Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications to cull badgers are under consideration by her Department; and to which areas those applications relate.
Answered by George Eustice
Natural England has received 29 applications or expressions of interest for a badger control licence in areas where the disease is rife, primarily in South West England.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.
Answered by George Eustice
The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
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 20 January 2016 to Question 22708, on neonicotinoids: EU action, when she expects the EU Commission to report back its findings; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
The European Food Safety Authority has undertaken to complete its assessment for the European Commission by 31 January 2017. The Commission will then consider whether this assessment requires any change to the current restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids. It has not committed to a timescale for this.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
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 effects of the use of pyrethroids on crops and invertebrates.
Answered by George Eustice
Pyrethroids are a group of chemicals used to control insect pests in crops. As with all pesticides, pyrethroids are subject to strict regulation and the use of a pyrethroid is only authorised if it will not harm people, will not give rise to unacceptable risks to the environment and is effective against the target pest.
Decisions are made on the basis of assessments of scientific data. This is a two-tier process. The pyrethroid itself is assessed by the European Food Safety Authority. Products containing approved pyrethroids are assessed by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive. There are currently several pyrethroids approved at EU level. A number of products containing one or more of these chemicals are authorised in the UK following a satisfactory risk assessment.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the EU ban on neonicotinoids has been renewed; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
EU restrictions prohibiting the use of three neonicotinoids on some crops have been in place since 1 December 2013. Other uses of these neonicotinoids remain approved. The restrictions have been implemented in full in the UK and will remain in place unless and until the European Commission decides to change them. The Commission has mandated the European Food Safety Authority to carry out a scientific review of the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. The UK will participate in that process.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
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 (a) the efficacy of the third badger pilot cull in Somerset and (b) the humaneness of the badger pilot culls to date.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has advised that (a) the outcome of this year’s culls indicates that industry-led culling can deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits; and (b) that the humaneness of controlled shooting is comparable with the range of outcomes reported when other culling activities, currently accepted by society, have been assessed, such as deer shooting.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
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 publish an analysis of the outcomes and costs of the third badger cull.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has published a summary of badger control monitoring during 2015 on the GOV.UK website. The Government will publish its costs once they have been finalised.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend badger culls into new areas.
Answered by George Eustice
As outlined in a Written Ministerial Statement on 17 December, the Government wants to see badger control over a wider number of areas this year. This is in line with the UK Chief Veterinary Officer’s advice and our comprehensive strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
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 trends in numbers of cabbage stem flea beetle in the UK since December 2013.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has not undertaken any assessment of the trends in numbers of cabbage stem flea beetle in the UK. However, we are aware that the AHDB and others have recently carried out work to look at levels of infestation and at the consequences for growers.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the change in the UK's bee population since December 2013.
Answered by George Eustice
Recording from volunteer societies provides a rich source of data and complex modelling can be used to produce trends. In 2014, using this approach, Defra published a pilot indicator of changes in the bee population in the UK between 1980 and 2010. Between 1980 and 2010, the indicator fell to 62 percent of its 1980 value. It is not yet possible to provide a trend since 2013; further development of the indicator should allow for assessment in future years.
The Government continues to work to strengthen monitoring of insect pollinators. In early 2014, Defra commissioned a two-year research study to design and test a robust and affordable national monitoring framework that can be applied across the UK. This study is due to be completed later this year. It has made significant progress with engaging key audiences involved in insect and wider biodiversity monitoring and is currently testing pilot methods at sites across the UK.