Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed EU regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability on Northern Ireland; and whether he plans to legislate to extend that regulation to the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will assess the impact of the proposed EU regulations on the welfare of dogs and cats in line with agreed frameworks and established conventions and fora.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to help prepare the UK fishing fleet for the transfer of EU quotas to the UK by June 2026 in the context of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement secured the UK an increase in its share of quota for jointly managed fish stocks. This increase in fishing opportunities for the UK fleet has been gradually implemented across the duration of the transition period for fisheries to allow for the necessary adjustments by the UK fishing fleet, and in 2023 this uplift of quota was worth around £100m in additional fishing opportunities based on historic landing price. Increases in the UK quota share will continue annually until the adjustment period ends on 30 June 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
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 make an assessment of the potential impact of the work of (a) the National Plant Collections and (b) Plant Heritage on biodiversity; and if he will take steps to help support the work of these organisations.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The conservation work carried out by Plant Heritage to ensure the resilience of garden plants to environmental and societal change, makes an important contribution to HM Government’s plans to tackle biodiversity loss. There are currently over 650 registered and documented plant collections containing around 95,000 specimens under the auspices of Plant Heritage. Defra supports Plant Heritage alongside other organisations that hold plant collections, such as the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, which is a Defra non-departmental public body whose work aligns closely with the objectives of Plant Heritage. The National Collections held at Kew include species and cultivars grown for scientific research as well as ornamental display. They include genera such as bananas, important for their potential to safeguard food security through genetic diversification, and Betula, one of our most attractive garden trees. These collections form the basis for innovative interpretation and a vast programme of training and education. They come from a range of global locations and may offer valuable indications of which species could be fit and functional in the long term, in the face of biotic and abiotic threats. For example, incorporation of the genus Nothofagus (southern beech) into our tree planting programmes could help to ensure well-functioning future woodlands. With biodiversity disappearing at an unprecedented rate, the National Plant Collections and organisations such as Plant Heritage have an important role to play in the achievement of HM Government’s biodiversity ambitions.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
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 potential contribution of gardens to the Government's environmental objectives.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
HM Government fully recognises the contribution of gardens, alongside the other natural features and spaces making up green infrastructure networks in towns and cities. Green infrastructure contributes to nature recovery and wider environmental benefits as well as making places more attractive to live and work. The 25 Year Environment Plan includes a commitment to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure. Natural England is delivering this Green Infrastructure Framework to help local authorities, developers and communities to improve provision in their area.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects universal food waste collections to be implemented by local authorities.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Food waste is already collected from some or all households by 53% of local authorities in England. Our recycling consistency reforms mean that new powers, included in the Environment Act last year, will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the separate collection of food waste for recycling. We recently published our second consultation on recycling reforms, including proposed dates for these requirements. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and intend to publish our response, including dates by which food waste collections will be required from households, in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
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 the Government has made of the potential benefits of options for sustainable alternatives to non-plastic polymers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have conducted reviews into plant or fungi-based plastic alternatives to fossil derived plastics and bio-based (plant derived) plastics. These reviews identified several potential issues with such alternatives from a sustainability perspective, including issues with land use, nutrients and water.
Further research is required to demonstrate bio-based plastics lead to a better environmental outcome overall when compared to conventional plastics across a whole life cycle.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to (a) reduce the quantity of unused paint being sent to landfill or for incineration and (b) help ensure the necessary recycling infrastructure is in place to facilitate reuse and remanufacture of unused paint.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The law at present encourages reuse and recycling through waste hierarchy obligations on all waste handlers. We welcome the voluntary action being taken by industry, such as the British Coatings Federation (BCF)'s PaintCare proposals, and community initiatives, supported by local authorities, to allow donations to local community repaint schemes. I will be meeting with the BCF in early March to find out more about their proposed scheme.
To strengthen action on reuse, we will shortly publish our new Waste Prevention Programme for England, on which we consulted in 2021, including on steps to improve local systems and services that facilitate reuse and recycling of this nature.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
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 role of horticulture, including national plant collections, parks and gardens in delivering the Government's levelling up agenda from a cultural perspective.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is leading the £5.77 million cross-Governmental project to test and evaluate green social prescribing in seven test and learn sites and to run national research work to understand its scalability. This can include the prescribing of gardening projects and activities in parks. We have also committed to treble tree planting rates in England, and bring trees closer to people, through trees on streets, in parks and urban orchards, supported through the Urban Tree Challenge and Local Authority Treescape Funds. In addition, Defra and Natural England are working with other partners and stakeholders to develop a Green Infrastructure Framework. This will show what good green infrastructure looks like, including parks, woodlands and community food growing.
In order to support all these initiatives, we will need a thriving horticulture sector to provide the necessary plants, flowers and trees, and we are looking at the opportunities and barriers that the horticulture sector faces to support sustainable growth in the sector, so that more of our plants and flowers can be sourced from our own domestic growers.
On national plant collections, Defra has also committed to funding a £15 million project to digitise a significant proportion of the Herbarium at Kew Gardens. The Herbarium is the world’s largest collection of plant and fungal specimens, with specimens collected over 170 years, including those collected by Charles Darwin. The significant injection of government funding will protect irreplaceable samples from deterioration and allow researchers from across the country and the globe to access the historic collection, help conserve nature and find solutions to some of the most critical challenges facing humanity.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many EU countries have been granted derogations for the use of thiamethoxam since its ban in 2018.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
EU legislation allows Member States to grant emergency authorisation for the use of a pesticide in special circumstances. Since the EU prohibited the outdoor use of thiamethoxam in December 2018, 15 EU countries have granted emergency authorisations for products containing thiamethoxam.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
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 contribution that horticulture can make in helping to deliver the levelling up agenda across the UK.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Farming and food production are at the heart of the Government’s levelling up agenda. We must continue to support a vibrant and profitable food and farming industry, including horticulture, which supports the Government’s levelling up agenda and helps safeguard our food security. We are working closely with the horticulture sector to explore opportunities for economic growth and creating jobs across the country.