Became Member: 5th June 2006
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Section 18 of the Environment Act 2021 sets out the routes for parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Environmental Principles Policy Statement recently laid before Parliament by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This includes consideration by relevant Select Committees.
The Chief Whip will work with the Usual Channels to schedule any business resulting from these routes in the usual way during the scrutiny period.
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Further details of the membership and terms of reference for Cabinet Sub-Committees are published on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees.
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.
Further details of the membership and terms of reference for Cabinet Sub-Committees are published on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees.
The Government is currently undertaking the third statutory review of the effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice, including whether the GCA has sufficient powers. The Government will carefully consider the views and evidence received. Our conclusions will be published and a report laid before Parliament in due course.
The Government is currently considering responses to the public consultation and other evidence to inform the third statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. A report on the findings of the statutory review will be published and laid before Parliament in due course.
Strategic oversight and integration of government funding for net zero research and innovation takes place through the Net Zero Innovation Board (NZIB). It is chaired by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and brings together senior representatives from government departments, non-departmental public bodies and non-ministerial departments with major climate mitigation, decarbonisation or energy-related research and innovation budgets, or related policy remits. NZIB, through its Innovation Delivery Board sub-group, also monitors progress of the programmes set out in the Net Zero Research and Innovation Delivery Plan.
Research and development (R&D) is critical for reaching net zero by 2050 and the government is investing £4.2 billion in net zero R&D over 2022-2025. This will support the development of the technologies and solutions needed to deliver the UK’s net zero target and to support innovative UK businesses to benefit from the growing global green economy. The Net Zero Research and Innovation Delivery Plan published in March 2023 sets out the details of this investment and an update on progress is planned to be published in 2025.
The department is committed to having 25% of roles outside of London and the southeast by 2027. Based on current headcount figures in Salford, this would equate to an increase of 58 staff per year and so the projected headcount for the end of 2024 is 172 staff based in Salford. The department’s Places for Growth targets are not based on grades. There is no formal stipulation for Ministers to spend a proportion of their time in Greater Manchester or any other growth location. The department works with Ministerial offices to support visits to growth locations where possible.
The department is committed to having 25% of roles outside of London and the southeast by 2027. Based on current headcount figures in Salford, this would equate to an increase of 58 staff per year and so the projected headcount for the end of 2024 is 172 staff based in Salford. The department’s Places for Growth targets are not based on grades. There is no formal stipulation for Ministers to spend a proportion of their time in Greater Manchester or any other growth location. The department works with Ministerial offices to support visits to growth locations where possible.
The UK Digital strategy referenced the 1,000 PhDs that had already been created through 16 Centres for Doctoral Training as part of the AI sector deal. The last cohort of these students has now been recruited and commenced their studies.
The strategy also re-committed to the announcement of a further 1,000 PhDs through an additional investment of £117M. This funding has been awarded to 12 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) AI Centres for Doctoral Training across the UK, leveraging an additional £110M from industry, universities and other sources. The universities hosting these centres will receive the funding to train PhD students through five cohorts. Recruitment has started for the first cohort due to start in autumn 2024 who will complete their studies in 2028.
The following competitive grant funds have been launched:
Open Networks Ecosystem Competition
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/open-networks-ecosystem-competition
Smart Infrastructure Pilots Programme
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-infrastructure-pilots-programme
5G Innovation Regions:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/5g-innovation-regions
Research Venture Catalyst
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-ventures-catalyst
Research & Innovation Organisations Infrastructure Fund:
Manchester Prize:
https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/manchester-prize-1
The sectoral strategies produced by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology since its establishment are:
DSIT also recently published its National Vision for Engineering Biology.
Strategies produced prior to the department’s establishment that are key to our sectors include:
The Government does not hold any data on or set a specific target for the percentage of R&D talent it expects to have recruited from abroad by 2027.
The Government’s immigration policy applies to R&D talent wanting to locate to the UK. The Government aims to improve the UK’s attractiveness to overseas R&D talent, subject to meeting wider objectives on overall net migration to the UK.
The UK’s points-based immigration system continues to work well. For example, the Global Talent visa has seen a 76% increase in visas issued for the year ending June 2023.
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. According to ThinkBroadband, an independent broadband news and information site, over 78% of UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, which represents significant progress since January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. We are currently on track to achieve our target of 85% coverage by 2025.
We have created a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable. This Government has also reduced barriers to broadband rollout. For example, we passed the Product Security and Telecoms Infrastructure Act in 2022, making it cheaper and easier for companies to deploy, upgrade and share infrastructure. As a result, there is now a thriving market of over 100 providers who are estimated to invest nearly £40bn by 2030 in rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK.
