Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 tackle the use of catapults to (a) kill and (b) maim (i) wildlife and (ii) pets.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes crimes against wildlife and against pets seriously, including those involving the use of catapults. Under provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, The Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife and in the event that a member of the public believes such an offence has taken place, they are encouraged to report the matter to the police so they can investigate. In particular where pets are concerned, it is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to 5 years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what flooding (a) remediation and (b) prevention work has been undertaken in East Yorkshire constituency since 2019.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There has been £2.8m of capital investment in the East Yorkshire parliamentary constituency between 2019/20 and 2023/24. This has provided the Environment Agency led project to refurbish Barmston Sea End Outfall and projects to reduce surface water flooding delivered by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council in Pocklington and Langtoft.
Hempholme and Wilfholme pumping stations have both been refurbished, with most funding secured from the Local Enterprise Partnership and Internal Drainage Board. Both pumping stations have played a significant part this winter in helping to remove flood water from farmland in the River Hull catchment.
The Environment Agency is also conducting a project to assess and evaluate investment need in the Upper and Middle Hull, focussing on existing flood risk management assets. In addition, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has developed a business case for a scheme to reduce flood risk in the Kelleythorpe area of Driffield and is conducting feasibility studies for two other villages in the constituency.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 has taken to increase reservoir storage capacity.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra published its Plan for Water which set out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply in England. The Plan sets out our commitment to a twin track approach to improving water supply resilience, with action to reduce water company leaks alongside investing in new supply infrastructure.
Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies, consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes by 2050, including nine new reservoirs.
Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the current Price Review period (2020-2025) to investigate strategic water resources options, that are required to improve the resilience of England’s water supplies. In addition, Ofwat recently announced that water companies are bringing forward £2.2 billion for new water infrastructure delivery, over the next two years, with £350 million worth of investment in water resilience schemes.
The Government also supports the Agricultural sector with its Water Management Grant, under the Farming Transformation Fund, for the construction of new on-farm reservoirs, helping to ensure farmers have access to water when they need it most.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to support greater use of canals and waterways for tourism purposes.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our inland waterways are an important national heritage asset delivering a wide range of public benefits. These include environmental ‘green corridors’ along which biodiversity can flourish, physical and mental health improvement, water stewardship, and recreational activities. I agree that they are valuable resources for tourism, providing pleasant active and sustainable travel routes for boating holidays and day trips.
Ministers do not have a role in operational maters on inland waterways. However, navigation authorities and local canal societies are able to work with their Local Visitor Economy Partnership or local Destination Management Organisation to develop their tourism offer, including by accessing relevant funding.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 plans to take to support farmers in areas of Yorkshire affected by recent flooding.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has triggered the Flood Recovery Framework in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, to provide funding for affected households and businesses as a result of severe flooding caused by Storm Henk. Farmers in these areas are likely to be eligible for a number of these funds, including the Business Recovery Grant (for up to £2,500 per SME business), the Property Flood Resilience grant (up to £5,000 per flooded property) and Business Rate relief.
We are currently assessing the impact of the flooding caused by Storm Henk on farmland to enable us to confirm eligible areas for the Farming Recovery Fund. Eligible areas will be within the same areas announced for the wider Flood Recovery Framework, which does not currently include areas in Yorkshire.
We are monitoring the situation closely and further guidance on support for farmers affected by the flooding will be published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on field trials of bovine TB vaccination of cattle; and what his planned timescale is for a full roll-out of a vaccine.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Developing a vaccine against TB in cattle is one of the government’s top priorities. Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (‘CattleBCG’) and a new companion DIVA skin test (to detect infected among vaccinated animals) in the next few years. Field trials of the CattleBCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test started in 2021 and are ongoing.
Final deployment will rely on the success of the ongoing field trials, achieving UK Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) (for both CattleBCG and the companion DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition through the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) and our trading partners for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinated cattle, and acceptance of vaccination from stakeholders across the supply chain. Defra is working closely with industry to co-design policy proposals.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 support farmers in areas recently affected by flooding.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government announced a significant package of support, via the Flood Recovery Framework, to areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Babet. The Framework provides funding for eligible households and businesses and includes a £2,500 Business Recovery Grant for SMEs which have suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance, and council tax discounts. Farmers in eligible areas may also access grants up to £5,000 per property to install property flood resilience measures where they have internal flooding to homes or business premises.
Wider support includes £25 million of funding to improve flood resilience through a new natural flood management (NFM) programme which closed on 10 November, and catchment sensitive farming advice for farmers on NFM, water and air quality. We will introduce further NFM measures under our environmental land management scheme next year. Also, as set out in the Environment Agency’s latest flood strategy roadmap, flood risk management authorities will be working with farmers and landowners to help them adapt their businesses and practices to be resilient to flooding and coastal change. The National Farmers Union is working with the Environment Agency to establish a rural resilience partnership focused on helping farmers and growers adapt to a changing climate.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues to pet owners about feline coronavirus.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 November 2023 to the hon. Member for East Londonderry, PQ 1464.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 has published advice for local authorities on the (a) control and (b) removal of giant hogweed on land near to public right of way where there may be a risk to public health.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Giant hogweed is listed as a species of special concern under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019, which makes an offence of planting or otherwise causing giant hogweed to grow in the wild. As giant hogweed is widespread in the UK, there is no legal requirement to report it, nor is it compulsory to remove it. Although there are currently no plans for a large-scale eradication of giant hogweed, we support local eradication projects where this is feasible as part of management measures for this species.
Defra, in collaboration with Natural England and Environment Agency, has published guidance on how to stop the spread and dispose of invasive non-native plants that can harm the environment in England.
The GB Non-Native Species Secretariat website is the primary site for publicly available information on individual invasive species such as giant hogweed and includes links to management guidance documents produced by a range of organisations. The Secretariat carries out many public awareness campaigns, publishes articles, and provides training in which giant hogweed frequently features due to its human health impact.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce fly-tipping on private land in rural areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We appreciate the difficulty and cost that fly-tipping poses to landowners. We are working with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, Environment Agency, Country Land and Business Association, National Police Chief's Council and local authorities, to promote and disseminate good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.
As part of the Government’s commitment to unleash rural opportunity, we will fund a post within the new National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas.
Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment, such as CCTV, to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas. We have recently launched another grant opportunity that could see a further £1m handed out in grants next year to help more councils tackle the issue.