Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 had discussions with the Scottish Government on the inclusion of species-rich meadows in the list of irreplaceable habitats in Scotland.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Planning is a devolved matter. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these should be applied, including policy on the protection of irreplaceable habitat.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 support cooperation with devolved Administrations on the protection of irreplaceable habitats.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Planning is a devolved matter. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these should be applied, including policy on the protection of irreplaceable habitat.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 had discussions with the Scottish Government on conservation of otters in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not held discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the conservation of otters specifically in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency. Nature conservation is mainly a devolved responsibility and the conservation of otters in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is funding UK-wide research into mountain hare conservation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature conservation in the UK is mainly a devolved responsibility. We are therefore not currently funding any UK-wide research into mountain hare conservation.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on measures to protect otter populations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not held discussions with the devolved Governments about measures to protect otter populations.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on protecting mountain hare populations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not held discussions with the devolved Governments about protecting mountain hare populations.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 effectiveness of measures to control the spread of Japanese knotweed.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the impacts caused by invasive species, including Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to cause Japanese knotweed to grow in the wild.
In England Government has developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed, as well as how to treat and dispose of it, which can be found on GOV.UK: How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading - GOV.UK.
Recognising the limitations of manual removal Defra, in partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England, is funding scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) to conduct biological control (biocontrol) research into the use of naturally occurring, living organisms to tackle Japanese knotweed and other invasive, non-native plants. Biocontrol could provide a more cost- and time-effective way of managing these invasive plants. This research has identified the psyllid (a sap-sucking insect), Aphalari itadori, as a biological control agent for tackling Japanese Knotweed. Information about the research can be found on CABI's website.
Defra is providing funding for land managers to control and manage Japanese knotweed and other invasive plant species through the Environmental Land Management (ELM) Countryside Stewardship scheme. Further information can be found on GOV.UK: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier actions - GOV.UK.
Defra is not providing specific support or ring-fenced funding to Local Authorities for Japanese Knotweed control. Local Authorities decide their priorities for widespread invasive species management locally.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 support landowners in (a) managing and (b) eradicating Japanese knotweed.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the impacts caused by invasive species, including Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to cause Japanese knotweed to grow in the wild.
In England Government has developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed, as well as how to treat and dispose of it, which can be found on GOV.UK: How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading - GOV.UK.
Recognising the limitations of manual removal Defra, in partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England, is funding scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) to conduct biological control (biocontrol) research into the use of naturally occurring, living organisms to tackle Japanese knotweed and other invasive, non-native plants. Biocontrol could provide a more cost- and time-effective way of managing these invasive plants. This research has identified the psyllid (a sap-sucking insect), Aphalari itadori, as a biological control agent for tackling Japanese Knotweed. Information about the research can be found on CABI's website.
Defra is providing funding for land managers to control and manage Japanese knotweed and other invasive plant species through the Environmental Land Management (ELM) Countryside Stewardship scheme. Further information can be found on GOV.UK: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier actions - GOV.UK.
Defra is not providing specific support or ring-fenced funding to Local Authorities for Japanese Knotweed control. Local Authorities decide their priorities for widespread invasive species management locally.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 had discussions with the Scottish Government on the conservation of mountain hare in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have not held discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the conservation of mountain hare specifically in the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency. Nature conservation is mainly a devolved responsibility and the conservation of mountain hare in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 support local authorities in (a) managing and (b) eradicating Japanese knotweed.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the impacts caused by invasive species, including Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This makes it an offence to cause Japanese knotweed to grow in the wild.
In England Government has developed guidance on how to prevent the spread of Japanese knotweed, as well as how to treat and dispose of it, which can be found on GOV.UK: How to stop Japanese knotweed from spreading - GOV.UK.
Recognising the limitations of manual removal Defra, in partnership with the Welsh Government and Natural England, is funding scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) to conduct biological control (biocontrol) research into the use of naturally occurring, living organisms to tackle Japanese knotweed and other invasive, non-native plants. Biocontrol could provide a more cost- and time-effective way of managing these invasive plants. This research has identified the psyllid (a sap-sucking insect), Aphalari itadori, as a biological control agent for tackling Japanese Knotweed. Information about the research can be found on CABI's website.
Defra is providing funding for land managers to control and manage Japanese knotweed and other invasive plant species through the Environmental Land Management (ELM) Countryside Stewardship scheme. Further information can be found on GOV.UK: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier actions - GOV.UK.
Defra is not providing specific support or ring-fenced funding to Local Authorities for Japanese Knotweed control. Local Authorities decide their priorities for widespread invasive species management locally.