The Government is also investing £5bn as part of Project Gigabit to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage. Through our 12 Project Gigabit contracts and 27 current live procurements, we have made over £2 billion of funding available to suppliers to bring gigabit-capable broadband to up to 1.1 million premises in hard-to-reach parts of the country.
This Government is committed to protecting those who are most vulnerable to online scams.
The Online Safety Act will require social media providers to take steps to safeguard their users from illegal scams and fraudulent advertising. In overseeing the framework, Ofcom must ensure that there are adequate protections for those that are most vulnerable to online harm.
The legislation also expands Ofcom’s duty to promote media literacy under the 2003 Communications Act. The regulator is now required to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online. It will need to publish a strategy for achieving this, which must be updated every three years.
In tandem, the Government is taking action to improve people’s media literacy more widely. In July 2021, we published the Online Media Literacy Strategy. This seeks to support the empowerment of internet users with the skills they need to make safe and informed choices online. Through the Strategy, the Government is funding multiple organisations to support the media literacy and critical thinking skills of vulnerable internet users.
The Levelling Up White Paper (published in February 2022) committed to a R&D Levelling Up Mission, recognising the uneven distribution of gross R&D (GERD) spending across the UK.
DSIT is delivering this mission to increase public R&D investment outside the Greater South-East by at least 40% by 2030, and at least one-third over this spending review period.
We are making progress through investing £100 million for 3 Innovation Accelerators (Greater Manchester, West Midlands and Glasgow) for example, and investing £75 million for 10 Innovate UK Launchpads, £312 million for 12 Strength in Places Fund projects and £60 million for the Regional Innovation Fund.
The Levelling Up White Paper (published in February 2022) committed to a R&D Levelling Up Mission, recognising the uneven distribution of gross R&D (GERD) spending across the UK.
DSIT is delivering this mission to increase public R&D investment outside the Greater South-East by at least 40% by 2030, and at least one-third over this spending review period.
We are making progress through investing £100 million for 3 Innovation Accelerators (Greater Manchester, West Midlands and Glasgow) for example, and investing £75 million for 10 Innovate UK Launchpads, £312 million for 12 Strength in Places Fund projects and £60 million for the Regional Innovation Fund.
The Government is committed to ensuring that all UK premises have access to fast and reliable broadband connectivity. Over 78% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband, which represents significant progress since January 2019, when coverage was just 6%.
Ofcom estimates that around 30,000 premises in the UK (0.1%) lack access to either a fixed broadband network with ‘decent broadband’ (at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload speed) or good indoor 4G coverage. A full breakdown is available by local authority and/or constituency in Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2022 report. Ofcom’s UK Home Broadband Performance Report also provides information on the reliability and peak performance of fixed broadband connections.
The Government is committed to addressing the issues set out in the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy. We are working with other government departments, funders and sector representative bodies to finalise a comprehensive response to the Review and will publish it in due course. In the meantime, government departments and funding bodies have begun implementing several of the Review’s recommendations. We have established a Review Implementation Network, bringing together senior representatives from across the research funding system, to deliver the recommendations of the review and maintain momentum on this issue.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) enforces the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) which does not regulate the price agreed between retailers and suppliers. The GCA has no role in determining what a retailer should pay for a product.
The GCA has, however, published seven golden rules to ensure that the 14 largest grocery retailers who are designated under the Code handle price negotiations lawfully and fairly.
The GCA is monitoring adherence to the golden rules and any direct supplier to one of the designated retailers that is having issues with a negotiation should contact the GCA whose details are available on the GOV.UK website.
Products used within the PAS 2035 process for measures referenced in the Annexes of PAS 2030:2019 standard must be compliant with the relevant British Standards which are referred to within the PAS 2035 document. These products are tested and certified by specialist industry bodies such as The British Board of Agrément (BBA), which include robust processes including research, auditing and inspection of the respective products. Products that have been tested and certified as safe and fit-for-purpose by product certification bodies are subjected to continuous inspection to ensure they remain so.
The installation of insulation or energy efficiency products must comply with all relevant technical requirements in Building Regulations.
Ecodesign policy sets minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) which energy using products must meet when placed on the market. These must be sold with an energy label to help consumers identify the most efficient products. Compliance with MEPS and energy labelling are underpinned by robust test standards and the UKCA conformity marking.
All energy efficient products that burn gaseous fuels must be safe, demonstrating compliance with Regulation 2016/426 on appliances which burn gaseous fuels before being placed on the GB market.
