Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in light of the proposed Environment Act targets published by his Department on 16 March 2022 to increase tree canopy and woodland cover from 14.5 per cent to 17.5 per cent of total land area in England by 2050, what assessment he has made of the (a) tree canopy cover provided by existing hedgerow trees and (b) potential area enhanced hedgerow trees could provide in the future by 2050.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Hedgerows are one of the most important ecological building blocks in our farmed landscape. They maintain the distinctive character of our countryside, providing crucial habitats and food for wildlife. The trees that appear in hedgerows and outgrown hedges are defined as 'linear features in the National Forest Inventory', which details all tree cover in Britain. Forest Research's ' Tree Cover Outside Woodland in Great Britain', 2017, reported the last comprehensive inventory and is due to be updated again in 2022/23. This will act as the proposed target's baseline for trees outside woodlands, including hedgerow trees, and both losses and gains from that baseline will be accounted for.
Along with the proposed tree target, the Environment Act 2021 requires us to set a world leading target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, alongside other biodiversity targets we are consulting on. The species abundance target will require creating more, better joined up habitats, which will include hedgerows to help tackle the causes of decline and drive actions to deliver nature recovery. We also propose that hedgerows should be one of the wildlife-rich habitats in our proposed legally binding target to create or restore in excess of 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her meeting of 9 March 2022 with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish, what steps she expects the Environment Agency to take in response to further reports of pollution in the River Tame arising from illegal pollutants being discharged into the tributary Wilson Brook.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following information received through further reports of pollution at Wilson brook, Hyde Park on Thursday 17 March 2022, the Environment Agency (EA) attended Hyde Park to investigate. The pollution was traced to a point upstream of a local industrial estate. The EA investigation into this incident is ongoing, and it will be attending the location again this week to further progress its investigation. Should this uncover further lines of enquiry, further investigations to understand the source, pathway, cause and nature of the pollution will commence.
If the EA identifies any offences attributable to a suspect, then enforcement action will be taken in line with its offence response options available here:
Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) offences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Taking into consideration alongside its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy:
Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The EA has also been in contact with local businesses in that area to ensure they are acting responsibly.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what changes to the Service Level Agreement have been made between Border Force and the Animal and Plant Health Agency since December 2021.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Border Force (BF) teams do not have a Service Level Agreement in place. AHPA and BF have an operational agreement for the Port of Dover.
Dover BF officers continue to make referrals to the APHA officers. There has been one change to the operational agreement. This change means that Dover BF will no longer hold the vehicle/consignment for more than 30 minutes. If APHA is unable to deploy staff to attend within 30 minutes the vehicle/consignment will be released. Details of the vehicle, person responsible for the animals and the consignment will be provided to APHA to follow up retrospectively.
If APHA attend within 30 minutes and identify non-compliance, UK Dover will not support this part of the process. APHA will be required to request assistance to manage any issues as required from the Port of Dover Police or Kent Police, if they are not present.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 meet with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss tackling microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are working with academia, National Highways, and the UK water industry to improve our understanding of the scale of the microplastic pollution problem, to identify the key sources, and to evaluate the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes in removing microplastics from wastewater effluent before it is discharged to the water environment.
My officials met with Professor Jamie Woodward earlier this year to discuss his latest study on microplastics in the River Tame. We will consider the outcomes of this study, alongside other new and emerging research in this field, when developing policy options for tackling microplastic pollution.
The EA has made no assessment of the level of microplastic pollution in the River Tame specifically. There is currently no statutory requirement for the EA to undertake this activity. However, in 2018 the EA undertook an investigation on the River Tame to identify whether there were any permitted activities based in the Tame catchment with the potential to discharge microplastics or plastic into the watercourse, which led to recommendations to an operator in the catchment. This operator has since surrendered its permit and relocated.
I invite the hon. Member to write to me with regard to meeting to discuss microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 using a river catchment approach to remove micro plastic pollution from the River Tame.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are working with academia, National Highways, and the UK water industry to improve our understanding of the scale of the microplastic pollution problem, to identify the key sources, and to evaluate the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes in removing microplastics from wastewater effluent before it is discharged to the water environment.
My officials met with Professor Jamie Woodward earlier this year to discuss his latest study on microplastics in the River Tame. We will consider the outcomes of this study, alongside other new and emerging research in this field, when developing policy options for tackling microplastic pollution.
The EA has made no assessment of the level of microplastic pollution in the River Tame specifically. There is currently no statutory requirement for the EA to undertake this activity. However, in 2018 the EA undertook an investigation on the River Tame to identify whether there were any permitted activities based in the Tame catchment with the potential to discharge microplastics or plastic into the watercourse, which led to recommendations to an operator in the catchment. This operator has since surrendered its permit and relocated.
