Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether data collected through his Department’s farm practices survey informs the assessment of progress on meeting legally binding targets set out in the Environment Act 2021.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Reporting against statutory targets is being developed primarily through data on activities that farmers have volunteered to do as part of schemes. Defra uses survey data, including the results from the farm practices survey, to build assumptions and understand more about land that has not been entered into schemes.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish regulations to implement Schedule 17 of the Environment Act 2021 to introduce a due diligence scheme for products of illegal deforestation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation, and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 19 September 2024 to Question 4844 on Land Use, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of establishing a national land use authority to work on a cross-departmental basis on the proposed land use framework for the purpose of integrating government priorities on (a) housing, (b) energy infrastructure, (c) farming, (d) community ownership and (e) other related matters.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will publish a consultation on land use to inform the publication of a Land Use Framework for England. The land use framework will support farmers and nature recovery, based on an evidence base and spatial analysis. We will set out our approach to governance in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by the Soil Association entitled Stop Killing our Rivers, published on 12 March 2024.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The levels of water pollution are unacceptable. Cleaning up England’s rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the Government. Working with farmers to reduce agricultural pollution is key to delivering against this priority.
We continue to work with farmers through a suite of proportionate and effective regulations, advice and incentives to deliver improvements.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 make an assessment of the potential (a) impact of agricultural run off on and (b) merits of introducing a water protection zone for the river Wye.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The River Wye is one of Britain’s most important, iconic rivers. We share concerns about its declining condition and the impact of agricultural pollution.
Cleaning up our rivers is one of this Government's top priorities. We are working closely with the Welsh Government to tackle agriculture pollution and restore the river's health.