Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 impact of used tyre exports on the environment; and what steps his Department is taking to help mitigate these impacts.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
UK legislation requires that those involved in the shipment of waste take all necessary steps to ensure waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and at the waste management facility in the country of destination. Any operators found to be illegally exporting waste can face severe sanctions - from financial penalties to imprisonment for a period of up to two years.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12667 on African Swine Fever: Disease Control, whether his Department plans to continue to provide funding to Dover District Council beyond financial year 2024-25.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra, like all Government departments, is undergoing a zero-based review so this policy is being measured against all others. Any ongoing funding will be subject to approvals as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 is taking steps to (a) increase domestic recycling capacity for end-of-life vehicle tyres and (b) reduce reliance on exports.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to beginning the transition to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has asked his Department to work with experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 support the development of domestic (a) infrastructure and (b) technology for tyre recycling.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to beginning the transition to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has asked his Department to work with experts from industry, academia, civil society, and the civil service to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12669 on Animal Products: Smuggling, if he will make an assessment of the likelihood of (a) banned and (b) African swine fever infected meat entering the UK via commercial channels without being intercepted at Sevington.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Meat imported commercially via Border Control Posts is subject to local authority-led official controls to ensure that it complies with UK import conditions. The Home Office’s Border Force has lead responsibility for identifying and seizing meat imported illegally other than via Border Control Posts.
Defra monitors animal disease outbreaks worldwide and assesses the risk that they might enter the United Kingdom (UK) through legal or illegal trade in animal products. Its team of veterinary and risk experts provide rapid outbreak assessments to inform import decisions and enforcement action and undertake full qualitative risk assessments in certain cases. These assessments are published on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring. The African swine fever (ASF) assessments consider the likelihood of banned and ASF-infected meat entering the UK without interception and are used to review and strengthen, where necessary, measures to prevent the disease reaching the UK.
To further mitigate the risks, it is illegal in the UK to feed catering or domestic food waste to livestock, including pigs.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10798 on African Swine Fever, what uncertainty is there around the human mediated pathways for African swine fever.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and its agencies regularly review the spread of ASF when new outbreaks occur internationally and publishes risk assessments on GOV.UK at: African swine fever in pigs and wild boars in Europe - GOV.UK.
Since the latest risk assessment of July 2024, the risk of ASF entering Great Britain through a human-mediated pathway is considered to be high, though there is considerable uncertainty around this, particularly around the illegal movement of pig products from regions of the EU affected by ASF. Defra and its agencies keep this under regular review and will reassess the risk level and corresponding controls as further information becomes available.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 adequacy of the UK's (a) biosecurity and (b) border control measures for imported goods.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting our biosecurity and we are using a risk based approach to maintain the appropriate level of controls.
Defra will continue to monitor for new and emerging risks and review the border control checks introduced under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM).
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the report entitled An impact analysis of APR reforms on commercial family farms, published by the National Farmers Union on 21 November 2024 on the acreage of land relating to Agricultural Property Relief claims on assets of less than £250,000 in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
That report draws on Defra analysis on asset value. Tax liabilities for individual farm businesses depend on personal circumstances. It is not possible to accurately infer a future inheritance tax liability from data on farm asset values. This is because asset value alone does not necessarily mean that the farm will be affected, as it depends on individual circumstances.
From 6 April 2026, the full 100% relief from inheritance tax will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will access 50% relief from inheritance tax and will pay inheritance tax at a reduced effective rate up to 20%, rather than the standard 40%. This tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest free, rather than immediately, as with other types of inheritance tax.
This is on top of all the other spousal exemptions and nil-rate bands that people can access for inheritance tax too. This means that two people with farmland, depending on their circumstances, can pass on up to £3 million without paying any inheritance tax. This is an assumption based on the £1 million limit and nil-rate bands and does not take into consideration the specific circumstances that may affect the tax calculation. Furthermore, if land is transferred 7 years before death, farmers pay no inheritance tax at all.
With 73% of claims being for less than £1 million, the majority of estates will be unaffected, and they will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done. This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
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 steps to prevent (a) large corporations and (b) investment firms from acquiring agricultural land sold to meet inheritance tax liabilities.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 6 April 2026, the full 100% relief from inheritance tax will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will access 50% relief from inheritance tax and will pay inheritance tax at a reduced effective rate up to 20%, rather than the standard 40%. This tax can be paid in instalments over 10 years interest free, rather than immediately, as with other types of inheritance tax.
This is on top of all the other spousal exemptions and nil-rate bands that people can access for inheritance tax too. This means that two people with farmland, depending on their circumstances, can pass on up to £3 million without paying any inheritance tax. This is an assumption based on the £1 million limit and nil-rate bands and does not take into consideration the specific circumstances that may affect the tax calculation. Furthermore, if land is transferred seven years before death, farmers pay no inheritance tax at all.
With 73% of claims being for less than £1 million, the majority of estates will be unaffected, and they will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done. This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.