Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to promote social inclusion for pensioners in rural areas.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to supporting people to have the social connections they need. This is a key part of achieving wider government priorities across health and community cohesion.
The Government funds the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online forum for people working on loneliness to come together and share insights, research and best practice, with the aim of addressing loneliness and strengthening social connections across our communities.
Defra also funds Action with Communities in Rural England to support local action, which includes actions related to social inclusion activities with older people.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislation for animal disease risks.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have a broad legislative base and associated strategies and contingency plans which enables us to protect animals, including livestock, from disease.
The Animal Health Act 1981, provides the legal framework for controlling and eradicating animal diseases, protecting livestock health, and safeguarding trade. It gives government powers to impose disease control measures, order slaughter of infected animals, regulate movement, and compensate farmers. Secondary legislation is regularly updated as needed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help tackle rising food costs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors, including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.
On 19 November, the Secretary of State announced Defra is working alongside DBT and across Government to introduce a Food Inflation Gateway. This will assess new regulations for their impact on food businesses and food prices. It will help Government coordinate across departments and sequence regulations sensibly, providing clarity that unlocks investment to deliver productivity gains, keep costs down and put a downward pressure on food prices.
Alongside this, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food. The strategy supports a whole-of-society approach to managing sudden, short-lived supply chain shocks and disruptions, as well as long-term chronic risks, so that we are ready for future shocks and reduce the risk of food price spikes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve mental health awareness training for the agricultural sector.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra funds the Farmer Welfare Grant that includes a recipient consortium led by The Farmer Network that is delivering mental health first aid training to those who interact with farmers. Participants reported an almost 100% increase in their knowledge and confidence in discussing mental health. Another recipient, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network are also delivering farmer specific mental health awareness and first aid sessions to the sector.
Furthermore, the department is also increasing awareness of mental health training opportunities by signposting resources to our customers and supporting the rollout of training for our staff who directly engage with individuals in the sector.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of global milk demand.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Uk Agricultural Market Monitoring Group which was established by Defra and the Devolved Governments under the Devolution Framework is responsible for the oversight and monitoring of the UK agriculture market. This includes a review of prices, production, inputs and trade covering an assessment of current and future global demand for dairy products. The current position indicates broadly stable demand for dairy across the world alongside continued rising supply and falling prices.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Northern Ireland on Asian hornets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The British Irish Council (BIC) has an Invasive Species Work Sector which shares expertise and learning across the eight BIC administrations and makes decisions on common policies and approaches with respect to Invasive Species. Members include the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. There is a Work Plan for this Work Sector and Asian hornets are one of the five key areas of focus.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in Northern Ireland on the adequacy of the Noise Act 1996.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Noise Act 1996 gives local authorities powers to serve warning notices to deal with noise from dwellings and licensed premises that exceeds a permitted level between 11pm and 7am. There have not been any recent discussions on the adequacy of the Noise Act 1996 between Defra and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of blue-green algae on water quality in UK rivers.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) works with others including local authorities and Public Health England to manage waterbodies affected by blue-green algae and the risks they pose. The EA does not routinely monitor for blue-green algae but attends incidents and analyses samples where appropriate, assessing the risks and notifying water body owners, abstractors, Environmental Health Officers, as necessary.
Excessive nutrient enrichment is a major cause of algal blooms. The Government recognises this and is taking action to reduce nutrient pollution. The Environment Act 2021 sets legally binding goals to cut agricultural nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment entering water by 40% by 2038 (compared to a 2018 baseline), and to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038 (compared to a 2020 baseline). We have also committed to a review of the Environmental Improvement Plan, which will outline how Defra will meet these targets.