. The changes to importer labelling are required to ensure that the industry avoids unnecessary costs. Revoking importer labelling provisions in wine law will result in the application of the general food law provisions relating to food business operator labelling. This is a change I assure noble Lords that both this Government and the wine industry wish to see.

I hope that it will get the support of the House. Our desire is to improve the sustainability and innovation of the wine sector through enabling PDOs to be applied for in relation to wines made from hybrid grape varieties. This brings long-term benefits to both industry and the environment as well as increasing consumer choice. Blending wine also offers this opportunity, in addition to improving consistency and reducing waste. A serious point made by the Wine and Spirits Trade Association is that the blending of wine is something that the industry wants to do. It is in the consumers’ interest, it reduces waste and it improves quality. It allows for the same flexibility that vineyards have to supply wine that the consumer wants.

The Government also wish to free our wine industry from inherited EU bureaucracy by removing the certification arrangements for non-GI wine marketed with a variety and/or vintage indication. Again, these reforms aim to remove additional costs and administrative burdens on producers. The improvements this Government have made on wine will provide consumer confidence and sustainable growth, encourage frictionless trade, improve our environmental impact and, most importantly, remove unnecessary burdens.

My noble friend Lady McIntosh asked why we are doing this now and then tabling a further two statutory instruments later. The answer is that it is important to get this one agreed before the end of the year, when otherwise the transitional labelling rules will end. We want all food business-operated rules to be in place by 1 January. The other two statutory instruments are slightly more technical in nature and require a bit more work. We are working at pace to bring those forward in the new year.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, also referred to labelling. We want to make sure that labelling is simple and straightforward. We have sought to reduce the burden on producers but still offer the correct labelling. This requirement will allow, for example, the words “a blend of wines from Australia” or “a blend of wines from Chile and Argentina” to be on the bottle. That gives enough information to the consumer, but also secures what we believe is a proportionate requirement on the industry.

I think I have addressed all the points raised. I hope the House will approve this instrument.

Motion agreed.

Sudan and South Sudan

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Monday 27th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support peace and democracy in Sudan and South Sudan.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK is committed to supporting Sudan and South Sudan to achieve an enduring peace. In Sudan, we are pursuing all diplomatic avenues to press the warring parties into a sustained and meaningful peace process that paves the way to a return to a civilian-led government. In South Sudan, we continue to urge the Government to implement the peace agreement and secure a peaceful transition to democracy through free and fair elections.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, conflict between the two armed forces within Sudan has intensified over the last few months. Just a few days ago, the Sudan Government then informed or notified the United Nations that it wanted to pull out of the United Nations Assistance Mission ASAP or by 3 December, which is the last date on which this current rollover mandate of peace remains. As the UK is penholder on Sudan at the UN, can my noble friend tell me what negotiations there have been with the Sudanese Government to ensure that this mandate is rolled over, in a way that maintains the present level of impact upon Sudan? Otherwise, the millions of people who have been displaced, including 3 million children who are now on the verge of famine, will not be fed.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

My noble friend is absolutely right. The UK led the renewal of the mandate for the UN Integrated Transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan on 2 June to ensure that the UNITAMS process would have the most effective mandate possible to address the crisis in Sudan. She is absolutely right: there are 6.2 million people displaced, 1.2 million of them in neighbouring countries. As penholder on Sudan at the Security Council, we work in close partnership with the UN, including on how the UN can best support the Sudanese people going forwards. We will continue to work with Sudan and other interested parties on this ahead of the expiry of the UNITAMs mandate on 3 December. It is absolutely vital that all countries are doing their bit to try to assist the people who are suffering most in this terrible conflict.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, the conflict in Sudan is tragically forgotten by the world. The UN is paralysed, while the African Union stands on the other side and watches what happens. There is no real prospect yet of a ceasefire or any positive movement, so what can the Government do? As a penholder, can we persuade other Governments to increase support for the aid agencies as the tragedy unfolds?

