Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
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 help support (a) businesses and (b) homeowners who were affected by the recent flooding in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On Saturday 6th January the Government announced a significant package of support that will be available to areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Henk.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has activated the Flood Recovery Framework and its package of support measures include;
Following approval from Defra’s Secretary of State, Defra has now also activated the Property Floods Resilience (PFR) Grant scheme and the Farming Recovery Fund.
The PFR Scheme is a package of funding for property owners directly flooded by a specific weather event that grants them up to £5,000 per property to install PFR measures. The Farming Recovery Fund pays out to farmers with uninsurable damage for grants of up to £25,000 for repair and reinstatement costs.
The PFR Scheme will be administered through local authorities, who will confirm application process to eligible households and businesses in the coming weeks.
Nottinghamshire County Council are eligible for the scheme and households and businesses interested in funding may contact them directly.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
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 ensure the provisions in The National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England are being upheld.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Pollinators are a priority for this Government, and we are taking action alongside many partners to implement the National Pollinator Strategy’s provisions. We are addressing the pressures on wild and managed pollinators, restoring and creating habitat for them to thrive, raising awareness across society and strengthening the evidence base.
To manage pressures on pollinators associated with the use of pesticides, we operate a strict system of regulation, including a thorough risk assessment by our expert regulator, the Health and Safety Executive. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks – including to pollinators - are not authorised. With the Devolved Administrations, we are also consulting on the revised National Action Plan for Sustainable Use of Pesticides. This lays out how we intend to support the uptake of integrated pest management, including to reduce risks to pollinators.
Our Healthy Bees Plan 2030, published in November 2020, works to improve honeybee health through better husbandry and knowledge sharing. The National Bee Unit carries out around 6,500 risk-based apiary inspections per year in England and Wales.
On habitat restoration and creation, Natural England estimates that the area of land covered by agri-environment scheme options delivering pollen and nectar for pollinators increased by 30,000 hectares between 2014 and 2019. We are also supporting nature recovery through our Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with three of the projects awarded in round 1 focusing specifically on pollinators.
We are building on these measures and projects in the design of the new Environmental Land Management scheme, which will help improve biodiversity and species’ status, and enable many more farmers and land managers to take positive action for pollinators and other farm wildlife.
To strengthen the evidence base, we work closely with leading academics and have introduced a national pollinator monitoring scheme across the whole of the UK, with trend estimates published annually as official statistics. To raise awareness and highlight the action that people take across the country, Defra coordinates a ‘Bees’ Needs’ campaign including public events, best practice advice and awards.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
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 (a) reviewing and (b) mitigating the effects on communities of recent flooding in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Nottinghamshire saw one of wettest Autumns on record and received almost three times the monthly average of rainfall from Storm Dennis. More recently, flooding from thunderstorms in June 2020 impacted similar locations, including Trowell and Beeston. The Environment Agency has been working closely with all concerned parties in Nottinghamshire’s local community, and particularly with local councillors from Broxtowe Borough Council in the Trowell area, to better understand flooding related issues.
In July 2018 the Government published the Surface Water Management Action Plan (SWMAP). This SWMAP sets out the steps the Government is taking, with the Environment Agency and others, to manage the risk of surface water flooding. As part of this, in July 2019, the Government commissioned an independent review of the arrangements for determining responsibility for surface water and drainage assets.
The Government is currently investing £2.6 billion to deliver more than 1,000 flood defence projects to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021. In Nottinghamshire, we have invested £38.8 million in flood defences between 2010 and 2019, providing better protection for around 14,400 homes. At the Budget in March, it was confirmed that Government will double the amount it invests in the flood and coastal defence programme in England to £5.2 billion over six years from 2021, better protecting a further 336,000 properties, including 290,000 homes.
Asked by: Darren Henry (Conservative - Broxtowe)
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 support farmers to adapt their business models during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
The Government wants a profitable and resilient farming sector. We will always champion our farmers and growers by supporting them to produce more of our great British food and drink, providing a reliable and sustainable food supply to the British public.
At the outset of the pandemic, we introduced a number of measures to support our farming sectors through this difficult period. These included relaxing drivers’ hours, temporarily relaxing certain elements of competition law and a dairy response fund to help those dairy farmers most in need of support. We have also worked closely with the dairy and horticulture sectors to address supply chain and labour issues.
We have been in close discussion with banks to ensure the farming sector has access to financial support to ease cashflow problems during this period, including through the HMG backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBIL), and the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
The Agriculture Bill provides the legislative basis for longer term transition to support investment in a more productive and sustainable farming sector.
It will allow us to introduce ambitious new land management schemes in England, based on the principle of "public money for public goods", so that we can reward farmers and land managers who protect our environment, improve animal welfare and produce high quality food in a more sustainable way. The Bill will also help farmers to stay competitive, with measures to increase productivity and invest in new technology.
Last week, Defra and the Department for International Trade launched a package of support that will offer immediate support to help agriculture, food and drink businesses grow their trade activity overseas. This will help producers, manufacturers and agri-tech companies across the food supply chain, from farm to fork.