Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 ensure that the automatic compensation South West Water has announced for customers affected by Storm Goretti is funded from the company’s profits and reductions in executive bonuses; and whether she will require this compensation funding to be independently audited to ensure full transparency and compliance.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Customers affected by Storm Goretti will receive payments under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS). These payments come from a company's current operating expenditure and are not paid for through a future increase in customer bills.
The standards, outlined in the GSS, set out a baseline for customer service in the water sector. They include providing timely restoration of water supply following an interruption, responding to written complaints and managing the risk of sewer flooding.
Ofwat has previously published summaries of the GSS framework on its website (see here and here). Companies report on GSS payments in their Annual Performance Reports and submit these figures to Ofwat. These reports are independently audited, and Ofwat uses them to inform its work.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 utility companies on directing customers to online information during service disruptions; and what steps she will take to ensure that essential information is provided through communication channels which remain functional during emergencies.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communication facilities and procedures for managing and maintaining communications and support to customers throughout an emergency”.
Defra expects water companies to respond rapidly and on a 24/7 basis through a range of communication methods (including, but not limited to, telephone, email, and social media). We also expect companies to plan for individual channels being unavailable, for example during power or telecoms failures, and that companies should adapt their communications plans in response to customer feedback or local priorities as incidents evolve.
Defra Ministers met with senior officials from South West Water over the past weekend to discuss the company’s response to the supply disruption following Storm Goretti. The Drinking Water Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, regulates water company performance on SEMD. Their review of the company’s response to Storm Goretti will include examination of South West Water’s compliance with the communication requirements of SEMD.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 South West Water on the adequacy of its communication strategy during recent service disruptions, including whether she will ask the company to issue a formal statement committing to a revised strategy which prioritises customer impact.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. SEMD includes a legal requirement for companies to have “appropriate emergency communication facilities and procedures for managing and maintaining communications and support to customers throughout an emergency”.
Defra expects water companies to respond rapidly and on a 24/7 basis through a range of communication methods (including, but not limited to, telephone, email, and social media). We also expect companies to plan for individual channels being unavailable, for example during power or telecoms failures, and that companies should adapt their communications plans in response to customer feedback or local priorities as incidents evolve.
Defra Ministers met with senior officials from South West Water over the past weekend to discuss the company’s response to the supply disruption following Storm Goretti. The Drinking Water Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, regulates water company performance on SEMD. Their review of the company’s response to Storm Goretti will include examination of South West Water’s compliance with the communication requirements of SEMD.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of imported pork produced using farrowing crates on the competitiveness of UK farmers that do not use farrowing crates.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports both a competitive farming sector and the need to maintain high animal welfare standards in the UK.
No such assessment has been undertaken. No data is held on the production method of imported pork.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with counterparts in (a) Austria, (b) Sweden, (c) Switzerland, (d) Norway, (e) Germany, and (f) New Zealand on their (i) banning and (ii) phasing out of farrowing crates for pigs; and what assessment she has made of the outcomes of those bans on (A) sow welfare, (B) piglet mortality, (C) farming sector viability, (D) farm-level adaptation, and (E) regulatory enforcement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have regular engagement with counterparts in other countries on farmed animal welfare issues, including on cages and other close confinement systems.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a ban on farrowing crates on pig production capacity.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of farrowing crates for pigs is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully, including impacts on the pig industry.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has (a) received information on purchasers not explaining variable price changes within seven days of a price review and (b) taken steps to ensure producers receive (i) timely and (ii) transparent pricing information.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, purchasers must explain variable price changes within 7 days of a price review. The Regulations now apply to all milk purchase contracts.
Breaches can be reported to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).
Whilst it is not appropriate to provide the details of any live investigations, to date, ASCA has received 1 formal complaint about a non-compliant milk contract (currently under investigation).
ASCA has also received a number of informal ‘in confidence’ concerns raised by producers across a range of issues. Where able to do so without revealing the identity of a producer, ASCA will raise these concerns directly with a milk purchaser.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has undertaken enforcement action when a purchaser has not provided a compliant written milk contract.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, purchasers must explain variable price changes within 7 days of a price review. The Regulations now apply to all milk purchase contracts.
Breaches can be reported to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).
Whilst it is not appropriate to provide the details of any live investigations, to date, ASCA has received 1 formal complaint about a non-compliant milk contract (currently under investigation).
ASCA has also received a number of informal ‘in confidence’ concerns raised by producers across a range of issues. Where able to do so without revealing the identity of a producer, ASCA will raise these concerns directly with a milk purchaser.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of national and regional carcass disposal capacity available for use during an avian influenza outbreak in 2025–26.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has contracts in place to manage carcass transport and disposal during disease outbreaks such as avian influenza. The Agency works with contractors across Great Britain which currently have sufficient
disposal capacity based on current planning assumptions.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
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 is taking to improve communications with registered and unregistered bird keepers when avian influenza control zones are established.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to support bird keepers to manage and prepare for avian influenza outbreaks.
Defra uses several channels of communication with bird keepers. A dedicated avian influenza page on GOV.UK is regularly updated with the latest information. We also issue national, local and trade press releases to ensure the latest information is communicated through the media.
All poultry or other captive bird keepers in England (with the exception of certain psittacines and passerines) are legally required to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) via the Kept Bird Register. This enables the Government to communicate directly and promptly with bird keepers about biosecurity measures to help protect their birds and reduce the risk of disease spread.
Following confirmation of an avian influenza outbreak, all registered bird keepers within disease control zones receive text messages or email alerts about the measures in the zones. In addition, anyone can subscribe to APHA’s free animal disease alerts service to receive updates on risk levels, latest guidance and new cases across Great Britain, regardless of whether they keep birds.