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[Lord Benyon (Con)]

The noble Lord rightly portrays a very stark situation, but the conflict is not ignored by this Government. We strongly believe that neither of the warring parties should have any role in power in a future Sudan, and we support an African-led approach to resolving the crisis. We are working with a range of partners, including the Quad—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United States and ourselves—as well as African countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN to achieve a permanent ceasefire and allow unfettered humanitarian access. One of the great problems is getting humanitarian access to particular parts of Sudan; just getting visas for humanitarian aid workers is impossible. We are also helping a broad group of Sudanese civilian actors and stakeholders—that most recently took place in Addis Ababa at the end of October. My ministerial colleagues and I will continue to have meetings with parties to try to affect a changing situation, but I entirely agree that it looks bleak at the moment.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, if we get a leakage of water causing damage at home, the first thing we do is turn off the supply system. I know that I will be told that we have the most rigid control of arms in the world, but arms manufactured in this country are being sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which then sell them on to the warring parties in Sudan. Is that acceptable?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

There is a long-standing UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan, as well as a UN arms embargo on Darfur. If the noble Lord wants to give me more evidence of what he said, I will certainly take it up.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister referred to the displacement of people raised by the noble Baroness, who is absolutely right about UN involvement and our responsibility as a penholder. What was our response to the World Food Programme, which has announced that it requires £150 million just to support those who have moved to Chad? Can we take this issue seriously? As the noble Baroness said, women, girls and children are in an absolutely desperate situation and we need to respond.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

The noble Lord is right about the situation. Some 24.7 million people need assistance and, as I said earlier, 6.2 million people have been displaced since 15 April, a large proportion of whom are in Darfur. Our top humanitarian priority is to secure humanitarian access and operational security guarantees for humanitarian agencies, as there can be no aid without safe and reliable access. In May, the Minister for Development and Africa announced £21.7 million in UK humanitarian aid for Sudan, as well as £5 million to help meet the urgent needs of refugees and returnees fleeing violence in Sudan into South Sudan and Chad. UK support is providing nutrition, drinking water and medical aid, as well as supporting our protection services, including for those affected by gender-based violence, of which there is a horrendous amount.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister to his place. He mentioned the democratic civilian forces meeting in Addis Ababa at the end of October. I declare an interest, in that I was there with them and I have been supporting them since the outbreak of the conflict in April. That meeting was a major move forward, and they are now working on a programme called Takadum, which means “progress”. Does the Minister agree with me that, if there is to be space for those civilians to take part in any meaningful peace negotiations to end this terrible conflict, the conflict cannot be prolonged? Armaments for the RSF and the SAF forces are being replenished, so will the Government consider having sanctions ready for any neighbouring countries—the whole sweep of Libya and Egypt, as well as the UAE, Turkey and Iran—participating in that replenishment during this dreadful conflict?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his involvement in this process. On 12 July, the Minster for Africa and Development announced a package of six UK sanctions, putting in place an asset freeze on the three commercial entities linked to each party involved in the conflict—the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. We do not speculate on future sanctions, but we will certainly look at anything that would limit the illegal activities that bring arms and cause this massive problem to continue, and we will certainly work with the noble Lord and others to ensure we are achieving that.

[Lord Boateng (Lab)]

My Lords, peacebuilding requires specific, focused actions on the ground. There are few organisations on the ground in Sudan that have any credibility. Faith-based organisations, however, both Christian and Islamic, do. What specific steps have His Majesty’s Government taken to support faith-based organisations in their work in that country?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

Next door, in South Sudan, there was an extremely important visit by the Holy Father, the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. That certainly coalesced faith-based organisations in that area. However, in Sudan it is, if anything, more difficult because of this raging civil war. The noble Lord is right that civil society and faith-based organisations are very often the best people at delivering aid and support and trying to get humanitarian aid to those areas as quickly as possible.

