Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage deposit return schemes for cans and bottles.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A second consultation on introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was held last year. The Government is analysing the responses to that consultation, with a view to publishing a Government response early this year.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to increase enforcement against littering.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In recent years we have bolstered councils’ enforcement powers by almost doubling the maximum fixed penalty for littering from £80 to £150 and giving councils in England (outside London) new civil penalty powers to tackle littering from vehicles. Councils also have powers to prosecute anyone caught littering which can lead to a fine of up to £2,500. It is up to local councils to decide how they use their enforcement powers
We have published improved guidance to councils and others on the use of their fixed penalty powers for littering. New powers under the Environment Act will allow us to ensure these powers are always used with a high degree of professionalism.
We will continue to review any new evidence regarding the effectiveness of the current enforcement regime.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what date he plans to launch his consultation on food labelling; whether he plans to (a) include questions on associated regulatory provisions on enforcement and monitoring of agreed food labelling and (b) indicate a preference for mandatory or voluntary requirements for participation in that consultation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government has committed to consult on what can be done through labelling to promote high standards and high welfare across the UK market following the transition period. The consultation is currently being prepared ahead of a planned launch in the first half of this year. This will feed into the Government's wide-ranging review on food labelling to ensure that consumers can have confidence in the food they buy and to facilitate the trade of quality British food at home and abroad.
The consultation will seek stakeholder and public views on how consumer information should be presented and on a range of policy options including mandatory/voluntary labelling reforms and enforcement.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to facilitate the re-opening of zoos and wildlife parks.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks will be allowed to reopen from 15 June, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place.
This includes keeping indoor exhibitions, such as reptile houses and those in aquariums, closed, and ensuring other amenities like cafes offer take-away services only.
The move follows close work by the Government with the zoo industry to ensure visitor numbers can be managed and safeguards are put in place.
The decision to relax restrictions on these select outdoor attractions is part of the Government’s careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors.
Officials continue to meet weekly with BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and with the CEOs of the largest charitable zoos and aquariums in England providing a valuable forum to monitor concerns and seek insights from key sector representatives on current issues.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether additional support will be provided to farmers and agricultural businesses impacted by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Coronavirus continues to represent a significant challenge to daily life and every part of the economy. The agricultural sector plays a vital role in maintaining the UK’s food security and has done a fantastic job of feeding the nation during this challenging period.
The Government took a number of early emergency steps to support farmers and the wider sector. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers’ hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. The department worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme. We have also worked closely with the dairy and horticulture sectors to address supply chain and labour issues.
On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand because of the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May.
The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar ongoing campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.
We remain in regular contact with representatives of our food and farming sector and will continue to monitor the situation to assess and respond to emerging issues as they arise.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to open up new international markets for English produced food and drink.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Our farmers and food producers produce world-class food and drink. We are rightly proud of our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards, and we have the opportunity to increase overseas demands for our fantastic products.
With regards to opening new markets, exports are an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable. Defra's 'Food is GREAT' campaign is raising the profile and reputation of British food and drink overseas, by building global demand and increasing positive perceptions of the UK's food and drink products. For example, the campaign showcased British beef and English Sparkling Wine to Japanese consumers, trade and media in events coinciding with the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
In 2019, the UK also signed an agreement with Japan that opened the Japanese market to UK exports of lamb and beef for the first time in two decades. This market opening is estimated by industry to be worth £127 million in the first 5 years of access. Further UK export success in 2019 included the export of £822 million of salmon an increase of 27% from 2018, whilst in March this year we agreed the market opening of UK exports of wheat to Mexico.
With the Department for International Trade and representatives of the food and drink sector, Defra will be setting out future export ambitions for the sector. This will include the support that we offer in-market.
As set out in the Government’s election manifesto, we have ambitious goals for British trade. The Government aims to have 80 per cent of UK trade with countries covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which will further present new routes to market for British farmers.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 is taking to help assist the establishment of new international markets for English farm produce.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Our farmers and food producers produce world-class food and drink. We are rightly proud of our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards, and we have the opportunity to increase overseas demands for our fantastic products.
