Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 (a) apple farmers and (b) cider makers whose crops have been affected by ermine moths in Somerset.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Dessert and culinary apples play an important role in local economies, with the sector worth a combined £188 million in 2023.
The Government is committed to championing British farming and, in partnership with the sector, we are considering a number of ways to achieve our ambitious, measurable and long-term goals for the sector, including development of new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests such as ermine moths.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 implications for his policies of pollution levels in the River Frome.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) undertake a programme of ecological, water quality and chemical monitoring on the Somerset Frome according to the requirements defined by the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2017 (WFD). This provides an understanding of the overall Ecological Status of the river. The EA act on the findings of this monitoring, to investigate any failures to meet the status required.
The WFD monitoring classification shows the Frome from its source to the confluence with the Maiden Bradley Brook as achieving poor ecological status. The Frome from Maiden Bradley Brook to the River Mells is achieving a moderate ecological status.
The reasons for not achieving good ecological status are a mixture of point and diffuse source pollution. This is elevating the nutrient levels in the water which in turn are affecting the plant and algal communities in the river. The results of the Environment Agency’s monitoring work indicate that sources are a mixture of treated sewage discharges from water company assets and from agricultural and land management practices.
Cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a top government priority. Change has already begun – the Water (Special Measures) Bill, announced during the King’s Speech, delivers on our manifesto commitment to put water companies under special measures by strengthening regulation to clean up our waters. That change will take time. Over the coming weeks and months, the Government will outline further steps to reform the water sector and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.