[Baroness Helic (Con)]

My Lords, on 14 July, members of the PSVI international alliance issued a joint statement condemning reports of increased sexual violence and calling on all parties to stop the violence. Four months later, on almost a daily basis we hear about rape being used as a weapon of war, particularly in Darfur. We are seeing a repeat of the actions that led to genocide 20 years ago. What is my noble friend’s proposal? How do we address this? How do we best interfere and intervene in order not to see a repeat of the crimes that were committed then?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

My noble friend raises a really important point. We have attacked in the strongest terms the atrocities we are hearing reports of from across Sudan. We initiated the Sudan Core Group members’ resolution to establish an independent fact-finding mission for Sudan, which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in October, and we will support future accountability efforts in Sudan. We condemn the ongoing attacks in west Darfur on innocent civilians by militias, particularly the RSF, which have all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing. My noble friend is absolutely right: the use of rape and torture as weapons of war is utterly appalling, and we want to ensure not only that it stops but that those who have partaken of this are held accountable.

Food and Biological Security: Agricultural Fungicide

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Thursday 23rd November 2023 Grand Committee

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, on securing this debate and welcome the opportunity to respond on the assessment of how the UK’s current agricultural fungicide use will affect long-term food and biological security. I thank her not only for the way in which she opened the debate but for giving notice of the very serious questions that she put; I will endeavour to answer them and other questions that have been put in this debate.

The noble Baroness is entirely right: fungal diseases can cause serious damage to crops and other plants. Potato blight, which was mentioned, and Dutch elm disease are well-known examples but fungal infections can affect all crops. Fungi can also leave poisonous chemicals, such as mycotoxins, in infected plants, with consequent risks to people.

Most of the food we eat here in the UK is produced here in the UK. While the diversity of our food supply chain, where domestic production is combined with imports through stable trade routes, ensures its resilience, we cannot underestimate the importance of British farming in delivering food security in the UK. A key component of this is the management of pests, weeds and diseases. Careful selection of crop varieties and attention to good husbandry will help to limit fungal infection of crops. However, fungicides will be essential in some situations to prevent or control infection.

I come to some of the points raised by the noble Baroness. She asked what was being done to address the damage done to the microbiosphere and soil fungi—a point also mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley. We know that agricultural fungicides can affect the structure of soil microbial communities, including beneficial soil fungi, of which there are many. We promote the use of integrated pest management approaches, including the use of cover crops, which are known to increase soil microbial diversity. Through our environmental land management schemes, we are encouraging, incentivising and supporting farmers to develop integrated pest management into how they farm, and the use of green cover crops, which is absolutely vital. I will perhaps come on to say a little more about that.

I come to the noble Baroness’s specific point about ipflufenoquin and whether its use in agricultural or other commercial sectors is right, pending further investigation into the risk of cross-resistance emerging. I am of the belief—and I am happy to discuss this further with the noble Baroness—that this is not an active substance that is currently approved in the UK, or one that the HSE, which regulates this area, has received an application to approve. As and when it does, there is a very proper debate that the noble Baroness would be right in raising.

The noble Baroness also asked what work the Government were doing to reserve certain modes of action of antifungals for human medicine only, and about a risk management framework against cross-resistance development. The scope of the current regulatory regime extends only to considering resistance in the target pest, weed or disease, and therefore does not consider human pathogens. This is consistent with internationally accepted standards and guidance. However, we recognise the importance of understanding the broader impacts of resistance beyond single species. The new antimicrobial resistance national action plan, due to be published in 2024, will include a focus on plant health and will have commitments focused on better stewardship of antimicrobials in plants, as well as a call for a search on drivers of AMR in plants and the transmission routes of AMR through plants—directly responding to the very good point that the noble Baroness made—and on our greater understanding of the impacts of these fungicides in the wider contexts of the food we eat and the environment we seek to protect.

