Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 pay the second phase of grants under the Farming Recovery Fund to farmers affected by flooding in Beverley and Holderness constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are aware of the ongoing challenges farmers have been facing following the winter storms and the wet weather in late 2023 and early 2024. We are committed to maintaining food production and supporting thriving farm businesses as well as protecting communities from flooding. All spending commitments will be confirmed in the spending review. This includes the Farming Recovery Fund, more information on the expanded Farming Recovery Fund will be made available soon.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to approve Tranche 2 funding for Asset Repair and Improvement.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government, and that is why we have launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce. It will provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. It met for the first time on 12 September to discuss preparation for the winter ahead.
The Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund will support our farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding by providing grants to IDBs. The Environment Agency has confirmed Tranche 1 allocations, which provides financial support for storm recovery following the wet weather and flooding during winter 2023/24. They are in the process of making payments to the successful IDBs. We will update the IDBs on Tranche 2 in due course.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 take legislative steps to ensure all domestic insurers offer Build Back Better policies to protect victims of flood damage in Beverley and Holderness constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Build Back Better (BBB) was introduced in 2022 to allow and encourage the insurance industry to provide their claimants with the opportunity to install flood resilient measures when repairs to their property are made.
Insurers representing some 75% of the domestic home insurance market have already signed up to offering BBB. Flood Re has taken several steps to encourage the take up of BBB, including running a series of workshops for insurance company staff and developing a toolkit for insurers.
I will be meeting with representatives of the insurance industry in September to explore with them how they can work with householders to encourage a high take up of the Build Back Better offer, ensuring as many householders as possible benefit.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects her Department to have collated and put in a format ready to send all the information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China following its inspections of UK pig trotter production plants in April 2015.
Answered by George Eustice
We are working with the UK pork industry to collate the necessary data and information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, which will be submitted by the end of June. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, has met with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to have obtained all the information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China for the final response to the inspection report in connection with the export of pig trotters to China.
Answered by George Eustice
We are working with the UK pork industry to collate the necessary data and information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China, which will be submitted by the end of June. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, has met with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the British delegation to the G20 agriculture ministers' meeting held on 3 June 2016 in China raised with its Chinese counterparts the matter of the continued delay to the implementation of the protocol allowing pig trotters to be exported from the UK to China.
Answered by George Eustice
The importance of reaching agreement for the export of UK pigs’ trotters to China has been raised at the highest levels. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, continues to meet with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 speed up the process enabling UK pig producers to export trotters to China.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has submitted detailed information required by the Chinese authorities, which they are reviewing. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, has met with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and we continue to press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
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 plans to take to make the certification process for the Basic Payment Scheme more efficient for farmers; and if she will include further accountability bodies who are able to certify active farmer status to improve efficiency of that scheme.
Answered by George Eustice
We are considering what changes are required to the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) next year, taking into account the feedback we have received from farmers and experience from the first year of implementation.