Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with large supermarkets on the potential impact of (a) food pricing and (b) supermarkets' buying practices on food producers.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers about a range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. These measures include maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing. However, it is for each individual food retailer to make commercial decisions regarding the products in their stores, as the Government does not interfere in day-to-day operations.
The Government is firmly committed to ensuring food producers receive a fair price for their products, and to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists.
On 13 March, Fair Dealing Regulations for the pig sector were introduced and are currently progressing through the parliamentary process. Similar regulations for the eggs and fresh produce sectors will follow, with the Government prepared to intervene in any sector where fairness issues are identified.
Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.
Additionally, the Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious, affordable food. The recently launched Food Strategy will look to outline measures to make healthy food accessible and affordable for the whole population.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessments he has made of the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on (a) littering and (b) reducing littering.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering. They have a range of enforcement tools including fixed penalty notices and prosecution to help them meet their duty to keep public areas clear or litter and rubbish. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities tackle litter.
In the meantime, we are tackling two of the more common sources of litter. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.
No assessment has been made of the primary causes of litter in rural communities, the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities or the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on littering.
The Eco-Schools programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, works with schools to help change littering habits. As part of the programme, in 2023/24 over 100,000 pupils participated in litter picks collecting 27,000 bags of rubbish and delivering over 3,000 litter picks in their communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take reduce the public health impact of litter in rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering. They have a range of enforcement tools including fixed penalty notices and prosecution to help them meet their duty to keep public areas clear or litter and rubbish. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities tackle litter.
In the meantime, we are tackling two of the more common sources of litter. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.
No assessment has been made of the primary causes of litter in rural communities, the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities or the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on littering.
The Eco-Schools programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, works with schools to help change littering habits. As part of the programme, in 2023/24 over 100,000 pupils participated in litter picks collecting 27,000 bags of rubbish and delivering over 3,000 litter picks in their communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help tackle the sources of littering in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering. They have a range of enforcement tools including fixed penalty notices and prosecution to help them meet their duty to keep public areas clear or litter and rubbish. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities tackle litter.
In the meantime, we are tackling two of the more common sources of litter. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.
No assessment has been made of the primary causes of litter in rural communities, the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities or the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on littering.
The Eco-Schools programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, works with schools to help change littering habits. As part of the programme, in 2023/24 over 100,000 pupils participated in litter picks collecting 27,000 bags of rubbish and delivering over 3,000 litter picks in their communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering. They have a range of enforcement tools including fixed penalty notices and prosecution to help them meet their duty to keep public areas clear or litter and rubbish. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities tackle litter.
In the meantime, we are tackling two of the more common sources of litter. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.
No assessment has been made of the primary causes of litter in rural communities, the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities or the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on littering.
The Eco-Schools programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, works with schools to help change littering habits. As part of the programme, in 2023/24 over 100,000 pupils participated in litter picks collecting 27,000 bags of rubbish and delivering over 3,000 litter picks in their communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 primary causes of litter in rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering. They have a range of enforcement tools including fixed penalty notices and prosecution to help them meet their duty to keep public areas clear or litter and rubbish. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities tackle litter.
In the meantime, we are tackling two of the more common sources of litter. The sale of single-use vapes will be banned from 1 June 2025 and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers.
No assessment has been made of the primary causes of litter in rural communities, the potential impact of litter on public health in rural communities or the potential merits of supporting greater education in schools on littering.
The Eco-Schools programme, run by Keep Britain Tidy, works with schools to help change littering habits. As part of the programme, in 2023/24 over 100,000 pupils participated in litter picks collecting 27,000 bags of rubbish and delivering over 3,000 litter picks in their communities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting the introduction of bottle deposit schemes in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) other rural communities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has engaged with stakeholders as we developed policy for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drink containers, including two public consultations: the first in 2019 and the second in 2021. 83% of the 2,590 responses to the 2021 consultation supported a DRS. We also published the Final Impact Assessment on DRS for England and Northern Ireland in November 2024.
The Deposit Management Organisation, who will run the scheme, is legally required to ensure there is a comprehensive returns network, so that rural communities, like Yeovil, can easily redeem their deposits and people have convenient access to a return point wherever they live.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with farmers in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) south Somerset on the closure of the Sustainable Farming Initiative.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra ministers are engaging with farmers and stakeholders regarding the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). On the SFI, Ministers have met specifically with the NFU, National Beef Association, British Poultry Council, Soil Association, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, National Pig Association, National Sheep Association, British Egg Industry Council, National Federation of Young Farmers, British Free Range Egg Producers Association, LAA, Tenant Farmers Association and Country, Land and Business Association.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. We are currently considering the best way to take forward the Responsible Dog Ownership Taskforce.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish public guidance on the process for withdrawing certificates of exemption for dogs wrongly registered as XL Bullies.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are currently working to develop a withdrawal scheme so that owners who no longer believe that their dog is an XL Bully can apply to have their certificate of exemption for their dog withdrawn. Information about this process will be available soon.