With regards to opening new markets, exports are an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable. Defra's 'Food is GREAT' campaign is raising the profile and reputation of British food and drink overseas, by building global demand and increasing positive perceptions of the UK's food and drink products. For example, the campaign showcased British beef and English Sparkling Wine to Japanese consumers, trade and media in events coinciding with the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
In 2019, the UK also signed an agreement with Japan that opened the Japanese market to UK exports of lamb and beef for the first time in two decades. This market opening is estimated by industry to be worth £127 million in the first 5 years of access. Further UK export success in 2019 included the export of £822 million of salmon an increase of 27% from 2018, whilst in March this year we agreed the market opening of UK exports of wheat to Mexico.
With the Department for International Trade and representatives of the food and drink sector, Defra will be setting out future export ambitions for the sector. This will include the support that we offer in-market.
As set out in the Government’s election manifesto, we have ambitious goals for British trade. The Government aims to have 80 per cent of UK trade with countries covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, which will further present new routes to market for British farmers.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 effectiveness of networks for peer-to-peer advice and support for farmers to promote and share best practice of nature-friendly farming.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra has reviewed a range of evidence to understand the effectiveness of networks for peer-to-peer advice and support for farmers to promote and share best practice of nature-friendly farming. There is an increasing recognition in the agriculture sector of the value of peer-to-peer learning and there are already several initiatives that encourage these practices. Defra is considering a range of different models for the provision of advice and support in the Environmental Land Management scheme, including peer-to-peer learning.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 for environmentally responsible farming to deliver (a) healthy soils, (b) long-term food security, (c) clean water and (d) a stable climate; and what support the Government is providing to farmers to deliver those outcomes.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to supporting farmers to deliver environmental outcomes. Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, the ELM scheme is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy.
The ELM scheme is due to be in place from 2024. Farmers and other land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering the following public goods:
Farmers and land managers will be able to decide for themselves how they deliver environmental benefits from their businesses and their land, and how they integrate this into their food, timber and other commercial activities.
Meanwhile, Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides a stepping stone to the future scheme, paying for environmental enhancements now as area-based payments are phased out.
CS supports Defra’s strategic objective of “a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy”. Through the scheme, farmers can apply for funding to improve their local environment – from restoring wildlife habitats and creating woodlands to managing flood risk.
We know that soil is an essential natural asset and that its careful management can lead to multiple public goods. Having soil specifically named in the Agriculture Bill will mean we can help farmers to protect soil and improve its quality. Soils and food security and production are being considered as part of the development of the ELM scheme. Both clean and plentiful water, and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change have been identified as two of the public goods that the ELM scheme will pay for. We are in the process of determining exactly what actions we will pay for under ELM.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the inclusion of nature-based solutions in the (a) Agriculture Bill and (b) Environment Bill.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature-based solutions are key to tackling societal challenges, such as climate change, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The Government is deploying such solutions to improve our natural environment.
We have received representations on including certain types of nature-based solutions in the Agriculture Bill. However, clause 1(1) of the Bill is broadly drafted and already enables the Secretary of State to support the delivery of environmental outcomes through nature-based solutions. For example, we will use the powers in the Agriculture Bill to introduce our ambitious new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Under the ELM, farmers and land managers may enter into agreements to be paid for delivering a range of public goods. This could include nature based solutions that contribute towards reducing the instances of, and provide protection from, environmental hazards such as flooding.
Likewise, the Environment Bill introduces a powerful package of new policies and tools to support nature's recovery. Biodiversity net gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs), conservation covenants and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities will work together to drive local action on the ground, creating or restoring rich habitats to enable wildlife to recover and thrive.
Notably our net gain measures create an approach to development which means that habitats for wildlife must be left in a measurably better state than they were in pre-development. These measures will be supported by LNRSs to guide smooth and effective delivery of mandatory biodiversity net gain. They will help local authorities to best understand where investment in new habitat creation or restoration will achieve best outcomes for biodiversity and wider environmental benefits.
We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders as we move towards implementing these measures.