Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on plans to tackle labour shortages in the fishing industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 adequacy of the labour supply in the fishing industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 implications for his policies of the ability of the fishing industry to attract seasonal workers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on achieving its target to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are making progress to address this concerning issue. In December 2018, the UK Government published its Resources and Waste Strategy. This sets out how we will achieve a circular economy for plastic and achieve our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Our goal is to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste (including plastic) - by following the principles of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – to keep plastic in circulation for longer. We will do this by making producers more responsible for the plastic they make with our incoming Collection and Packaging Reforms.
Single-use plastics are a particularly problematic type of plastic that makes up much of our waste. To get us closer to our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042, we have introduced bans on the supply of many unnecessary single-use plastic items. We implemented one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and brought in measures to restrict the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds in October 2020. The use of single-use carrier bags has been reduced in the main supermarkets by over 98% with our five pence charge. In May 2021 we increased the charge to 10 pence and extended it to all retailers to build on its success to date and create a level playing field for all businesses. In October 2023 we introduced a ban on the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and ban the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/ or materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products.
We are preparing for the fourth round of negotiations in April, to develop a new legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution. As a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, the UK is pushing for an ambitious and effective UN Treaty to address the problem of plastic waste globally.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress he has made in negotiations of a new international, legally binding plastics treaty.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 set an ambitious timetable for the agreement of a new international, legally binding plastics treaty by end of 2024. The fourth round of negotiations (INC-4) will take place in Ottawa from 23 – 29 April which will continue discussions on the draft treaty text.
The UK is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of over 60 countries calling for an ambitious and effective treaty. The UK has been a vocal proponent of a strong and comprehensive agreement that covers the whole lifecycle of plastics, including restraining and reducing the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels, promoting a circular economy for plastic, managing plastic waste in an environmentally sound and safe manner, and preventing and reducing releases of plastics into the environment.
The Government is committed to securing an agreement on the text by the end of the year and is working closely with other Parties and stakeholders to facilitate progress at INC-4. In particular, the UK co-led with Brazil an informal, technical work programme to support continued dialogues on how to identify chemicals and polymers of concern, and problematic plastic products within the treaty.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 protect landscapes with distinct literary heritage and value.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Much of England's culturally rich landscapes and the literary heritage they represent are found in our National Parks, The Broads and National Landscapes. These Protected Landscapes are already specifically designated and managed to conserve and enhance their natural beauty and important cultural associations, including relevant literature and the sites which inspired it, as key components of the natural beauty of the area.
Protected Landscapes are extensively protected as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework which gives ‘great weight’ to the landscape and scenic beauty of Protected Landscapes. In addition local authorities are able to formally identify areas of local landscape value in local plans and the historic literary importance of a place can already be taken into account in development decisions.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the sale of decapod crustaceans online where they are sent to consumers by post or courier while they are alive.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce such a ban.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason proposals on (a) bread consumption, (b) labelling and (c) marketing regulations were not included in her Department's consultation on Amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998, published on 1 September 2022.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 cover specific rules on the labelling and composition of bread and flour. HM Government and the Devolved Administrations committed to carry out a review of Bread and Flour Regulations across the United Kingdom. We published a UK-wide consultation on 1st September 2022 on proposed changes to the regulations, this is open for responses until 23rd November.
As part of the review Defra convened a technical working group made up of a wide range of relevant stakeholders to help identify and explore the issues around the regulations. The proposals included in the consultation address the most pressing aspects identified for change. These include the mandatory addition of folic acid to non-wholemeal flour to reduce neural tube defects in foetuses, and improvements to the legislation which will help reduce burdens for businesses while still protecting the health of consumers.
Rules on the labelling and marketing of food more broadly are covered in general labelling legislation, and the United Kingdom maintains high standards on the information provided on food labels. Some suggestions on labelling and marketing of bread and flour were felt to go beyond those specific areas and were deemed out of scope of this consultation exercise. However, an update of existing guidance around commonly used marketing terms across all foods is planned for the future. HM Government is committed to optimising the information that is available to consumers, and the Government Food Strategy sets out work that we will be taking forward on consumer information and transparency.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 ban nonessential per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances to help tackle chemicals of national concern under the Government’s 25-year Environment Plan.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
PFAS represent a group of thousands of chemicals, with hundreds used commercially across many sectors of industry and society. There is increasing evidence of the occurrence of PFAS in the environment and, once in the environment, PFAS are persistent. There is also growing concern regarding the risks to human health. Action has already been taken to ban or highly restrict specific PFAS both domestically and internationally. However, PFAS represent a very diverse group of chemicals with a wide range of uses for which safer and more sustainable alternatives are not yet available -- making this a very challenging issue to tackle.
Work is underway across government to help us assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources and potential risks to inform future policy and regulatory approaches. In the UK REACH Work Programme for 2021-22, Defra asked the EA and HSE to examine the risks posed by PFAS and develop a ‘Regulatory Management Options Analysis’ (RMOA). The RMOA will be published in due course and will make recommendations for risk management measures. Defra and the Devolved Administrations will carefully consider its recommendations to inform future PFAS policy, building on the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to tackle chemicals of concern.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 it his policy to introduce a specific plastic reduction target under the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We have no plans to set a target for the reduction in single use plastic. We want to set an Environment Act 2021 target in the area of resource efficiency and waste reduction that ensures a holistic view to waste and reduces waste overall. We believe that setting a wider reaching target that encompasses plastics as well as other materials will achieve the best environmental outcome as it will prevent switching to other materials which could have a greater environmental impact. To address the significant public concern towards plastic waste, HM Government is taking a range of measures that will contribute to reducing single-use plastic waste, including introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging. We also plan to publish HM Government response on our consultation to restrict further the number of single-use plastics placed on the market.
HM Government recently consulted upon a proposed Environment Act target to cut residual waste kg per capita by 50% by 2042 from 2019 levels. We received over 180,000 responses to the environmental target consultation from a range of individuals and organisations. As required by the Environment Act 2021 (EA2021), we are required to set a target on resources and waste. HM Government remains committed to the Environment Act 2021, and will publish ambitious, achievable, and robust targets soon.