Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the EU Withdrawal Agreement enables the UK to invoke Hague Preference during the implementation period.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Article 130(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement provides for the relative stability keys for the allocation of fishing opportunities to be maintained during the implementation period. This provision is intended to ensure that the UK’s share of quota cannot be reduced and that the UK will continue to be able to invoke Hague Preference during the implementation period.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the rabbit population of type 2 rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency has not made an assessment of the impact of rabbit haemorrhagic disease type 2 on rabbit populations, but has followed the course of the disease since 2010. The disease currently has a wide geographical distribution, and significant local mortalities have been caused by type 2 rabbit haemorrhagic disease in local wild rabbit populations.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the reference to article 43(3) of the TFEU and the relative stability keys referred to in Article 130 of the Withdrawal Agreement include the interpretive recitals 36 and 37 concerning Hague Preference which are contained within EU regulation 1380/2013.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Article 130 of the Withdrawal Agreement provides for the relative stability keys for the allocation of fishing opportunities to be maintained during the implementation period. This provision is intended to ensure that the UK’s share of quota cannot be reduced and that the UK will continue to be able to invoke Hague Preference during the implementation period. The recitals to the basic Common Fisheries Policy Regulation (Regulation 1380/2013) make clear that relative stability should take account of the Hague Resolution and therefore this would be included in the reference to ‘relative stability keys’ in Article 130.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
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 confirmation of cases of type 2 rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus in hares in January 2019, what epidemiological modelling (a) his Department and (b) the Animal and Plant Health Agency have conducted to assess the potential effect of that disease on the hare population.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There has not been any epidemiological modelling on rabbit haemorrhagic disease in hares carried out by Defra or the Animal and Plant Health Agency. There is insufficient evidence on rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus in hares to allow valid modelling.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research projects (a) his Department and (b) his department's agencies have (i) commissioned and (ii) plan to commission into type 2 rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are diagnostic tests and vaccines for rabbit haemorrhagic disease available for use in rabbits. We have no immediate plans for additional research, but will keep this under review.
Asked by: George Eustice (Conservative - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the current maximum penalty is for a breach of the Hares Preservation Act 1892.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The current maximum penalty for a breach of the Hares Preservation Act 1892 is level 1 on the standard scale, i.e. £200.