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 plans to take to increase the number of Blue Flag beaches in the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Blue Flag is an international award of the Foundation for Environmental Education for beaches and marinas which meet a range of criteria. Blue Flag is independent of Government and in England is administered by Keep Britain Tidy. There are four criteria for a Blue Flag:
Water quality - beaches must be classified as Excellent under the Bathing Water Directive
Environmental education and information
Environmental management
Safety and services
The Government has made clear that we will keep working to improve our environment and make sure it is protected for future generations. The 25 Year Environmental Plan sets out our commitment to continue to improve the cleanliness of our waters.
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 he has met representatives of the Ulster Farmers' Union since the referendum on the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Eustice
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from all of the devolved administrations. Last year the Secretary of State met representatives from the Ulster Farmers’ Union at the Antrim Show in July. The Secretary of State also chaired a roundtable discussion on 28 September, attended by stakeholders including those from the Ulster Farmers’ Union.
I also met with representatives from the devolved administrations on 21 March, at one of a series of roundtable meetings held during our consultation, Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit, which closed on 8 May. A report of the findings of the consultation will be published in due course.
The Government has committed to work closely with the devolved administrations and stakeholders to deliver an approach that works for the whole of the UK and reflects the individual needs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require all animal owners to hold a licence to own an animal.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government has taken many steps to improve the welfare of animals, such as introducing legislation that will make it compulsory for all slaughterhouses to have CCTV; compulsory microchipping of all dogs; new laws to improve welfare standards in pet shops, dog breeding establishments, riding establishments, boarding establishments and in the exhibiting of animals; updating codes of practice for the welfare of cats, dogs, horses and meat chickens; and we will also be increasing the maximum penalty for animal cruelty offences tenfold from six months’ imprisonment to five years’ imprisonment. The Government therefore considers that there is no need to introduce a licensing scheme along the lines proposed.
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, how much revenue has been raised by the plastic carrier bag levy since the introduction of that levy.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
In total the charge has raised approximately £95 million from retailers since it was introduced in October 2015. The vast majority of the proceeds have been donated to a range of good causes covering the arts, education, environment, health, heritage and sports as well as local causes chosen by customers or staff.
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 his Department has a policy on supporting food manufacturers to sell their produce abroad.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government is committed to working with the food and drink industry, both in the UK and overseas, to raise the international profile and reputation of UK food and drink. In 2016 we launched a strategy entitled ‘International Action Plan for Food and Drink 2016 – 2020’, and last year we introduced the Food is GREAT campaign. This campaign is focused on helping food and drink companies of all sizes from across the UK to export. It runs campaigns in a range of priority markets and aims to ensure strong global recognition of UK excellence in food and drink. Food is GREAT is delivered in partnership with the Department for International Trade, VisitBritain and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In 2017 UK food, feed and drink exports were worth £22 billion, an increase of 7.7% on 2016. In recent years UK food and drink exporting has been a success story and it will continue to be a Government priority. We see exports as an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable.
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, how many farmers received the Single Farm Payment in 2017.
Answered by George Eustice
The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) replaced the Single Payment Scheme from 2015. We have interpreted the question as relating to a BPS scheme year, rather than calendar year.
The payment window for making payments under BPS 2017 opened on 1st December 2017 and runs until the end of June 2018.
Of the 86,015 applications received for BPS 2017, 85,039 are deemed valid for payment. As of 27 March 2018, 81,079 claims had been paid. Of these, 76,911 were paid in December 2017.
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, how many recycling centres are there in (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The numbers of household waste recycling centres reported to Government by local authorities in a) England is 685 and in b) Wales is 84.
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 his Department is taking steps to support the removal of graffiti tagging to clean up (a) towns and (b) cities in the UK.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
We have recently increased the fixed penalties that local authorities can issue for littering, graffiti and fly-posting. From 1 April 2018, the maximum fixed penalty will nearly double from £80 to £150, and the default penalty will increase from £75 to £100. From April 2019, the minimum fixed penalty will also increase from £50 to £65.
Councils retain the income from these Fixed Penalty Notices, which must be spent on their functions relating to keeping land and highways of litter and refuse (including enforcement), and enforcement against graffiti and fly-posting offences. We are clear that any enforcement action must be proportionate and in the public interest.
Graffiti removal is also typical of the types of projects assigned to offenders taking part in Community Payback schemes. Community Rehabilitation Companies are responsible for assigning offenders who have been sentenced to carry out unpaid work as part of their community sentences to specific work assignments, so it would be for local councils to work with the relevant Community Rehabilitation Company to arrange this.
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 plans his Department has to support the reduction of excess packaging when purchasing products online.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations already place a legal obligation on UK businesses that make or use packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they place on the market is recovered and recycled. This creates an incentive for all companies to minimise their packaging as this will reduce their costs in complying with the Regulations.
However, we have committed to exploring changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme. This will look at all aspects of the regime, including mechanisms to incentivise better design for packaging and minimise its use.
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 plans to take to help farmers affected by heavy falls of snow in March 2018.
Answered by George Eustice
The Government recognises the challenges faced by farmers during the recent adverse weather conditions. The main difficulties appear to have been with feed deliveries, milk collections and collection of fallen stock. To assist farmers, Government authorised extensions to the normal driving time limits and agreed that the collection of fallen stock could be delayed. We continue to monitor the situation with the National Fallen Stock Company.