Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that U1 waste exemptions are not being used to dispose of waste illegally.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Environment Agency undertakes a risk-based approach and may inspect U1 sites if it receives intelligence or complaints suggesting illegal activity.
The Government is currently reviewing the waste exemptions element within the environmental permitting regime to prevent the use of exemptions, including the U1 exemption, to cover illegal activity. A Government response will be published in the spring. The Environment Agency is also developing a charges scheme for 2024, which will help fund proactive compliance assessment at exempt sites.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of discontinuing the use of U1 waste exemptions.
Answered by Jo Churchill
In 2018, Defra and the Welsh Government consulted on reforming the waste exemptions element in the environmental permitting regime to prevent the use of exemptions to cover illegal activity.
The consultation specifically asked whether the Government should keep the U1 exemption with no changes to its conditions, change the exemption (amend its conditions) or remove the exemption and require activities it covers to be carried out under an environmental permit.
A Government response to the consultation was published on 26 November 2018. However, because of the breadth of impacts that will result from changing these exemptions, and the implications for different business practices that can emerge from relatively minor technical changes, Defra and the Welsh Government have been further considering the impacts of the proposed changes. A supplementary Government response will be published in the spring.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a response to the proposal by the National Farmers Union for a sustainable food and farming scheme.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
We met the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to discuss their proposals at Ministerial and official level and the Secretary of State wrote to the NFU to thank them for their considered input into the development of our new policies. The Agricultural Transition Plan published in November sets out our plans for agricultural policies, including for the Sustainable Farming Incentive which we are currently piloting.
We have ongoing engagement with the NFU and meet regularly.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to encourage the expansion of abattoirs in Kent.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
Defra recognises the role small abattoirs play in supporting the rural economy.
Defra is working with industry to find innovative solutions to support abattoirs. The Rural Development Programme for England Growth Programme, which is delivered by the Rural Payments Agency, is currently supporting a farmer-led mobile abattoir project which is trialling the use of a compact system for the on-farm slaughter of livestock. The project is due to be operational in autumn 2021 and, if successful, could be replicated elsewhere.
However, any decision to establish a new abattoir would be a commercial decision for the abattoir themselves.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to help protect farmers from fly-tipping.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
We are preparing new legislation to tackle waste crime, such as fly-tipping. This includes reforming how those transporting waste are regulated and introducing mandatory electronic tracking of waste, subject to consultation. The Environment Bill will also ensure authorities have better access to evidence and improved powers of entry. The Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group works with the National Farmers Union and others to share advice on how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with refence to the promotional publication entitled The Environmental Land Management scheme: public money for public goods, published on gov.uk on 20 October 2020, what steps he is taking to help ensure that farmers have information on preparing for the transition to a new agricultural policy.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
On 30 November 2020 we published our agriculture transition plan document, which sets out more detail on the transition and the Environmental Land Management offer. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-transition-plan-2021-to-2024.
The agricultural transition period started on 1 January 2021 and will run to the end of 2027. Between 2021 and 2027, the Government will gradually phase out Direct Payments and introduce a new system which will pay farmers to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare and reduce carbon emissions.
We know it is important for farmers and land managers to have clear, definitive information as soon as possible so that they can plan. However, we also want to make sure we are designing and delivering things that work on the ground. That means we need to learn and adapt as we go, building on the 74 tests and trials underway or completed to date, involving over 3,000 farmers and other land managers, and piloting extensively the new environmental schemes we are developing.
We will be publishing detailed information on the first phase of piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive in spring 2021. We will also be consulting on the details of delinking and our planned lump sum exit scheme, publishing more details of our Farming Investment Fund and consulting on regulation and enforcement, all throughout the early part of this year.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect from cliff erosion homeowners living on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Under the Coast Protection Act 1949, Swale Borough Council is the maritime authority for the Isle of Sheppey coastline and takes the lead for coastal erosion. The Shoreline Management Plan, led and owned by the South East Coastal Group, was agreed by all local partners and signed off by Defra in 2010. The long term plan has identified that it is not viable to invest in sustaining defences on the coastline from Minster Slopes to Warden Bay. This is because a large coastal defence and surface water management scheme to reduce the rate of erosion in this location would not be economically justifiable due to the small number of properties that would be beneficiaries. In addition, the eroding cliffs are of national conservation, geological and landscape importance and are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
To help manage the impact on those directly affected by coastal erosion, the Environment Agency’s Medway Estuary and Swale Flood and Erosion Risk Strategy has developed adaptation options to relocate or compensate affected properties. This strategy has been supported by key local partners including Swale Borough Council, Natural England and Defra. The Environment Agency will continue to work closely with Swale Borough Council and the South East Coastal Group to support this approach and work with the local residents. The EA will also help explore funding opportunities for any property adaptation proposals which Swale Borough Council may bring forward.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on ensuring that the seasonal agriculture workers pilot is (a) made permanent and (b) expanded to include 10,000 places this year to meet the needs of the horticulture sector.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
We are seeking to evaluate the ability of the Seasonal Workers Pilot to assist in alleviating labour shortages during peak production periods.
There are currently no plans to expand the pilot as we will fully assess the pilot before taking any decisions on future arrangements. Defra and the Home Office will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the Pilot against its stated aims.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
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 it his policy to maintain the provision of the EU Pet Travel Scheme in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.
Answered by David Rutley
While the UK remains a member state, the EU current pet travel scheme arrangements will continue to apply.
After we leave the EU, we want pet travel to continue in any scenario with the minimum of disruption whilst maintaining high biosecurity and welfare standards. As such, the Government has no immediate plans to change our pet travel arrangements following the UK’s departure from the EU (as it relates to health requirements) in any scenario.
However, we will become a third country with regards to the EU’s Pet Travel Scheme and will need to comply with the appropriate requirements for pet movements to the EU.