As with all pesticides authorised for use in Great Britain, fungicides can be placed on the market only after a thorough scientific risk assessment. That assessment and subsequent reviews consider risks to the environment and human health, as well as the efficacy of the fungicide. The assessment of efficacy is important in this context. To avoid excessive use, the regulator, the Health and Safety Executive, assesses the minimum dose of the active substance—that is the chemical that delivers the required effect—needed in the product. This will ensure that the product is sufficiently effective without applying more of it than is required, minimising the potential for resistance to develop. However, any pesticide must be used with care. We know that overuse of pesticides can have an impact on the natural environment but it can also lead to resistance, which costs farmers more and may cause further downstream impacts, including to human health, as the noble Baroness said.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, asked about compliance. There is a very strict enforcement process, governed mainly by the Environment Agency, on the release of chemicals into the environment, particularly into watercourses. I do not have a figure for the number of cases that we have dealt with in recent years, but it is certainly available and I am very happy to provide it to the House.

Managing antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, effectively is essential for biological security in the UK and globally. Our understanding of fungicide resistance as an emerging AMR threat is still growing. We are currently reviewing evidence of the link between fungicide resistance in crops and transition to animals, including humans. This work will fit into the broader context of the action this Government are taking on AMR, which encompasses resistance to infections caused by fungi, bacteria and other micro-organisms. In 2019 we published our 20-year vision to contain and control AMR by 2040. This strategic vision is supported by our current five-year AMR national action plan, running from 2019 to 2024, and a new action plan due to be published next year.

We have already made significant progress in combating AMR in agriculture. Our work on antibiotic resistance in animal agriculture has led to a 59% reduction in the use of antibiotic medicines in farmed animals between 2014 and 2022. It is a remarkable story, and there have been some staggering increases of way more than that. Alarmingly, last year there was a big spike of antibiotic use in salmon farming. We hope to see that continue to improve, but there are serious issues to answer there. Within this new plan, we seek to promote research into better understanding the transmission of antifungal resistance through the environment to humans and to encourage responsible antimicrobial use in crops by providing evidence-based guidance.

The noble Baroness asked what the Government are doing with the Quadripartite on these issues. Antifungal resistance is a subset of AMR and is taken into consideration in the UK and in global AMR strategies. I work with Ministers in other departments to make sure that the UK is absolutely at the forefront of these issues through our “one health” agenda. The UK is a leading member of the Quadripartite multi-stakeholder partnership platform on AMR, which is driving action on AMR across the sectors, including Governments, researchers, civil society organisations and funders.

A question was put about the national action plan on pesticides. We appreciate that noble Lords are concerned that the publication of the NAP has been delayed, and we will publish it shortly. We have not waited for its publication to move forward with work supporting sustainable pest management. Farmers can now sign up to new paid integrated pest management actions within the sustainable farming incentive scheme. We are really pleased with the level of interest in the new scheme, which includes integrated pest management, and we have had more people showing interest in the first month after the new actions were announced than we had in five months under the previous one. We are starting to see real buy-in to this. Feeding into that is a near doubling of the number of farmers in Countryside Stewardship, and our landscape recovery schemes are also taking place. This is moving into a good place, but there is much more work to be done.

We are also supporting research into pest management and IPM through the £270 million farming innovation programme, through which farmers and growers in England, with industry partners, can apply for funding to develop innovative methods and technologies to boost sustainable productivity in agriculture and horticulture. This work will help farmers access the most effective pest management tools available and ensure that we understand the changing trends in pest threats across the UK. It is really important that we see this grow and that research can be scaled here in the UK. Too often in the past we have seen really good ideas brought forward by unbelievably talented universities that have to go abroad to be scaled up. We want to see this investment here and this great new green tech boom exporting good practice and innovations across the world. We have not waited for the new AMR plan to be published to take action on pesticide resistance, as I said. This Government are already supporting this in a variety of different ways.