I invite the hon. Member to write to me with regard to meeting to discuss microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of microplastic pollution in the River Tame, Greater Manchester.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are working with academia, National Highways, and the UK water industry to improve our understanding of the scale of the microplastic pollution problem, to identify the key sources, and to evaluate the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes in removing microplastics from wastewater effluent before it is discharged to the water environment.
My officials met with Professor Jamie Woodward earlier this year to discuss his latest study on microplastics in the River Tame. We will consider the outcomes of this study, alongside other new and emerging research in this field, when developing policy options for tackling microplastic pollution.
The EA has made no assessment of the level of microplastic pollution in the River Tame specifically. There is currently no statutory requirement for the EA to undertake this activity. However, in 2018 the EA undertook an investigation on the River Tame to identify whether there were any permitted activities based in the Tame catchment with the potential to discharge microplastics or plastic into the watercourse, which led to recommendations to an operator in the catchment. This operator has since surrendered its permit and relocated.
I invite the hon. Member to write to me with regard to meeting to discuss microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the study of microplastic pollution in the River Tame, Greater Manchester published by Professor Jamie Woodward, University of Manchester.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) are working with academia, National Highways, and the UK water industry to improve our understanding of the scale of the microplastic pollution problem, to identify the key sources, and to evaluate the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes in removing microplastics from wastewater effluent before it is discharged to the water environment.
My officials met with Professor Jamie Woodward earlier this year to discuss his latest study on microplastics in the River Tame. We will consider the outcomes of this study, alongside other new and emerging research in this field, when developing policy options for tackling microplastic pollution.
The EA has made no assessment of the level of microplastic pollution in the River Tame specifically. There is currently no statutory requirement for the EA to undertake this activity. However, in 2018 the EA undertook an investigation on the River Tame to identify whether there were any permitted activities based in the Tame catchment with the potential to discharge microplastics or plastic into the watercourse, which led to recommendations to an operator in the catchment. This operator has since surrendered its permit and relocated.
I invite the hon. Member to write to me with regard to meeting to discuss microplastic pollution in the River Tame.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2021 to Question 65537 on Export Health Certificates, what steps his Department is taking with the British Veterinary Association to increase veterinary capacity for Animal Health Certificate requirements; and what information his Department holds on the number of veterinary practises with capacity to issue AHCs.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Animal Health Certificate (AHC) format is mandated by the EU, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has taken steps to help Official Veterinarians (OVs) complete them including by developing a model AHC together with accompanying printable guidance and associated training. APHA has publicised the availability of the training relating to completing AHCs. The model AHC is easily available on-line and can be accessed by all qualified OVs at any time.
We have been engaging with the British Veterinary Association to develop additional guidance to support vets in completing and issuing AHCs. This includes the development of a 'checklist', which can be used in addition to the comprehensive guidance already available to vets, and an explainer video that will guide vets through a worked-up AHC example.
The number of Official Veterinarians (working in private practice) who are able to issue AHCs is currently 7,896. Defra does not hold information on the related number of veterinary practices that are able to issue AHCs.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) simplify the application process for Animal Health Certificates for pet owners wishing to bring pets into the EU and (b) incentivise vets to take the requisite courses to issue Animal Health Certificates.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The United Kingdom (UK) has now been formally ‘listed’ as a ‘Part 2’ third country for the purposes of the EU pet travel regulations, which means that new rules now apply to pet movements from Great Britain (GB) to the EU and Northern Ireland (NI). These rules are governed by the EU Pet Travel Scheme, including those relating to certification for travel to the EU and NI.
Defra has been clear that there are no animal health or biosecurity justifications for these additional rules to travel to the EU or NI. We will continue to press the EU Commission in relation to securing ‘Part 1’ listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for pet owners and assistance dog users travelling, including the requirement for an Animal Health Certificate (AHC).
Our advice for pet owners and users of assistance dogs travelling is that they should continue to contact their vet at least one month in advance to ensure their pet has the correct vaccinations and paperwork to travel abroad. The costs of completing and issuing an AHC are commercial decisions, set by individual veterinary practices.
APHA has publicised the availability of the required training course and has made it easily available on-line. As of 13 July 2021, there are 7,387 Official Veterinarians in Great Britain authorised by APHA to issue Animal Health Certificates. COVID travel restrictions have previously decreased demand for AHCs to allow pets to travel with their owners from January this year; however, we are not aware of any concerns about there being insufficient numbers of authorised OVs to meet expected demand for AHCs in the future as travel restrictions continue to lift.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 effect of the 2021 covid-19 lockdown on the level of stocks retained by food service wholesalers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Swansea East on 25 January 2021, PQ 138473.