Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy that payments to farmers in Northern Ireland will be comparable to Common Agricultural Policy payments after 2022.
Answered by George Eustice
Following the Bew Review, the Government has confirmed that it will not simply apply the Barnett formula to changes in Defra funding beyond this Parliament and has committed to developing an approach on future (i.e. after 2022) funding allocations, recognising that agriculture policy is and will remain devolved. Longer term discussions between the Government and the devolved administrations will be about ensuring allocations are fair and that no farmers in any part of the UK gain an unfair competitive advantage.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support the Government will provide to farmers in Northern Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Eustice
As a responsible Government, we have been working with our DAERA colleagues to minimise any disruption to farmers in the event of a no deal.
We have made it clear that we will support vulnerable sectors through Government intervention in a no deal, should this be necessary. We will be monitoring the sectors which may be exposed to short-term difficulties as a result of Exit closely to identify early signs of market disturbance, allowing us to intervene swiftly if necessary.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the large supermarket chains on reducing the amount of single-use plastics they sell in favour of reusable containers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) sets out our approach to reducing the use of single-use plastics. The Secretary of State met with major supermarket retailers on 25 September and discussed the impact of the reforms set out in the RWS, including a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers and reform of packaging waste regulations.
In April last year, the Waste and Resources Action Plan and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched their world-leading UK Plastics Pact, with support from the Government, and all major supermarkets have signed up to it. The Pact brings these organisations together with four key targets for 2025 that aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated. This includes action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging items. Our proposed reforms will support supermarkets in achieving those targets.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the public to (a) reduce and (b) recycle food waste.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food waste is a financial, environmental and moral issue. The UK currently produces 10 million tonnes of food waste every year, and 70% of food waste comes from households who waste 1/5 of what they buy. This amounts to a £810 per year cost to an average family.
(a) Action needs to be taken to reduce waste in our homes. The Resources and Waste Strategy, published in December 2018, outlined our continued support for the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s citizen food waste strategy to reduce food waste in our homes, for example through the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. In addition, the Food Waste Action Week will run between 13 - 19 January 2020. The week will focus on raising awareness of the impacts of food waste as an urgent issue.
b) Following support at consultation, the draft legislation in the Environment Bill (https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-20/environment/documents.html) stipulates that a core set of materials, including food waste, is to be collected for recycling from households by all local authorities in England from 2023. This legislation also stipulates that businesses and other organisations will be required to separate food waste from residual waste for recycling from 2023. Alongside clear communication, this will reduce the quantity of food waste sent to landfill and increase the amount recycled.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Cabinet colleagues on the introduction of 40 per cent tariffs on meat products from the EU in the event that the EU introduces such tariffs on UK meat products when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase the volume of meat produce from Northern Ireland that is sold in the other constituent parts of the UK.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is his policy to allocate payments to farmers that are comparable to Common Agricultural Policy payments after 2022.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to safeguard agricultural jobs after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 prevent domestic animals being harmed and exploited in circuses.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 regulations) came into force on 1 October 2018. The regulations require anyone in England who is in the business of keeping or training animals (regardless of whether they are domestic or wild kept animals) for exhibition, educational or entertainment purposes, including within a circus, to be licensed by the relevant local authority.
The regulations include powers for local authorities to inspect the premises where the animals are kept to ensure minimum welfare standards are being maintained. In addition, all kept animals including those in a circus are protected by the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. If anyone considers that an animal in a circus is suffering or its welfare is being compromised then they should report it to the local authority who have powers under the 2006 Act to investigate, or to the RSPCA who will also investigate such matters.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 prevent people giving away dogs online to tackle the dog fighting industry.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government abhors the mistreatment of animals, including organised dog fighting. It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to be involved in or to promote animal fighting including dog fighting. The Government has announced it will increase the maximum custodial penalty for animal cruelty, including animal fighting, from six months to five years’ imprisonment and legislation will be introduced as soon as possible.
In relation to online advertising of pets and other animals, the Government has worked with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG - a group of animal welfare, veterinary and animal keeping interests) who promote the responsible advertising of pet animals. Five online animal adverting platforms have adopted PAAG’s minimum standards for advertising animals which are endorsed by the Government. The minimum standards include that the websites run automated checks for key words and terms such as banned dog breeds, and filter for misleading or inappropriate adverts which are then removed. The websites must exclude any advert where there is a reasonable concern for the health and welfare of the animal involved and provide a clearly visible function for purchasers to report illegal or inappropriate adverts. The Government will continue to work with PAAG to encourage more online advertising platforms to sign up to PAAG’s minimum standards.