Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which scientific research they used to inform their decision on whether to maintain the ban on snus.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Oral tobacco products such as snus were banned in the United Kingdom under The Tobacco for Oral Use (Safety) Regulations 1992, which implemented European Union Directive 92/41. This ban has been confirmed in subsequent regulations, most recently by the EU Tobacco Products Directive 14/40, which has been transposed into UK law in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulation 2016 (TRPR). The European Commission set out the evidence underpinning the ban in the Tobacco Products Directive’s impact assessment and in previous Directives. A copy of the impact assessment is attached.
The Department is currently undertaking a post-implementation review of the TRPR and this includes a public consultation that closes on the 19 March 2021. The Department will review the evidence submitted to consider if the regulations have met their objectives or if any future regulatory changes should be considered.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to request that the Committee on Toxicity undertakes a toxicological evaluation of (1) snus, (2) non-tobacco oral nicotine pouches, and (3) smokeless tobacco products used primarily by South Asian communities in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Department is considering whether the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) should undertake an evaluation of non-tobacco oral nicotine pouches in its work programme in the next financial year. Oral tobacco products are banned under Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 and consequently there are no current plans to ask COT to evaluate such products. COT will not consider smokeless tobacco products because their dangers and harms are well documented in the existing evidence base.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many emergency derogations to use non-organic antimicrobial products were authorised to certified organic producers of (1) beef cattle, (2) dairy cattle, (3) sheep, (4) goats, and (5) pigs, in England in each of the past three calendar years.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Individual derogations are not offered for the use of non-organic antibiotics for organic livestock. Organic farmers may use non-organic antibiotics when necessary, if they have exhausted the possibilities for treatment using other measures.
This decision is under the responsibility of the veterinarian caring for the livestock. Records are kept and maintained by the producer and are referred to as part of annual and ad hoc inspections carried out by Organic Control Bodies. Therefore, no centralised records exist.
In cases where an animal requires non-organic antibiotics more than three times within 12 months, or more than one course of treatment in total if their productive lifecycle is less than one year, it cannot be sold as organic.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated area of certified organic potatoes treated in England during 2020 with copper hydroxide under the emergency derogation granted by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Emergency authorisation to use a product containing copper hydroxide on organic potatoes was granted for England only following an application from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. The application stated that the total area of organic potatoes grown across the UK was 800 hectares and that treatment of the full area might be required. The Government does not currently have a figure for the area that was actually treated. However, the stewardship programme agreed with AHDB requires that this information is collected and is submitted with any future application for a similar emergency authorisation.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated proportion of the total certified organic area of the (1) wheat, (2) barley, (3) oats, (4) rye, and (5) triticale, crops produced from non-organic seed in England in each of the past three harvest years.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There is no certified organic farmland that uses wholly non-organic seeds, as use of organic seeds is a requirement for certification. In cases where, due to limited availability, a producer cannot source the required seeds in sufficient quantities, the organic regulation does, however, allow producers to use a mixture of organic and non-organic seeds. The organic legislation recognises that the seed sector is not sufficiently developed to meet the demand for organic seeds with a 100% requirement. In these cases, non-organic seeds must make up the minimum proportion possible and the mixture must be evenly mixed and spread across the land in question.
We do not have data on the area of land in England for which such authorisations have been granted. We can, however, supply figures for the total number of authorisations and quantities involved for the UK as a whole.
Non-organic arable seed used by organic farmers: 2017 to 2019
Crop | 2017 | 2018 | 2020 | |||
| Authorisations | Tonnes | Authorisations | Tonnes | Authorisations | Tonnes |
Winter Wheat | 80 | 126.3 | 69 | 142.9 | 90 | 107.0 |
Spring Wheat | 11 | 32.2 | 23 | 98.4 | 20 | 59.1 |
Spring Barley | 160 | 348.3 | 166 | 250.3 | 81 | 141.1 |
Winter Barley | 39 | 84.4 | 26 | 66.5 | 34 | 151.0 |
Spring Oats | 46 | 129.7 | 99 | 230.7 | 42 | 65.7 |
Winter Oats | 29 | 59.5 | 18 | 42.3 | 17 | 17.6 |
Winter Rye | 40 | 44.2 | 65 | 119.3 | 34 | 72.5 |
Spring Triticale | 67 | 63.6 | 47 | 19.8 | 56 | 75.8 |
Winter Triticale | 17 | 22.9 | 23 | 14.7 | 9 | 9.6 |
Due to variations in year to year harvest and market conditions affecting availability there is still variation. The long-term trend, however, is that over recent years the number of authorisations needed has on average decreased, due to increasing availability of organic seeds.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organization's decision to welcome the government of India's decision to ban e-cigarettes; and what plans they have to implement a similar ban in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The World Health Organization recommends countries either ban or regulate e-cigarettes. The Government has no current plans to ban e-cigarettes in the United Kingdom and they continue to be regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. It remains the goal of the Government to maximise the public health opportunities presented by e-cigarettes to reduce smoking, while managing any risks. UK regulated e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking, but they are not risk free. Research shows e-cigarettes are effective in helping some smokers to quit. We continue to keep the evidence base on e-cigarettes under review and the next Public Health England annual review on e-cigarettes will be published this month.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage they pay of the costs of the World Health Organization's secretariat for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Answered by Lord Bethell
For the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) Secretariat work programme for January 2020 to December 2021, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pays 5.9240% of the assessed contribution as a member of the Convention. This amounts to $521,340. The UK ratified the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, in June 2018, and, as a Member, pays 14.9691% of the assessed contribution. This amounts to $748,411 for January 2020 to December 2021. The WHO FCTC publishes details of assessed contributions online on its website.
In addition, the UK Government contributes funds to the FCTC 2030 project, through official development assistance funding, which is hosted in the WHO FCTC Secretariat. £15 million has been committed to the five-year project to support low and middle income countries improve their tobacco control. The project concludes at the end of March 2021.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to investigate the late delivery of the Western Link interconnector; and whether negligence in construction or operation of that interconnector may expose consumers to additional costs.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The information requested is a matter for Ofgem. Ofgem will write directly to my noble Friend and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to require Ofgem to publish the calculations behind the approved rate of return allowed to the owners of the Western Link interconnector.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The information requested is a matter for Ofgem. Ofgem will write directly to my noble Friend and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what annual standing charge on the consumer has been permitted by Ofgem to the owners of the Western Link interconnector between Hunterston and Deeside; and for how many years that charge has been permitted.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The information requested is a matter for Ofgem. Ofgem will write directly to my noble Friend and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.