The Government supports the core ambitions set out in the 2019 manifesto and will therefore revert to a precautionary approach and only support shale gas exploration if it can be done in a way that is sustainable and protects local communities. The Government has confirmed that it will adopt a presumption against issuing further hydraulic fracturing consents. We will be led by the evidence on whether this form of exploration can be done in a way which acceptably manages the risk to local communities.
The information requested is not held centrally.
The £500m government funding for the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (GHG-LAD) scheme is independent of the funding allocated to the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme. The GHG-LAD scheme is being delivered in three phases:
- Phase 1A; over £74million was allocated to 55 Local Authorities in October 2020 to fund energy efficiency projects in over 100 Local Authorities by June 2021.
- Phase 1B: around £126million of grant offers were made to 81 Local Authorities in January 2021, for delivery of energy efficiency projects by September 2021. Further details of these allocations will be announced in the coming weeks once Memorandums of Understanding with individual Local Authorities have been signed.
- Phase 2: will see funding of £300m allocated to the five Local Energy Hubs this financial year who will work with Local Authorities in their region to deliver energy efficiency projects by December 2021.
The UK is committed to championing diversity and inclusion throughout our COP26 Presidency and all civil servants in the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit have been appointed in line with Civil Service guidance and rules.
Forty five percent of the Senior Management Team in the COP26 unit are women. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister recently appointed the Hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Treveylan MP) as the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Champion.
In line with the Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25, the UK also recognises that the full, meaningful and equal participation and leadership of women in national and local level climate policy and action is vital for achieving long-term climate goals.
A report on the findings of the second Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator will be published and laid before Parliament as soon as practicable.
The Government has no plans to place a ban on sky lanterns.
Local Authorities have powers to apply local controls to restrict or ban the use of sky lanterns on council or public land. Some councils in England, Scotland and Wales have applied a voluntary ban from council owned land.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute has published a Code of Practice for sky lanterns, which aims to provide guidance for manufacturers, importers, and retailers.
The Cabinet Committee on Climate Change has only been chaired by the Prime Minister. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has therefore not chaired the Committee but attends alongside the Ministers of other Departments with responsibility for taking forward the UK’s approach to tackling climate change.
COP26 is a top international priority for the UK government and has rightly attracted parliamentary interest, attention and energy.
The Department is working closely with COP26 Unit to ensure that parliamentarians are engaged in the preparations and delivery of COP26, and that cross party ambition and support is galvanised to ensure the success of the conference.
The Government launched a Call for Evidence on Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in 2018, which covered questions of both EPC effectiveness and accuracy. We are conducting analysis of the responses and will publish a government response in due course.
The Government has set up a COP26 Unit within Cabinet Office. This unit leads on the delivery of the COP26 Summit and it will coordinate across Government departments and devolved administrations to ensure COP26 objectives are met.
The newly established Cabinet Committee on Climate Change will oversee preparations for COP26.
In March 2021 we launched Project Gigabit, our £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK. Project Gigabit’s objective is to level up the UK by giving hard-to-reach areas access to gigabit-capable internet speeds and, coupled with commercial gigabit delivery, ensuring almost all of the UK has access to gigabit-capable internet as soon as possible.
Our Project Gigabit procurements are prioritising delivery to rural, hard-to-reach premises and to those with the lowest broadband speeds. We have recently signed our first local Project Gigabit contract in North Dorset and expect to award further contracts over the coming months.
Furthermore, up to £210 million is available for Gigabit Broadband Vouchers to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections.
Building Digital UK’s legacy and current programmes have already upgraded over 740,000 premises to gigabit speeds, and we are continuing to move at pace.
The Government welcomes the responsible switching off of 3G networks, and will continue to work with mobile network operators to ensure a smooth transition that meets the needs of business users and consumers, including vulnerable groups.
We are committed to extending good quality mobile coverage across the UK. In March 2020, the Government announced a deal with the mobile network operators to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass. The Government’s ambition is for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027 and we want to ensure that UK businesses reap the full benefits of 5G.
The Government is investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to support gigabit broadband coverage in areas not covered by commercial roll-out, adding to the 600,000 homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas already covered by gigabit broadband with our support.
It is the Government's view that the best way to achieve nationwide gigabit coverage and eliminate the disparity in broadband connectivity between urban and rural areas is by creating a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable. This will allow public subsidy to focus on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely.
This approach is working. Today, we are on track for the biggest build in UK history. At present, 65% of premises can access a gigabit-capable connection, a huge leap forward from July 2019, when gigabit coverage was just 8%.
