Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 consider the potential impact of trends in the number of small, local abattoirs on the operations of livestock farms as part of the Farming Profitability Review.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In conducting her review, Baroness Minette Batters is considering implications for all farming sectors (including livestock), regions, and the different stages of the food supply chain. Minette has written an open letter to farmers and growers to be collated by relevant sector and trade groups to consider three barriers to profitability and three corresponding solutions for returns by 11 July. She has ongoing engagement with livestock sector groups convened by the Department and relevant trade unions. We expect small abattoirs to be considered as part of this.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 trends in the number of abattoirs on (a) food security and (b) local food supply chains.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of abattoirs to national food security, local supply chains and rural communities. We remain committed to maintaining a resilient and sustainable meat processing sector.
While the sector has faced and continues to face a wide range of challenges in recent years, our national abattoir network remains resilient and continues to deliver high-quality meat products that are fundamental to feeding the nation and maintaining a strong export market.
We continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector in addressing both the challenges and opportunities they face.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 use of (a) mobile abattoirs and (b) farmer-assisted slaughter on (i) costs for livestock farmers and (ii) animal stress.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A mobile slaughter facility must be approved on the premises on which it is to operate. Currently there is one mobile abattoir in England and two Food Standards Agency (FSA) approved sites it can operate from. Mobile abattoirs may offer benefits in certain localised or remote settings and in reduced transport times for animals. There are operational and regulatory constraints, and throughput is low and as such their wider application across the industry is limited.
Other than mobile slaughter facilities, the only forms of slaughter allowed on farm are emergency slaughter, which is strictly defined in the legislation, and slaughter by the animal’s owner for their own private domestic consumption. In both circumstances FSA have set out requirements on their website. No recent assessment of costs to farmers has been made for mobile or on farm slaughter.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 implementing a graduated regulatory system for smaller scale abattoirs operating within smaller distribution areas on (a) movement of and (b) stress to livestock.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting a resilient food supply chain and reducing journey times for livestock, which minimises the risk of welfare issues arising during transport. However, to date there has been no formal assessment of the potential impact of implementing a graduated regulatory system for smaller-scale abattoirs operating within smaller distribution areas.
Defra remains committed to working with industry and the Food Standards Agency to explore how the current regulatory framework can better support smaller operators while maintaining high standards of food safety and animal welfare. Ongoing efforts, such as reviewing Official Veterinarian attendance requirements and introducing exception reporting to reduce administrative burdens, reflect this commitment.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 implications for his policies of (a) the inequality of access to nature in England and (b) that a fifth of English constituencies have no Right to Roam at all.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We also recognise that access to nature is currently inequitable across England, with some groups such as those from lower socio-economic backgrounds particularly disadvantaged. This is why we committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space, and to reduce barriers to access. We are already taking forward initiatives to help us deliver this, including new initiatives such as the river walks and national forests manifesto commitments and existing initiatives such as completing the King Charles III England Coast Path and upgrading the Coast to Coast trail across the north of England.
The last Labour Government introduced the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provides the public a right of access to large parts of the English countryside. The 8% figure of publicly accessible land does not include the thousands of green spaces (e.g. parks) that are available to the public. Most of the nation's forests managed by Forestry England (more than 253,000 hectares) have been dedicated as open access land.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 impact of sourcing flour for the public sector from certified regenerative farms on achieving Net Zero by 2050.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to harnessing the purchasing power of the procurement food supply chain to set the tone in delivering our wider ambitions on net zero, sustainability, animal welfare, economic growth and nutrition and health. Over the next year, for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of prioritizing sourcing flour for the public sector from certified regenerative farms to help achieve Net Zero by 2050.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to harnessing the purchasing power of the procurement food supply chain to set the tone in delivering our wider ambitions on net zero, sustainability, animal welfare, economic growth and nutrition and health. Over the next year, for the first time ever, the government will review food currently bought in the public sector and where it is bought from. This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support farmers to produce more home grown wheat while meeting (a) net zero targets, (b) the targets outlined in the Environment Act 2021 and (c) other environmental commitments.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to reducing emissions in the farming sector. The transition goes hand in hand with food security and farm productivity. For wheat in 2023, the UK was 96% self-sufficient. We will support farmers to adopt low carbon farming practices, increasing the carbon stored on their land while boosting profitability.
Defra’s flagship crop breeding programme, the crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs), funds research to develop crop varieties that are more productive; sustainable; and have greater resilience against a changing climate, including drought tolerance. The latest investment - £15 million over 5 years - covers five crop types, including wheat. The GINs have already successfully identified genetic traits to improve resilience to climate change and common pests and diseases; and the programme is working closely with breeders to incorporate these traits into UK crop varieties.
On 25 February the legislation needed to implement the Precision Breeding Act for plants in England was laid in Parliament and through a new Farming Innovation Programme thematic competition, we have announced £12.5 million to help deliver the practical benefits of precision breeding technology to farmers. This will help transform the plant breeding sector, including potentially supporting more drought resilient cereals.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce UK reliance on imported wheat for milling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
British farmers are world-leaders and know their own land best - carefully planning their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy. Harvested production of wheat in 2023 was just under 13.9 million tonnes, which represents average UK production.
Food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production and ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply. In 2023, domestically produced wheat accounted for 83% of the wheat used in the milling grist. Due to environmental and climate conditions the UK milling industry require a certain level of imports of high protein milling wheat year on year to meet consumer demand.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 Animal Health and Welfare Pathway on level of use of cages for farmed animals.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway has made grants available to improve the health and welfare of livestock. The grants have been codesigned with farmers, academics, vets and industry representatives. We continue to work with the industry on how the Pathway can encourage cage free systems of farming.