Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many new sites has Natural England designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the last five years; and (a) what and (b) where each of those sites are.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
During the last five years (since 8 November 2011), Natural England has notified 21 wholly new sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. In that time, Natural England has also notified six new areas of land as extensions to existing SSSIs under sections 28B and 28C of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The 27 sites are listed below.
Name of SSSI | Unitary Authority/County | Type | Date notified |
Mount Pleasant | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Hallam Barn Grasslands | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Lower Hollins | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Wall Lands | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Bradbourne Mill Meadows | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
South Lee Meadows | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Matley Moor Meadows | Derbyshire | New | 23 November 2011 |
Lugg and Hampton Meadows | Herefordshire | Extension | 14 December 2011 |
Blackmore Vale Commons and Moors | Dorset | Extension | 8 March 2012 |
Castle Hill Deer Park and Windy Pits | North Yorkshire | Extension | 30 March 2012 |
Eppleton Grassland | Sunderland | New | 27 April 2012 |
Benty Grange | Derbyshire | New | 19 June 2012 |
High Marks Barn | Devon | New | 6 July 2012 |
Ives Head | Leicestershire | New | 16 October 2012 |
Barrow Hill and Tansey Green | Dudley | New | 13 November 2012 |
Calender Meadows | Northamptonshire | New | 23 November 2012 |
Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill | Medway | Extension | 13 March 2013 |
Holly Rock Fields | Leicestershire | New | 28 March 2013 |
Waterfall Meadows | Derbyshire | New | 25 June 2013 |
Crich Chase | Derbyshire | New | 15 August 2013 |
Rampisham Down | Dorset | New | 22 August 2013 |
Clifton Ings and Rawcliffe Meadows | North Yorkshire | New | 25 September 2013 |
Birches | Herefordshire | New | 9 January 2014 |
New Hadley Brickpit | Telford & Wrekin | Extension | 22 May 2014 |
Bushy Park and Home Park | Richmond upon Thames | New | 5 September 2014 |
Bolton Fell and Walton Mosses | Cumbria | Extension | 13 March 2015 |
Pen Park Hole | City of Bristol | New | 4 August 2016 |
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to procure their food from local producers and suppliers.
Answered by George Eustice
The Plan for Public Procurement of Food was launched by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with the support of the Prime Minister in July 2014. The Plan seeks to improve the quality of the food served in public establishments through the use of a procurement toolkit which includes a balanced scorecard to assess the value of food and catering contracts. The balanced scorecard rewards businesses which offer high quality, locally sourced and seasonal produce.
Defra has worked closely with the Department for Education sponsored School Food Plan and has commissioned pilots of the balanced scorecard approach with schools taking part in the London Food Board Flagship Food Boroughs initiative. These pilots will build on the very firm foundation laid by the School Food Plan.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
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 effect of a lack of bovine TB vaccine on the spread of bovine TB in the areas that border Wales.
Answered by George Eustice
Following advice from Public Health England on the need to prioritise available stocks for humans, the Government has taken the decision to suspend attempts to source BCG vaccine for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme and other private badger vaccination deployment projects in England until the supply situation is resolved. This follows the decision of the Welsh Government to do the same. Our long-term research to develop an oral TB vaccine for badgers and an effective TB vaccine for cattle is not expected to be affected by the current supply issue.
The Government is continuing to take strong action to deliver a long-term plan to eradicate the disease and protect the future of the UK’s dairy and beef industries. The comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity on farm and when trading, and badger control in areas where TB is rife. Bovine TB policy is a devolved matter but my department liaises closely with the Welsh Government on matters of common interest, including the impact of the current hiatus in badger vaccination in both England and Wales.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
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 effect of reduced milk prices on dairy farmers.
Answered by George Eustice
The latest forecast of Farm Business Incomes for 2015-16 indicates that average incomes are expected to fall on dairy farms to £46,500. This reflects the impact of lower milk prices which started to fall in March 2014. It is important to note the wide variation in milk prices with some farmers receiving considerably more or less than the average. Reductions in milk price have been offset slightly by increased milk production together with reduced input costs, particularly feed.
We understand the pressures facing dairy farmers and have taken action to ease their cash flow problems. The £26.2 million aid package we secured for the UK from the European Commission and paid out in November and December provided some relief to hard-pressed farmers.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage the grocery code adjudicator to investigate milk prices paid by Meadow Foods.
Answered by George Eustice
The GCA is responsible for enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and was formed by the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013. The Code governs the commercial relationships between the ten largest UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers, and reflects the findings of the Competition Commission’s market investigation into the supermarket sector conducted between 2006 and 2008. The Code does not cover the relationship between milk processors, such as Meadow Foods, and its farmers.
I have written to Meadow Foods to ask how it manages its relationship with farmers and to encourage it to sign up to the dairy industry code of best practice on contractual arrangements.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
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 make it her policy to routinely test camelids for bovine tuberculosis before they are moved around the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has worked with the British Alpaca and Llama Societies on the design and promotion of a TB testing regime that includes voluntary routine surveillance, pre-movement testing and pre-export testing. A call for views on control of bovine TB in non-bovine farmed animals, including camelids, is currently in progress and will run until 20 November.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
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 make it her policy to impose restrictions on the free movement of camelids in the UK to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
Answered by George Eustice
The Tuberculosis (Deer and Camelid) (England) Order 2014 provides powers to restrict the movement of a camelid that shows clinical signs of bovine TB, tests positive to the disease or has been exposed to the infection. These powers may require the keeper to take reasonable steps to prevent the affected animal from coming into contact with any other farmed animal on the same premises or on adjoining premises and prevent the movement of camelids on to or off such premises except under a licence issued by an inspector. In addition, my Department has worked with the British Alpaca and Llama Societies on the design and promotion of a TB testing regime that includes voluntary routine surveillance. A call for views on control of bovine TB in non-bovine farmed animals, including camelids, is currently in progress and will run until 20 November.
Asked by: Antoinette Sandbach (Liberal Democrat - Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether alpacas are routinely tested for the presence of bovine tuberculosis.
Answered by George Eustice
There is no statutory bovine TB surveillance testing regime for alpacas except for post-mortem inspection of any that may enter the food chain. Defra has, however, worked with the British Alpaca and Llama Societies on the design and promotion of a TB testing regime that includes voluntary routine surveillance. A call for views on control of bovine TB in non-bovine farmed animals, including camelids, is currently in progress and will run until 20 November.