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Written Question
Food Supply
Tuesday 25th April 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department is doing to improve the supply of UK-produced gluten-free food to consumers.

Answered by George Eustice

The Department of Health is currently conducting a consultation on the availability of gluten-free foods on NHS prescription, and this is expected to close on 22 June 2017.

The Government has a policy of supporting our food and farming industry so that we can grow more and sell more British produce.


Written Question
Food: Prices
Tuesday 25th April 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold discussions with supermarkets on the cost of gluten-free foods.

Answered by George Eustice

The Department of Health (DH) is currently conducting a consultation on the availability of gluten-free foods on NHS prescription, and this is expected to close on 22 June 2017.

It is not the role of Government to set food prices or comment on decisions taken by individual companies. We monitor food prices closely using CPI data, but do not monitor the prices of individual product lines. We work to promote transparency and open global markets internationally, as well as a competitive domestic market to help producers and retailers offer the best prices to consumers. Defra ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of the food retailers.

Officials from Defra and Department of Health (DH) meet regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to health and nutrition policy.


Written Question
Food: Prices
Tuesday 25th April 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

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 the Secretary of State for Health on steps to reduce the cost of gluten-free foods for people no longer able to access such foods by prescription.

Answered by George Eustice

The Department of Health (DH) is currently conducting a consultation on the availability of gluten-free foods on NHS prescription, and this is expected to close on 22 June 2017.

It is not the role of Government to set food prices or comment on decisions taken by individual companies. We monitor food prices closely using CPI data, but do not monitor the prices of individual product lines. We work to promote transparency and open global markets internationally, as well as a competitive domestic market to help producers and retailers offer the best prices to consumers. Defra ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of the food retailers.

Officials from Defra and Department of Health (DH) meet regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to health and nutrition policy.


Written Question
Food: Prices
Tuesday 25th April 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the gluten-free food prices compared to overall food prices in each of the last five years.

Answered by George Eustice

The Department of Health (DH) is currently conducting a consultation on the availability of gluten-free foods on NHS prescription, and this is expected to close on 22 June 2017.

It is not the role of Government to set food prices or comment on decisions taken by individual companies. We monitor food prices closely using CPI data, but do not monitor the prices of individual product lines. We work to promote transparency and open global markets internationally, as well as a competitive domestic market to help producers and retailers offer the best prices to consumers. Defra ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of the food retailers.

Officials from Defra and Department of Health (DH) meet regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to health and nutrition policy.


Written Question
Agriculture: Trade Competitiveness
Wednesday 29th March 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to assist the farming industry to become more competitive.

Answered by George Eustice

This Government is supporting the farming industry’s efforts to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Through the Agri-Tech Strategy launched in 2013, we have made a £140 million investment to increase the pace and scale of uptake of agricultural innovation by farmers. We are working with industry to treble the number of apprenticeships in food and farming by 2020, helping young people into an increasingly high-tech, rewarding sector.

Excess regulations and red tape reduce the competitiveness of farmers. We have already cut 4,000 farm inspections this year and aim to remove 20,000 by 2020; by the end of this Parliament, we will have saved farm businesses £470 million worth of unnecessary costs. A total of £138 million is available in England between 2015 and 2020 under the LEADER scheme aimed at supporting farm productivity amongst other priorities.

Leaving the EU provides us with an opportunity to redesign our agricultural policy so that it works for the UK, making farming more profitable, competitive and environmentally sustainable.


Written Question
Dairy Farming: Research
Wednesday 29th March 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has provided for research into the dairy farming sector in each of the last five years.

Answered by George Eustice

The table below shows the total value of dairy focused science projects for each of the last 5 financial years. This does not include proposed spend for this financial year.

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016

2016/2017

£ 1,551,115

£ 1,325,926

£ 709,378

£ 652,394

£ 639,389

Savings from core Defra’s programme evidence budgets have contributed to reducing the fiscal deficit along with all areas within the department. Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser ensures investment in evidence is targeted at key priorities, offers value for money and maintains our critical capabilities required in emergencies. In addition, the primary responsibility for R&D funding for the dairy industry rests with AHDB Dairy which spends approximately £4.1 million a year on research and knowledge exchange.


Written Question
Ash Dieback Disease: North West
Tuesday 21st March 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

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 help local authorities in the North West whose area is affected by ash dieback.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

We are working closely with local authorities to help them deal with the impacts of ash dieback by supporting them to be prepared and by providing guidance.

Infected ash trees can survive dieback for many years, continuing to provide recreational and biodiversity benefits, and could provide a source of disease tolerance in the future. For this very reason we are not encouraging the removal of infected ash unless it poses an immediate health and safety risk.

To ensure that the issue of health and safety is addressed we have convened an ash dieback taskforce with a number of key stakeholders and local authorities. We are working closely with this group to develop action plans for local authorities and supplement existing guidance for landowners, such as that published by the National Tree Safety Group. We will be making the action plans available for all local authorities in due course.

Local action plan work has initially focused on the areas most likely to be affected in the next few years, but we have been working with other areas and held workshops across the country to inform the research, and we will be engaging local authorities in the North West in this work later this year.


Written Question
Flood Control: Earby
Thursday 16th March 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

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 increase flood prevention in Earby.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

The Government is investing £100,000 on a flood modelling study of Earby Beck to investigate options to reduce flood risk, with its results expected in October 2017.

The Environment Agency is carrying out works to repair and reduce the risk of blockage of the Victoria Clough culvert. Detailed design work is now complete and costs are estimated at £550,000.

The Environment Agency has enhanced flood resilience in Earby by recruiting new flood wardens to support the development of a community flood plan and help coordinate the community response to future flood events. The Environment Agency is also investigating the installation of further rain gauges in the area to provide greater intelligence and accuracy to the flood warning service.


Written Question
Water: EU Law
Friday 27th January 2017

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

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 potential merits of seeking to continue to remain subject to the EU Water Framework Directive.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

The Prime Minister announced last year our plans for a Repeal Bill that will convert current EU law into domestic British law. Our intention is to ensure a smooth and orderly transition via the Repeal Bill. Without pre-judging what our future relationship with the EU will be or future decisions Parliament may make, this will provide as much certainty as possible by maintaining the existing laws; and this will include the laws that transpose the EU Water Framework Directive.

Withdrawal from the EU will allow us to select policies that work best for the UK, including policy on sustainable water planning and management aiming to maximise the benefits that people, wildlife and the economy get from our water environment.

Going forward, the 25 year environment plan framework will give us a basis on which to plan our policies and regulatory framework for the future. We will consider what aspects of our current legislative framework are fit for purpose to deliver the 25 year environment plan framework and shape our legislation accordingly.


Written Question
Food: Waste
Monday 19th December 2016

Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has received on introducing a ban on supermarkets destroying or disposing of unsold food; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Thérèse Coffey

In the last 18 months Defra has received a significant amount of correspondence on issues related to unsold food in supermarkets.

Less than 3% of all UK post-farm gate food wasted in the supply chain is from supermarkets, so we need the whole chain to work together.

The Government has instigated a variety of actions to increase surplus food redistribution including development of a partnership model to help facilitate closer working between potential donors and recipients of food surpluses. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has also established a Redistribution Working Group under Courtauld 2025 to share best practice and help identify and overcome barriers to redistributing food.

All major UK supermarkets now have relationships with redistribution organisations and WRAP estimates that 47,000 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent to 90 million meals - was redistributed by the manufacturing and retail sector in 2015.