Our procurements are prioritising delivery to rural, hard-to-reach premises and to those with the lowest broadband speeds. To date, we have launched procurements targeting rural parts of Cumbria, County Durham, Northumberland, Dorset, and Cambridgeshire. Further information on the procurement approach and timeframes can be found in our latest Project Gigabit Delivery Update.
As part of Project Gigabit the Government is also investing up to £210 million in the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.
The scheme enables those communities and businesses in rural areas not in line for commercial rollout, and those that do not want to wait for Project Gigabit procurements, to get more immediate help with the costs of installing a gigabit-capable connection. Further information is available on the gigabit voucher website including eligibility criteria and how to apply for the scheme.
The Shared Rural Network remains on track and both the Government and the mobile network operators remain confident that their combined coverage is expected to be delivered to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025, with areas around the UK starting to see improvements to 4G coverage long before completion. The four operators have already commenced work on the first element of the Shared Rural Network which is funded by the industry, and are on track to eliminate the majority of partial not-spots - areas where there is currently coverage from at least one, but not all, operators - by mid-2024. Coverage upgrades in many partial not-spot areas are already being delivered, with work to improve coverage in other areas in progress. The 2021 Ofcom Connected Nations report, published in December, demonstrates increased coverage across the whole UK by the mobile network operators, including 46 deployments towards their Shared Rural Network commitments.
Over 96% of all premises in the UK can access superfast broadband thanks to the success of our Superfast Broadband Programme, meaning the UK has one of the highest levels of rural superfast connectivity in Europe. The Government is committed to further improve the UK’s broadband infrastructure and deliver nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. As part of this, we are investing an unprecedented £5 billion of subsidy to support the deployment of gigabit broadband in the hardest-to-reach, predominantly rural, areas of the country through our new UK Gigabit Programme.
We have already made significant progress in connecting rural premises to gigabit speeds and, since 2018, have delivered gigabit-capable connectivity to over half a million homes and businesses in some of the hardest to reach places in the country, through our existing Superfast Broadband and £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programmes.
The Government is also committed to extending geographic mobile coverage to 95% of the UK. On 9 March 2020, we announced the £1 billion Shared Rural Network deal with the Mobile Network Operators. This landmark deal will see operators collectively increase mobile phone coverage throughout the UK to 95% by the end of programme, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments.
On 27 January 2021, the operators Three, O2 and Vodafone announced a joint venture to build and share 222 new masts to boost coverage across the UK to deliver the first stage of the SRN. This will result in increased coverage in each of the UK nations.
The government is investing up to £300 million to establish a comprehensive network of 21 Institutes of Technology across England.
They bring together our world class higher and further education sectors, with local businesses – to develop a pipeline of local talent to address local skills needs. Our IoTs work hand in glove with our Local Skills Improvement Plans. They specialise in delivering high-quality training and education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based subjects, helping to bridge a vital skills gap in our economy in sectors such as engineering and manufacturing, digital, and construction. Subjects and qualifications offered differ across the network as training is tailored and responsive to the needs of business in the areas they serve. Whilst offering a range of qualifications from Level 3 (T-levels) to Level 7 (master’s degrees), they specialise in higher-level technical skills at Level 4/5, including degree apprenticeships, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) and professional training.
The latest data the department has on the number of students studying at Institutes of Technology comes from the cohort as of the end of the 2022/23 academic year, which was 14,231. This number of students was across 15 Institutes of Technology that were open to learners at that time.
During this period of partial school closures, we are asking schools to support children who are at home and eligible for and claiming benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children, and we encourage this approach where it is possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why on 31 March we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the department.
Through the national voucher scheme, schools and families could initially access e-gift cards for Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. On Monday 27 April, we added Aldi to this list and on Wednesday 29 April, we added McColl’s. We recognise that it may not be convenient or possible for some families to visit one of these supermarkets and we have been working to see if additional supermarkets can be added to this list. Any additional supermarkets would need to have the right infrastructure to deliver e-gift cards across their network of stores.
If schools are unable to provide meals or food parcels and none of the supermarkets participating in the national voucher scheme are suitable for families, schools can purchase vouchers for alternative shops and claim costs back, up to a certain limit.
Guidance on providing free school meals during the coronavirus outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.
Further guidance on financial support is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for-the-period-march-to-july-2020.
These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Free school meal vouchers can currently be spent in a variety of supermarkets. Initially, the scheme includes supermarkets that already have e-gift card arrangements in place with Edenred, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, M&S and Waitrose. On 21 April we confirmed that Aldi will be added to the list of supermarkets from week commencing 27 April. We continue to work with a wide range of supermarkets to encourage them to join. This involves them having the right infrastructure to deliver e-gift cards in a uniform way across their network of stores.
