Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 socio-economic impact of proposed quota adjustments on the (a) South West fishing industry and (b) English Channel fisheries.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Consultations with the EU to agree fishing opportunities for 2025 began in November and are expected to conclude in December 2024. A final assessment of quota changes, as a result of these consultations, will be published in spring next year.
As per requirements of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS), the UK uses the best available scientific advice in fisheries management and negotiations, this includes the annual advice from the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) on fishing opportunities. Accepting the ICES advised headline advice in full, would lead to a reduction in UK quota in the South-West of England and English Channel compared to 2024.
However, in seeking to appropriately balance all the fisheries objectives set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the JFS, the UK will in some cases seek to agree an allocation with the EU, above that advised by ICES, for example for a 0 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) stock where a bycatch-only TAC may be required to prevent adverse impacts on the fishing industry, within sustainable limits.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the International Council of the Exploration of the Sea's publication entitled Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort, Celtic Seas and Greater North Sea ecoregions, published on 28 June 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra routinely use the best available scientific advice, including that provided by the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), within international fisheries negotiations, where catch limits are agreed on shared stocks, and in wider policy development The best available scientific advice is considered as part of our policy approach which seeks to balance obligations and objectives, as set out in the Fisheries Act 2020 and the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS).
In line with the JFS, making use of ICES advice, the UK seeks to achieve greater environmental sustainability and provide profitable outcomes for the industry including aiming to increase over the medium term the total number of stocks fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield. As part of the annual negotiation process, Defra officials provide Ministers with an assessment of how the UK negotiating position on fishing opportunities balances these objectives on a stock-by-stock basis.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 review the proposed reduction in the sole fishery in the Western Channel.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There is no reduction in the International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) advice for Western Channel (7e) sole, from 2024 to 2025. For the 2024 fishing year, the ICES advice was 1057t, for the 2025 fishing year it is 1151t. This is an 8.9% increase.
In terms of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) which was set for 2024, although ICES advised a 24% cut, the UK and EU agreed a smaller (15%) reduction, in order to mitigate the short-term economic risks potentially consequent of a such a cut.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency guidance entitled Water companies: environmental permits for storm overflows and emergency overflows, published on 13 September 2018, how exceptional circumstances, in which the use of storm overflows is permitted, are defined.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The guidance document referred to in the question does not define ‘exceptional circumstances’ for storm overflows.
‘Exceptional circumstances’ were not referenced in either the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive or the regulations which transposed this Directive in England and Wales: the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994. The term ‘exceptional circumstances’ was, however, used in relation to storm overflows by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the European Commission v UK (Re Storm Water Overflows) case, where ‘situations such as unusually heavy rainfall’ were characterised as ‘exceptional circumstances’.
In its 2018 Storm Overflow Assessment Framework guidance, the Environment Agency (EA) sets out a methodology for assessing ‘exceptional rainfall’.
Defra, the EA and Ofwat are currently reviewing and updating the guidance on the regulation of storm overflows and sewerage. This will include further clarification on how 'exceptional circumstances' may be defined.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his expected timetable is for implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to deliver standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently assessing how best to implement its ambitions on sustainable drainage, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 water industry invests in proven nature-based solutions for natural flood management.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises that nature and catchment-based solutions in the water sector have an important role to play. The strategic policy statement in 2022 set out the governments priorities for Ofwat. This set out that water companies should significantly increase their use of nature and catchment-based solutions to achieve multiple benefits for the environment and the public including natural flood management. We expect companies and regulators to work towards delivering these solutions as a matter of preference.
The Working with Natural Processes (NFM) Evidence Directory provides natural flood management information and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-with-natural-processes-to-reduce-flood-risk.The Environment Agency is producing new long-term investment scenarios to quantify the benefits of natural flood management for the next 50 to 100 years in England.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to reintroduce the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill; and whether he plans to ban the use of snares.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto, we will bring an end to the use of snare traps. We are considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) economic, (b) social and (c) employment factors are taken into consideration in fisheries consultations between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As an independent coastal State the UK engages in annual fisheries consultations with the EU to set fishing opportunities for shared stock. In doing so the UK seeks to balance the fisheries objectives as laid out in the Fisheries Act 2020 in accordance with the policies of the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). In particular, in line with the JFS, the UK seeks to provide certainty and profitable outcomes for the industry.