Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 Department's policies of research presented to the Scottish Government on Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is aware of research papers published by Scot EID and have gathered further evidence through our own research and extensive engagement with farmers and industry.
Defra and the Welsh Government commissioned Harper Adams University to conduct an independent study of the two types of EID technology. This found fewer challenges associated with low frequency than ultra-high frequency technology. The findings of this study have now been published and can be found on Defra Science Search pages.
Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK. This is to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 implications for his policies on whether electronic identification technology for animals will be used in England and Wales of requirements to use low frequency electronic identification technology for animals in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials and the devolved Governments are working to deliver robust traceability across the UK and to ensure we are in line with the UK Internal Markets Act (2020) and can trade with the EU and internationally.
On 2 June, Defra announced its decision to use Low Frequency electronic identification technology for cattle in England.
Under the Windsor Framework, should Northern Ireland introduce electronic ID for cattle, it will be required to use the same Low Frequency technology in line with EU requirements.
Wales are yet to decide on which technology to implement.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 impact of the Scottish Government’s decision to use Ultra High Frequency electronic identification technology for animals on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Farming policy is a devolved matter. The Government has not conducted a formal assessment on the impact of the Scottish Government’s decision. Defra officials are working closely with the devolved Governments to ensure compliance with the UK internal markets Act (2020).
In the recent UK-EU joint statement, the government committed to building on the stable foundation of the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement to further reduce barriers to trade.
Moving goods between GB and NI will be easier, reducing the need for paperwork and checks due to the removal of SPS and other requirements.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining (a) bee and (b) pollinator populations on UK food production and what steps he is taking to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042.
For pollinator species, we are considering lessons learned from a recently completed review of our 2021-24 Pollinator Action Plan, which set out actions to address key risks to insect pollinator populations, including monitoring potential or emerging risks.
Although honeybees face many of the same environmental pressures as wild pollinators, their population is driven largely by the number of beekeepers willing and able to keep bees. Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are quite stable.
Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators, and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will support farmers and land managers to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity, and build resilience to climate change.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that farmers have low cost access for disposing of tractor tyres.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Every business that produces or deals with waste tyres has a legal duty of care to make sure that their waste is managed appropriately by an authorised person to ensure that risks to the environment are minimised. Any holder of end-of-life tractor tyres is able to check that someone is appropriately authorised to handle that waste through the Environment Agency's or their national equivalent environmental regulator's public register.
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to (a) regulate and (b) reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 April to Question UIN 45139.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of declining bee and pollinator populations on UK food production; and what steps he plans to take to promote pollinator-friendly farming practices.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to restoring and protecting nature. We are committed to halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and reversing species decline, reducing the risk of species extinction and restoring and creating more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.
For our pollinator species we are considering lessons learned from the recently completed review of our Pollinator Action Plan (PAP), which set out plans to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the National Pollinator Strategy over the last three-year period from 2021-24.
Figures from the annual UK Hive Count suggest that honey bee numbers are stable.
Healthy soils that are rich in nutrients and organic matter, abundant pollinators and clean water are essential for sustainable food production. We will provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase (a) funding and (b) other resources for enforcement agencies for the (i) detection and (ii) prevention of illegal meat imports at ports.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border Force is responsible for securing our borders and officers have powers to stop and search vehicles and passengers at ports and airports. Border Force may call on Port Health Authorities for assistance in seizing any illegal meat detected. Border Force is funded by the Home Office.
We are not complacent about illegal meat smuggling, which may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities
This includes Defra’s offer of funding to Dover Port Health Authority to support Border Force with enforcement in 2025/26.
The Secretary of State is also working with Home Office and Border Force on plans to seize the cars, vans, trucks and coaches used by criminal gangs to smuggle illegal meat into our country and crush them so they can’t be used again.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of microplastics in UK drinking water sources; and what steps he has taken to regulate and reduce microplastic pollution in the water supply chain.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Drinking water quality is a devolved matter and therefore I can only respond in relation to England.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published two research projects on microplastics in drinking water – one in January 2019 reviewing the potential risks from nanoparticles and microplastics and another in October 2022 looking at the removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes. This found that more than 99.99% of microplastic particles were removed through conventional drinking water treatment processes and that microplastics were present at very low levels in drinking water. Their contribution to total daily exposure, and presenting a potential risk to human health, was likely to be low or insignificant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also recommended that routine monitoring of microplastics in drinking water was not necessary at this time.
The DWI published a report in December 2024 recommending revisions to some of the parameters listed in the drinking water regulations.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 take steps to review the Border Target Operating Model to introduce mandatory spot checks on all vehicles entering the UK, in the context of illegal meat smuggling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Border Target Operating Model aims to mitigate sanitary and phytosanitary risks, while enabling the flow of legitimate goods through our ports and airports. We will continue to operate a compliance first approach enabling importers and the public to move compliant goods, backed up by robust, intelligence-led, enforcement controls on illegal activity.
We take illegal meat smuggling very seriously, as it may pose threats to animal health, food safety and public health. That is why we are working closely with the Home Office and the Food Standards Agency to tackle this issue with the support of Border Force, Port Health Authorities and local authorities.