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Written Question
Hedges and Ditches: Conservation
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on plans to (a) regulate and (b) maintain hedgerow protection.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 set legal protections for hedgerows in England and Wales. These existing regulations prohibit the removal of most countryside hedgerows (or parts of them) without first seeking approval from the local planning authority.

In June 2023, the Government launched a consultation on how hedgerows should be further protected in England. The responses to the consultation supported bringing hedgerow management rules into regulation and this is what the Government will do as soon as parliamentary time allows. The regulations will require a 2-metre buffer strip, measured from the centre of the hedge, where no cultivation or application of pesticides or fertilisers must take place, and will ban the cutting of hedges between 1 March and 31 August. The regulations will support other Government actions and incentives, including over 90,000 km of hedgerows being managed through 16,000 agreements in the Government’s Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes.

Defra is also working with stakeholders and other Government departments to understand how to support the creation and maintenance of hedgerows in non-agricultural contexts, to maximise the benefits they provide.


Written Question
Manufacturing Industries: Air Pollution
Friday 21st July 2023

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

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 large scale manufacturers reduce air pollution.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Pollution from industrial sources in England and Wales is controlled through the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016. All large industrial facilities, including large-scale industrial manufacturing, must comply with their environmental permits and use best available techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions to air, water and land. Through the UK BAT standard-setting process, regulators and industry collaborate to identify the most effective technologies and processes for reducing emissions. This process provides stability for industry through predictable review cycles and implementation timelines.

Through the permitting process the Environment Agency works closely with operators of large industrial sites to determine the most appropriate pollution control options for each site.

If a site is not compliant with the conditions in their permit, the Environment Agency works with the operator to agree measures to bring the site back into compliance.


Written Question
Animal Welfare
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on the Action Plan for Animal Welfare; and when she plans to publish a consultation on the keeping of caged farmed animals.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We have delivered an ambitious legislative programme since the publication of the Action Plan, which will deliver significant improvements for animals in the UK and abroad. We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, both in the course of this Parliament and beyond.

Our recent announcement on delivering the measures in the Kept Animals Bill through single measure Bills will help us to deliver two further commitments in the plan, including the ban on live exports. These are our key priorities. We do not consider the time is right to consult on cage reforms, being mindful of the challenges the sectors are facing. The market is already driving the move away from using cages for laying hen production. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023.

We continue to work with the sector to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.


Written Question
Livestock: Conservation
Wednesday 24th May 2023

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

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 protect rare breeds of native farm animals.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To support native breeds, Defra publishes the UK National Breed Inventory annually to help monitor populations of pedigree livestock, including native breeds.  For breeders in England, support for native breeds is available under the SP8: Native Breeds at Risk Supplement, which can be accessed through the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

Defra has also published guidelines on contingency planning in the event of an outbreak of a notifiable disease to identify eligible native breeds on the breed at risk (BAR) list, that may be exempt from culling.

The Department recognises the important role local abattoirs play in supporting native breed farmers and the wider rural economy. We are very much committed to engaging with the smaller abattoir sector to maintain a robust and competitive industry. At the National Farmers Union Conference in February, I announced the Government’s intention to launch capital grant funding to support smaller abattoirs. I will shortly be holding a round table with experts from the native breeds community to explore how we can support this valuable resource.


Written Question
Farms: Government Assistance
Tuesday 23rd May 2023

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

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 support smaller farms that want to apply for a Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2023 grant but cannot afford to pay for the items they applied for funding for before the grant is paid.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To support smaller farms wishing to apply for a Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2023 grant we have reduced the minimum grant from £2,000 to £1,000 and introduced a range of lower priced items on to the list.


Written Question
Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain Independent Review
Monday 3rd April 2023

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the findings of the independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has commissioned an independent review that will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages in the food supply chain. The review will focus on farming, processing, and food and drink manufacturing as sectors that are critical for food production and food security. The final report will be published by summer 2023 and the Government response will follow thereafter.


Written Question
Birds: Conservation
Tuesday 6th December 2022

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

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 Royal Society for the Protection of Bird's 2021 Birdcrime Report, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the finding that the second-highest amount of raptor persecution incidents occurred in 2021.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Raptor persecution is a national wildlife crime priority and there are strong penalties in place for offences committed against birds of prey and other wildlife. Most wildlife crimes carry up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence.

Defra supports the work of Bird of Prey Crime Priority Delivery Group, which brings together police, government and stakeholders to tackle raptor persecution. This year Defra has more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) from £165,000 per year to over £1.2 million over the next three years to target wildlife crime priorities, in particular crimes against birds of prey. In addition, we are providing funding to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to develop DNA forensic analysis for the police and other organisations investigating crimes against peregrine falcons.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 25 Nov 2022
Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill

Speech Link

View all Holly Mumby-Croft (Con - Scunthorpe) contributions to the debate on: Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill

Written Question
Peat Bogs: Controlled Burning
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)

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 prevent illegal peat burning.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

No burning of peat is permitted.

The burning of vegetation for management purposes is a permissible management activity and is conducted for a variety of reasons. These can include reducing the risk of wildfire or for the conservation, enhancement or management of the natural environment. In these circumstances the vegetation above the soil layer is burned rather than the soil itself. The burning of any peat present is not permitted.

In respect of protected deep peat habitats, the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 and associated guidance sets out the very limited circumstances where burning of vegetation will be seen as a permissible activity, when conducted in the right place for the right reasons.

Any unlicenced burning of vegetation on sites to which the Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) 2021 applies, will be investigated.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 May 2022
Food Price Inflation

Speech Link

View all Holly Mumby-Croft (Con - Scunthorpe) contributions to the debate on: Food Price Inflation