This holistic approach carefully considers all available plant protection methods to ensure that pesticides are used only where they are needed. Alternative methods of prevention and control are encouraged, and decision-making tools and monitoring systems are used to track pests and understand when intervention is required. IPM therefore helps to minimise chemical intervention and diversify the techniques used for pest and disease management, which reduces input costs for farmers and growers. We are all pulling in the same direction here: it absolutely makes sense for a farmer to use fewer pesticides, fungicides, sprays and other interventions if they possible can. The added advantage is that, over time, that will increase their resilience and reduce the likelihood of resistance. This year we announced new IPM actions as part of the SFI. That is working holistically, seeing better results for food security, the environment and, we hope, our health.

Around 10 years ago, when people started talking about precision farming, it seemed to be the future. Now, precision farming seems a little analogue in a digital age, when we are starting to see technologies coming through that can treat individual plants using data that is in the tractor cab and available through satellite imaging and other tools. We are starting to see benefits to both agriculture and horticulture, which could mean a dramatic diminution in the amount of spray we use.

Finally, in 2021 this Government established a £19.2 million research programme called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment, PATH-SAFE. This programme, led by the Food Standards Agency, will bolster our understanding of AMR in the environment, including the importance of different sources and potential transmission routes. We expect the final details of this project to be published next year.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

Before the Minister concludes, I want to raise a couple of points that he has not covered. One thing that he alluded to is how this crosses over with the Department of Health. I have an easy question for him: will he please refer this debate to that department and make sure that it is aware of it? On the new AMR action plan, can the Minister ask the department whether we can have a meeting to talk about the specific issue of antifungals and make sure that it gets the attention it deserves?

I have two other questions that have not been covered. The Minister said that he does not know of any attempt to get ipflufenoquin registered here. Of course, if it is being used in the US, it is creating resistance that will be imported here, which is where the issue of trade deals will come in. Can the Minister make sure that this is drawn to the attention of our trade negotiators?

Finally, the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, asked about the numbers in terms of the SFI and integrated pest management. I understand that the Minister may not be able to answer now, but can he update us in a letter on the numbers of people applying to that?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for those points. I sit on a cross-ministerial committee with Health Ministers, and we are absolutely making the point that antimicrobial resistance is a matter not just for health but for Defra, and that we have an international role in different fora, such as the WHO, UNEP and others. We certainly take this extremely seriously. I will write to the noble Baroness with more details about when the AMR action plan comes out. I am very happy to connect her with the officials who will draw that up.

On trade deals, we have a write-round process in government and I can assure her that we take this really seriously. There is perhaps enough interest in the House on SFI that I could write and put a letter in the Library with up-to-date figures on the uptake of ELMS.

I am conscious of time, so I will conclude by saying that, as with many areas of environmental and health policy, there are connections and tensions between two priorities. We are bringing together expertise from across government to ensure that our policy, regulation and strategy strike the right balance, so that pests, weeds and diseases can be managed effectively, while reducing the impacts of resistance across society, our environment, the food we eat and our reliance on it.

The specific actions being taken on resistance through the AMR national action plan and pesticide-specific policies and regulation are only one component in this broader picture. The recently published UK Biological Security Strategy and next year’s edition of the UK Food Security Report—a requirement of the Agriculture Act—showcase the UK Government’s focus on these key areas and how we will ensure that this country remains ready to handle these challenges.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Benyon]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 16 October be approved.

Considered in Grand Committee on 14 November.

Motion agreed.

NATO: Russia and Ukraine

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Thursday 15th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we are working very closely with Ukraine, and not just in providing training support for its defence requirements. The noble Lord is right that we have been working; indeed, I remember that in my first role as Communities Minister—going back a bit to 2013—one of my international engagements was with Ukraine, about building local government structures. That continues to be the case; we work very closely with President Zelensky and his team.