There have been four UK-wide exercises involving Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, including their operational partners and stakeholder organisations:
Exercise Holly (July 2021) tested government’s response to an outbreak of African swine fever.
Exercise Blackthorn (November 2017 to July 2018) tested the response to a major outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Exercise Willow (2016) examined the UK’s capacity to respond to a large cross-border outbreak of FMD.
Exercise Walnut (2013) tested the response to an outbreak of classical swine fever.
We have also completed numerous operational, field and laboratory-based exercises to test and refine contingency plans on a yearly cycle, and our response capability has been tested by real-world outbreaks such as the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza.
We remain committed to tackling puppy smuggling, pet theft and to banning the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter. We will be taking forward these measures individually through the remainder of this parliament. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.
This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare.
Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a 12-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at too early an age.
We have set out our plan to deliver on our ambitious 2030 target, along with our other environmental targets, in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan published 31 January 2023. Here we link the different objectives, plans and mechanisms for recovering nature.
We know that to meet our targets we will need large-scale habitat restoration, creation and improved connectivity; to tackle pressures on species including pollution, unsustainable use of resources and climate change; and targeted action to recover specific species.
Our Nature for Climate Fund provides over £750 million for the creation, restoration and management of woodland and peatland habitats. We will also launch a new multi-million pound Species Survival Fund this summer, supporting the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats.
We are ensuring that the design and implementation of our current and future agri-environmental schemes and Environment Act measures such as Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies support the target by focusing on the habitats we need and key actions to reduce pressures; and by supporting ‘crowding in’ of private investment.
The first round of Landscape Recovery focused on river restoration and species recovery. The 22 successful projects cover over 40,000 hectares and aim to restore nearly 700km of rivers and protect and provide habitat for at least 263 species. The second round was launched on 18 May and focuses on net zero, protected sites and wildlife-rich habitats, which includes rivers, streams, and other freshwater habitats. We will offer up to 25 projects a place on the Landscape Recovery scheme in this round, within the £15 million total project development budget.
In May 2022, we launched five nature recovery projects spanning nearly 100,000 hectares, which will see the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, corridors and stepping-stones. They will help wildlife populations to move and thrive, provide nature-based solutions, and enable people to enjoy and connect with nature. Natural England plans to launch another six Nature Recovery Projects in 2022/23.
The Government has an explicit duty to ensure long-term targets are met. The Environment Act’s statutory cycle of monitoring, planning and reporting ensures that the Government will take early, regular steps to achieve long-term targets, and is held to account with regular scrutiny from the Office for Environmental Protection and Parliament. Our evaluation framework will provide a level of assurance towards our progress on the targets through adaptive management and regular evaluations and reporting.
Following the industry’s vote to end the AHDB horticulture levy in 2021 we have been working with the industry and the Devolved Administrations to put in place structures that will be more responsive to what the industry wants. This has included supporting the setting up of the industry-led Horticulture Crop Protection that has taken over some of the horticulture work formerly undertaken by AHDB.
We have also committed over £104 million so far through the £270 million Farming Innovation Programme for industry-led research and development in agriculture and horticulture in England. This investment is enabling more farmers, growers and agri-food businesses to become involved in agricultural R&D. This will maximise the impact of R&D investment in innovation and improve the take up of novel approaches on farms. To date 23 out of 100 projects are focussed on horticulture.
In February 2023 the Government announced it would designate three Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English Waters before 6th July 2023. The Government will begin exploring additional HPMAs this year. Any future sites would be subject to consultation as required by the Marine and Coastal Access Act.
The Environment Act’s statutory cycle of monitoring, planning and reporting ensures that government will take early, regular steps to achieve targets and can be held to account with regular scrutiny from the Office for Environmental Protection and Parliament. A key part of this cycle is the Annual Progress Report (APR) which describes what has been done to implement the Environmental Improvement Plan and considers whether the natural environment, or aspects of it, have improved over the reporting period. The latest APR was published on 20th July 2022.
In addition to other sources, the APR utilises data from the Outcome Indicator Framework for the 25 Year Environment Plan which is a suite of outcome indicators that measure changes to the environment. The 2023 annual update to the Outcome Indicator Framework was published on 22 May 2023 and provides the latest available data on environmental trends. Defra intends to publish data for all indicators by 2024.
The Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 is the first revision of the 25 Year Environment Plan. The full Outcome Indicator Framework will be reviewed in 2024 to evaluate its ongoing suitability and consideration of best available evidence. This review will also consider the framework’s alignment with the planned monitoring of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023.