Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to provide for the supply of (a) healthy and (b) British-produced food to public sector organisations.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is adopting an ambitious and transformational approach to public sector food and catering. We want the public sector to lead by example, championing local food and farmers, and healthy, sustainable produce.
We have a manifesto commitment to encourage the public sector to buy British, to support our farmers and reduce environmental costs. To help meet this commitment, we will soon be consulting on proposed changes to the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF). The consultation will seek views on ways to promote local, sustainable, healthier food in the public sector, open public sector procurement to a wider range of businesses and increase the transparency of food supply chains.
Organisations in scope are required to apply the GBSF as per the Procurement Policy Note published in November 2014. The GBSF also includes best practice standards which are recommended but not required. We will consider whether future reforms to regulation are needed to unlock the full potential of public sector food and catering.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 merits of a ban on the import of cats which have been declawed.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 merits of a ban on the import of kittens under six months of age.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. The number of non-compliant cats seized at the border is much lower than for dogs, for example, in 2020 we seized and detained 17 kittens (under 15 weeks) compared to 543 puppies.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of a ban on the import of pregnant cats that are more than 42 days pregnant..
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June and is progressing through Parliament. The Bill includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.
In August 2021, the Government launched an 8-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. The consultation proposed to maintain the existing requirements for cats. This is because there is currently limited evidence that there is a significant illegal trade in cats or significant numbers of low welfare movements. In 2020 no pregnant cats were seized and detained.
The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats was the right approach. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary in due course. This will allow us to take on board the views of the public and interested groups in order to shape our future policy.
We will continue to work closely with stakeholders prior to the introduction of the legislation, to ensure that our final measures are well considered and led by the latest evidence.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the effective rollout of the Manchester Clean Air Zone.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have established an £880 million fund to support local authorities implementing measures to address nitrogen dioxide exceedances across England. We have provided a substantial £132 million from this Clean Air Fund to Greater Manchester authorities to help businesses and individuals upgrade to compliant vehicles. This is on top of providing £36 million to enable the implementation of the Clean Air Zone.
Decisions around the introduction of Clean Air Zones are the responsibility of local authorities. The Government has agreed to allow a strict, time limited pause for Greater Manchester to review their CAZ plans in light of COVID-19 impacts. This is under the agreement that they will submit a revised plan to comply with legal air pollution limits in the shortest possible timeframe by July. We have also agreed to share relevant data and to work closely with Greater Manchester authorities during this review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact of air pollution on new-born children.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Clean Air Strategy sets out the measures we are taking forward to reduce emissions of air pollutants from many sectors. In line with our duty in our landmark Environment Act, we will set a target to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) alongside a further long-term population exposure reduction target. This dual-target approach will tackle the highest concentrations and ensure continuous improvement across the country for all citizens, including pregnant women and new-born children.
We continue to work with local authorities to deliver legal levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), supported by £880 million of funding to develop and implement local air quality plans. This Government is also taking action across transport by supporting the switch to electric vehicles with £2.8 billion of investment, and £2 billion in funding for cycling and walking over this Parliament.
We are undertaking a comprehensive review of how we communicate air quality information to ensure that the public and vulnerable groups have what they need protect themselves and understand their impact on air quality.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to mitigate the impact of poor air quality on pregnant women.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Clean Air Strategy sets out the measures we are taking forward to reduce emissions of air pollutants from many sectors. In line with our duty in our landmark Environment Act, we will set a target to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) alongside a further long-term population exposure reduction target. This dual-target approach will tackle the highest concentrations and ensure continuous improvement across the country for all citizens, including pregnant women and new-born children.
We continue to work with local authorities to deliver legal levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), supported by £880 million of funding to develop and implement local air quality plans. This Government is also taking action across transport by supporting the switch to electric vehicles with £2.8 billion of investment, and £2 billion in funding for cycling and walking over this Parliament.
We are undertaking a comprehensive review of how we communicate air quality information to ensure that the public and vulnerable groups have what they need protect themselves and understand their impact on air quality.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the compatibility of Government environmental and planning policies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) work closely on planning policy to ensure it aligns with our ambitious environmental commitments. This includes supporting our statutory targets to be set through the Environment Act 2021.
Local Nature Recovery Strategies and biodiversity net gain are just two of the many ways in which we are ensuring greater complementarity. Public bodies, including Local Planning Authorities, will need to have regard to Local Nature Recovery Strategies, a new England-wide system of spatial strategies to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits. Defra and DLUHC are also working closely together on the implementation of biodiversity net gain to ensure it is fully integrated into the new planning system, including in Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to ensure that Local Nature Recovery Strategies (a) cover the entire country and (b) successfully evolve into a national network.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Act (section 104:2) requires there to be Local Nature Recovery Strategies covering the whole of England with no gaps and no overlaps. The Government anticipates that there will be around 50 Local Nature Recovery Strategies at roughly county scale. Precise boundaries will be established by the Defra Secretary of State on a case-by-case basis so that every Local Nature Recovery Strategy covers an area that is both large enough to plan for nature recovery effectively and meaningful to local people. We are currently engaged in a process with local stakeholders to appoint responsible authorities to lead the preparation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
We recognise the importance of collaboration across Local Nature Recovery Strategy areas, and we are looking at ways to best support them to become a coherent national network to support nature recovery.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 ability of local authorities to deliver their Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of having sufficient capacity in Local Authorities to prepare and help deliver Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) and has committed to funding all new burdens on local authorities from the Environment Act 2021.
We have undertaken assessments of capacity requirements for LNRSs alongside other key policies, including Biodiversity Net Gain. Our five LNRS pilots especially have informed our understanding of resource requirements for local authorities, the types of skills, as well as the amount of time required to prepare LNRSs. We have published these findings in a lessons learned report.
In addition, we have worked with local authority representative groups, and eNGOs to understand local authorities' current readiness.
LNRSs are intended to inform a number of policy areas and will therefore be delivered through a variety of mechanisms and organisations operating in a complementary way. These could include mandatory biodiversity net gain, environmental land management schemes, the strengthened NERC duty on public bodies, private funding streams and use by local planning authorities, for example, in informing the preparation of local plans.