Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect hedgerows.
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.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the illegal smuggling of cats and kittens into the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals.
We operate one of the most rigorous and robust pet travel checking regimes in Europe. The Animal and Plant Health Agency works collaboratively with Border Force and other operational partners at ports, airports and inland, sharing intelligence to enforce the Pet Travel rules, disrupt illegal imports, safeguard the welfare of animals and seize non-compliant animals.
We are aware that Selaine Saxby MP has introduced a Private Members’ Bill on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets. In accordance with Parliamentary convention, the Government will set out its formal position on this Bill when it receives its Second Reading.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department provides to (i) veterinarians and (ii) other animal welfare professionals on cats and kittens illegally smuggled into the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes the illegal importation of pets seriously. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals.
Defra regularly engages with stakeholders, including veterinary and animal welfare professionals, on a range of animal welfare issues, including the illegal smuggling of pets into the UK.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 implications for his policies of the impact of factory farming on (a) rivers and (b) other waterways.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to minimising pollution from all types of farming, including production systems where animals are housed indoors for some or all of the year and which accumulate manures and slurries.
Our legal standards, including the Nitrates and Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil regulations, all require manure produced in livestock housing (including slurry) to be stored responsibly and for a long enough time to ensure it is spread in a way that minimises water pollution. The Farming Rules for Water and Nitrates regulations require these manures to be spread according to appropriate volumes, locations and timescales to minimise pollution.
In addition, our farming schemes provide revenue and capital funding to help farmers build the infrastructure necessary to manage manures to reduce pollution. For example a dairy farmer is able to utilise Sustainable Farming Incentive Funding for measures to reduce soil erosion and runoff from their fields, and Slurry Infrastructure Grant funding to expand and cover their slurry store according to best practice.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 4 December 2023 to Question 4004 on Furs: Imports, what criteria he is using to determine when to publish a summary of responses to his Department’s 2021 Fur Market consultation.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
At this stage we do not have a confirmed date for publication of a summary of responses to the call for evidence on the fur market in Great Britain.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects the Food Data Transparency Partnership Eco Working Group to produce its report detailing proposals to measure and communicate carbon emissions in the food system.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) was established in early 2023, as a means to work jointly across Defra, the Food Standards Agency, the Department of Health and Social Care, industry, academia and civil society. The FDTP aims to drive positive change in the food system through better and more transparent food data. On environmental sustainability, the FDTP has focused on the approach needed to deliver consistent, accurate and accessible data on quantifying and communicating the environmental impact of food across the agri-food system. This will support our agri-food industry to remain internationally competitive in the context of global growing demand for data on environmental impacts associated with products or services sold.
The FDTP Eco Working Group continues to develop the detail of proposals to measure and communicate greenhouse gas emissions in the food system. The group has identified several interim priorities for the short and medium term. These will be communicated to industry as part of the FDTP's continued programme of engagement.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 implications for his policies of the potential impact of reducing meat and dairy consumption on the Government's Net Zero Strategy.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s preferred approach to supporting consumers to make sustainable food choices is to support sustainable food production practices and high-quality British produce, whilst maintaining people’s freedom of choice.
The Government recognises the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions made by the livestock and dairy sectors, whilst valuing the importance of our farmers in feeding the nation and managing our rural environment. Well managed livestock provide environmental benefits such as supporting biodiversity, protecting the character of the countryside, and generating important income for rural communities.
Government is focusing on productivity and innovation to help reduce agricultural emissions. The measures in the Net Zeo Growth plan aim to reduce emissions from agriculture in England through sustainable land management practices, the uptake of innovative practices and technologies, and actions to improve the productivity and profitability of the sector.
Some of the policies and proposals which will help reduce emissions from livestock include, improved health and welfare of livestock, multi-purpose breeds, and increasing the uptake of methane suppressing feed products in cattle. Additionally, the Food Data Transparency Partnership’s work on health and environmental sustainability metrics for food will help enable healthier and more sustainable diets.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 reduce the number of birds of prey (a) injured and (b) killed by wind turbines.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government does not have estimates of the number of birds of prey killed by offshore wind turbines. The majority of evidence held relates to impacts to seabirds from collisions, displacement, and foraging pressures. The British Energy Security Strategy confirmed that the Government will bring forward an Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package. This will support the accelerated deployment of offshore wind developments while continuing to protect the marine environment. The package will include new Offshore Wind Environmental Standards which aim to reduce the impact of offshore wind development on the marine environment, including impacts on birds.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of birds of prey (a) killed and (b) injured by wind turbines in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The British Energy Security Strategy confirmed that the Government will bring forward an Offshore Wind Environmental Improvement Package. This will support the accelerated deployment of offshore wind developments while continuing to protect the marine environment. The package will include new Offshore Wind Environmental Standards which aim to reduce the impact of offshore wind development on the marine environment, including impacts on birds.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
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 (a) reduce the supply of sugar and (b) reverse the exemption for sugar beet crops to the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
British farmers take decisions on the planting of crops based on a variety of factors including the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy, in addition to reacting to market signals. Sugar beet often plays a vital role in soil and crop health in the arable farm rotation, allowing a season of “rest” from intensive cereal production. It is not for the Government to determine which crops farmers should grow or prioritise to include in their crop rotation.
The Government is fully persuaded that the widespread use of neonicotinoids should not be permitted. Approval was withdrawn from December 2018 for the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) on any crops, including crops such as sugar beet which are harvested prior to flowering, due to the risk of harmful effects on pollinators. There is no intention to change these restrictions.
There is no ongoing exemption for sugar beet crops from the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides. An application for emergency authorisation to use the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on the 2024 sugar beet crop has been received. No decision has yet been made; once taken, the decision will be published on GOV.UK. Emergency authorisations for pesticides are only granted where strict legal requirements are met. More information on the emergency authorisation process can be found on HSE’s website, here.