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Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

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 Answer of 7 October 2019 Question 290620 on Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect on research outcomes of the culling of animals that are part of that research programme.

Answered by George Eustice

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s ongoing study of the wild badger population at Woodchester Park can adapt to assess any new impacts on the badger population, including from licensed badger culling taking place across Gloucestershire, which is in the Bovine TB High Risk Area of England. Woodchester Park’s work will continue to support policy and research in line with our TB strategy’s adaptive and evidence-based approach.


Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

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 Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 290620 on Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control, what steps she is taking to ensure that badgers from the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Woodchester Park research centre are not inadvertently killed in surrounding cull zones.

Answered by George Eustice

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s ongoing study of the wild badger population at Woodchester Park can adapt to assess any new impacts on the badger population, including from licensed badger culling taking place across Gloucestershire, which is in the Bovine TB High Risk Area of England. Woodchester Park’s work will continue to support policy and research in line with our TB strategy’s adaptive and evidence-based approach.


Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Monday 28th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

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 Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 290620 on Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control, whether it is her Department's policy that a marked badger from the Woodchester study area found in a cull zone would be shot.

Answered by George Eustice

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s ongoing study of the wild badger population at Woodchester Park can adapt to assess any new impacts on the badger population, including from licensed badger culling taking place across Gloucestershire, which is in the Bovine TB High Risk Area of England. Woodchester Park’s work will continue to support policy and research in line with our TB strategy’s adaptive and evidence-based approach.


Written Question
Agriculture: Subsidies
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 August 2019 to Question 280135 on Agriculture: Subsidies, if she will publish a list of the 46 pilots which have been signed up to the Environmental Land Management Scheme; and whether those pilots are receiving financial compensation for taking part in that scheme.

Answered by George Eustice

To support the development of Environmental Land Management Schemes, we are undertaking a number of tests and trials working with farmers and land managers to co-design elements of the new scheme. The work is being facilitated by a range of stakeholders, including farmer groups, representative bodies and non-governmental organisations, and covers a range of geographies and sectors. 46 proposals are currently being taken forward in phase 1 and we anticipate that a number of these will begin soon with Defra reimbursing agreed costs incurred in their delivery. We have received a further 200 proposals for phase 2. We will prioritise those proposals from phase 2 that fill gaps identified from the coverage of phase 1 proposals. We will communicate the results of our analysis of the phase 2 proposals to stakeholders later this month.


Written Question
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Statutory Instruments
Tuesday 8th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many statutory instruments her Department needs Parliament to pass before the UK leaves the EU on 31 October 2019.

Answered by George Eustice

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.


Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Monday 7th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will investigate reports of badger culling within the FERA Woodchester Park research centre.

Answered by George Eustice

I can confirm that no badger culling is taking place specifically within the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Woodchester Park research centre.


Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Monday 7th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions has she had with the Welsh Government on strategies for the eradication of bovine TB.

Answered by George Eustice

Regular meetings are held with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland to discuss bovine TB eradication strategies and ways forward to tackle the disease. These meetings involve both policy officials and Chief Veterinary Officers.


Written Question
Bovine Tuberculosis Strategy Review
Monday 7th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to publish its response to the Godray Report on bovine TB.

Answered by George Eustice

The Government response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s 2018 review of Defra’s Bovine TB eradication strategy will be published in due course.


Written Question
Tritium
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons there has been a change to permitted levels of gaseous tritium discharges at former Magnox Nuclear Stations as a result of the operation of the waste encapsulation plants.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency (EA) has been discussing with Magnox Ltd its intention to treat intermediate level waste (ILW) at the Berkeley Site, and at Hinkley Point A, by encapsulating it in concrete boxes. This is to make the waste safe for long term storage, and enable its subsequent disposal.

The need to apply for increased tritium limits arises from the heat generated during the encapsulation process driving off some of the tritium within the waste. Magnox Ltd anticipates that this may increase discharges of gaseous tritium above the low limit specified in Berkeley’s current environmental permit. While Magnox plans to apply to the EA to change this limit, the EA has not yet received any application from Magnox to increase the limit for gaseous tritium for this purpose.

The EA will only change the permit limit if it is satisfied that this is necessary and that people and the environment remain properly protected.

The EA will continue to keep local stakeholders informed of any developments with the Berkeley Site environmental permit, through the local Stakeholder Group.


Written Question
Farm Inspection and Regulation Review
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to publish its response to the Farm Inspection and Regulation Review, published on 13 December 2018.

Answered by George Eustice

We welcome the findings of the Farm Inspection and Regulation Review, including the notion of a changed regulatory culture encouraging constructive partnerships between Government and industry and a “shared endeavour” as it sets out. The Government will set out its response in due course.