Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department and its agencies have made of the effect of residential gardens on biodiversity.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
There are a number of research studies that demonstrate the value of domestic gardens for wildlife. For example, a 2019 study led by the University of Bristol found that bees were more abundant in well managed gardens and allotments than most other urban land uses.
Under the National Pollinator Strategy the Government works with research, voluntary and private sector partners to develop advice so that everyone can provide and manage nesting and feeding habitat for bees and other insects in their gardens, window boxes, allotments or community gardens. We promote this advice through the “Bees’ Needs” website and through the annual “Bees’ Needs Week” campaign to celebrate and encourage nationwide action.
We are also addressing the needs of biodiversity in urban areas through plans to introduce a biodiversity net gain requirement. This will help to ensure that new developments include wildlife-friendly green spaces. The biodiversity metric that will be used to measure biodiversity net gain takes account of newly created gardens, so that this policy could help to incentivise the creation of gardens which have greater potential to become havens for local species.
We will continue to work in partnership with scientists and practitioners to review and improve the evidence base to inform our policy and we will be sharing examples of nature-friendly gardening during the 2019 Year of Green Action.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to maintain animal rights through legislation after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government has been very clear that leaving the EU will not lead to a lowering of our high animal welfare standards, and is making good on our commitment to make the UK a world leader in the care and protection of animals as we leave the EU.
Our regulatory system will offer at least the same level of assurance of animal welfare following our departure from the EU as it does now. The EU Withdrawal Act will ensure that existing EU standards are maintained once we leave the EU. For instance, existing bans on imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone beef have been transferred into UK law and will remain in place after we leave.
We are actively exploring options for strengthening the UK system moving forward. These include plans to increase maximum penalties for animal cruelty from six months’ to five years’ imprisonment. We are also considering what more can be done to improve animal welfare standards in the context of our future agricultural policy and are looking to control exports of live animals for slaughter.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 mitigate the effects of tech farming initiatives on the livelihood of people employed in the farming industry.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK is home to world-leading farmers who have been producing high-quality food while playing a vital role in protecting the environment and keeping our rural areas and communities economically healthy. When we leave the EU the possibilities for healthy growth are all the greater and the Government is keen to work with industry so that agriculture is an exciting and forward looking industry that attracts talented people. The use of the latest and emerging technologies will play an important role in creating a profitable farming sector.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 continuation of UK clean air policy as provided for in EU Directive 2008/50/EC after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government is fully committed to improving air quality and we published our new Clean Air Strategy this month, which has been praised by the World Health Organisation as ‘an example for the rest of the world to follow’.
We have already put into statute targets for 2030 and have also made the necessary technical amendments through statutory instruments for continuity of legislation for after leaving the EU.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 introduce legislative proposals for statutory fisheries regulation to ensure a UK competitive advantage over the EU after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The Fisheries Bill will provide the framework for the UK to take control of our fisheries and to deliver much needed reforms that better suit our fishing industries.
The Withdrawal Act ensures that that we have fully workable regimes in place from Day 1 and the Fisheries Bill will provide England with the necessary tools to deliver much needed reforms once we leave the EU.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to reduce plastic waste in England.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Our Resources and Waste Strategy, which we will publish in the autumn, will explain how we will eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. The Government intends to ban the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. There are also plans to introduce a deposit return scheme in England. Both approaches are subject to consultation. This builds on the success of the carrier bag charge which has taken 9 billion carrier bags out of circulation. As stated in the 25 Year Environment Plan, we will review the producer responsibility schemes.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 establish a sugar policy to provide equity in the sugar market for producers after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
British sugar beet producers are among the most competitive in the world and already compete effectively at world prices.
The government also recognises the importance of the sugar cane refining industry in providing competition in the market in the UK and the importance of sugar cane production for some developing countries, especially those within the Commonwealth.
On leaving the EU the UK government will be free to decide its own trade policies.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to increase domestic recycling of waste produced in the UK which had previously been exported abroad.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
Waste should be treated according to the waste hierarchy, which places prevention at the top as it offers the best outcome for the environment, followed by preparing for re-use, recycling, other recovery and then disposal.
China’s decision underlines the need for progress in all these areas. We must reduce the amount of waste we produce overall and in particular the amount we export to be dealt with elsewhere. In our 25 Year Environment we outlined that we will develop our producer responsibility schemes, to better incentivise producers to design more resource efficient products and to ensure we recycle as much as possible.