[Lord Benyon (Con) [V]]

My Lords, egregious human rights violations and breaches of international law by murderous and kleptocratic regimes such as that in Russia can be responded to by using our relatively new Magnitsky legislation. Will my noble friend commit to using this legislation for such malign actions if they occur in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend; we are working on a range of issues around supporting human rights in support of Ukraine’s efforts, including in Crimea. We provide specific projects to groups supporting the rights of the citizens of Crimea. The United Kingdom has also contributed £700,000 to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission. On sanctions, I agree with my noble friend inasmuch as the whole basis of the governance structure of the sanctions is to call out egregious abuses of human rights. Where necessary, we have exercised them. We keep all matters under review, but I cannot speculate at this juncture about any future action we may take.

United Nations Biodiversity Conference

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

It is absolutely right that to speak with authority internationally, the UK needs to get its own house in order. That is not the case at the moment. Our biodiversity has been in decline; our environment is denuded. However, we have put in place a number of ambitious steps to try to turn that trajectory: the first Environment Bill for 20 years, with a whole host of ambitious measures; the green recovery challenge fund; getting NGOs restoring nature and tackling climate change in communities up and down the country; a £640 million Nature for Climate Fund; big and ambitious tree-planting targets; peatland restoration targets; and, above all, a commitment to switch the old land use subsidy system so that instead of incentivising destruction, it incentivises good environmental stewardship. The tools and the commitment are there, but we have some way to go.

[Lord Benyon (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the ground-breaking UN report, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, said that we need to reflect on both

“the value of nature, and on the nature of value.”

The loss of species and the decline in the ability of natural systems to provide for humanity’s needs is not just an environmental catastrophe—it is an economic one as well. As has been said, the two COPs happening this year have complementary ambitions. Will my noble friend the Minister encourage the UK position to reflect the fact that Governments alone cannot solve this problem? We have to engage, empower and deploy the power of markets and the private sector, on a global scale, to make the difference that is needed.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

That is absolutely right. A big part of our campaign as president of COP is to encourage donor countries to step up with more finance for nature. We are showing leadership ourselves, having doubled our international climate finance to £11.6 billion. We are committing to spend about a third of that on nature-based solutions and we want others to do something similar. Even if we succeed, however, that will not be anything like enough finance for nature; we will need more. That means mobilising private finance on an unprecedented scale and ensuring high-integrity carbon markets; we need a breakthrough around the Article 6 negotiations. Above all, we need to mainstream nature through the way we do business and align, for example, the big multilateral development banks not just with Paris commitments but with nature as well.

Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Thursday 18th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Benyon (Con) [V]]

I refer noble Lords to my entry in the register. As Environment Minister, I was often berated by upland managers who complained that they were being prevented from rewetting their moorland—but then, their mantra was “The wetter the better”—and there was much frustration with Natural England at the time about how long it took to get permission to block grips and drains. Therefore, I do not recognise this idea that upland managers are somehow trying to dry out their moorland.

The areas of upland that we are talking about are, by and large, extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. Indeed, many of them are exceeding their biodiversity action plan targets by huge margins. The area where managed cool burns take place are almost the only places where one can go to see proper populations of rare curlew and other waders, as has been proved by research carried out by Fletcher et al.

The message has to be that we do not want to get this wrong; it is too important. Upland managers would be offended to see this regret Motion mention peat burning. The only peat that is burned is from the 32,000 wildfires that we have every year, some of which get into the peat, as we have heard, doing huge damage. That damage could be exacerbated by a ban that allowed fuel loads to increase and the increasing risk of devastating wildfires through climate change. Fire and rescue services need to be listened to here.

As with so many issues, the science is varied and there is certainly increasing evidence of the value of cool burning for the restoration, protection and enhancement of upland peat. The truth is that neither side is entirely happy on this matter, which could mean that the Government might be getting it about right. I was pleased to hear the RSPB say earlier in the week that the UK was edging towards being a world leader in restoring upland peatlands. That is welcome news but if there were to be a blanket ban on any burning, we would lose the mosaic of natural habitats that are so necessary to the biodiversity of these precious landscapes and seriously put at risk many hectares of uplands to wildfires that will release vast amounts of carbon.