Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her department will (a) make an assessment of the potential merits of a ban on the use of farrowing crates and (b) hold a public consultation on such a ban.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 March 2023 to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn, PQ UIN 173051.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to meet Target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework on working towards eliminating plastic pollution.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a leading voice in tackling plastic pollution and, as a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, we are calling for an ambitious target to end plastic pollution under a new legally binding treaty.
We have already banned or restricted a number of problematic plastic items, including single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, as well as microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. We will also ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and ban the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, from October 2023.
Through the Environment Act, the Government is bringing in a wide range of reforms, including a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and consistent recycling collections for every household and business in England.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Report Stage and Third Reading of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will take place.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The remaining stages of the Kept Animals Bill will take place when parliamentary time allows. The dates for the remaining Commons stages will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her timeline is for the banning of the (a) extraction and (b) commercial trade of peat.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows.
At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026.
Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence.
Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will not be time limited.
We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timeline is for the banning of all sales of horticultural peat.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows.
At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026.
Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence.
Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will not be time limited.
We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help restore peat bogs; and what targets she has set for peat bog restoration.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The England Peat Action Plan, published in May 2021, sets out a strategic framework to improve management and protection of both our upland and lowland peatlands. In the Net Zero Strategy, we committed to restore approximately 280,000 hectares of peatland in England by 2050. Government is currently funding peatland restoration through the Nature for Climate Fund, which aims to restore approximately 35,000 ha of peatland by 2025. This represents a tripling of historic average annual restoration levels.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) adding American XL bully dogs and their various cross breeds to the list of prohibited dogs, (b) bringing forward legislation making it illegal to import a dog with cropped ears from another country and (c) increasing sentences for people found guilty of selling illegal dog breeds.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We currently have no plans to add these breed types to Section 1 of Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or increase sentences for people found guilty of selling illegal dog breeds.
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill includes powers to introduce restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used, including proposals to ban the import of dogs with cropped ears and docked tails. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps to amend legislation on the welfare of farmed fish.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of an animal, including fish, for which that person is responsible.
As part of the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we are currently considering a number of improvements that could be made to the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing. To inform this work, we have asked the Animal Welfare Committee to update its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of banning the sale and distribution of live crabs and lobsters by online retailers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are considering carefully the implications of recognising in law the sentience of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. The Government currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a ban on the sale of live crabs and lobsters online.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the results of the consultation on commonly littered single use plastic items will be published.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government response to the consultation was published on the 14 January 2022.
Following overwhelming support from respondents, from October 2023 we will introduce legislation banning the supply to the end user of single use plastic plates, trays, bowls, except when used as packaging, and banning the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers, in England.