Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to the Hunting Act 2004.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government will not amend the Hunting Act 2004.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle ash dieback.
Answered by George Eustice
Extensive action has been taken on ash dieback since it was first officially found in 2012. We have restricted the movement of ash and invested more than £6m in ash dieback research. We have conducted the world’s largest screening trials and in June 2019 we published the ash research strategy – this set out priority areas for future research, including the UK led work to identify tolerant trees.
We will be planting the first UK archive of tolerant trees in 2020. We are continuing to support landowners to manage ash dieback on the ground by providing guidance, including a toolkit for local authorities and large land mangers which was launched earlier this year and has been downloaded over 16,500 times.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle invasive crayfish species in UK rivers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Policy on non-native crayfish is devolved; the following information is relevant to England and Wales.
We are in the process of eradicating the only known population of white river crayfish in England and Wales, using a natural pyrethrum based biocide. The trapping of crayfish is tightly regulated to prevent deliberate or accidental spread of crayfish. The Environment Agency has been active in instigating research into methods for managing non-native crayfish populations and mitigating their impact on the environment.
On 8 March the Government laid the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order (“the Order”) which applies across England and Wales. The Order is a key part of meeting the requirements of EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (1143/2014), a core purpose of which is to take concerted action to tackle the threat that invasive species pose to our biodiversity and ecosystems. The Order will introduce an enforcement regime that will include the following non-native invasive crayfish species: signal crayfish, marbled crayfish, virile crayfish, spiny cheeked crayfish, and red swamped crayfish. The Order will introduce both civil and criminal sanctions including both fixed and variable monetary penalties and custodial sentences for the most serious infringements of the EU Regulation.
On 18 July the Government launched a consultation on management measures for widely spread invasive alien species, including the signal crayfish, which closes on 12 September. Under the Invasive Alien Species Regulation, management measures must be put in place for widespread invasive alien species. The consultation asks for views on ways to manage populations of species of concern including for specified invasive crayfish species.
The consultation can be found at
We continue to work with water companies to improve biosecurity measures, including through the Clean, Check, Dry campaign.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 (a) protect red squirrels in Northumberland and (b) tackle the damaging effect of the invasive grey squirrel species.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter. The information below only relates to England.
The Government is committed to protecting and expanding red squirrel populations and tackling the threats that grey squirrels pose to them. The Forestry Commission and Natural England are members of Red Squirrels Northern England, a red squirrel conservation partnership project managed by Northumberland Wildlife Trust, which works in seven northern counties, including Northumberland. The Forestry Commission has also partnered with the Mammals Trust UK and Newcastle University on the Northumberland Kielder Forest Project, which considers the role that forest management can have in conservation of the species.
The Forestry Commission undertakes actions to protect red squirrels from the impact of grey squirrels more widely as outlined in the Grey Squirrel Action Plan for England. This includes providing woodland management advice on maintaining red squirrel habitat and managing grey squirrels, including advising land-owners that receive funding through the Countryside Stewardship scheme who choose to control grey squirrels.
Defra, Natural England and the Forestry Commission are signatories to the United Kingdom Squirrel Accord, working with over 30 other signatories, including Red Squirrels Northern England, to secure and expand red squirrel populations. Defra, in partnership with the Accord, has provided funding for work by the Animal and Plant Health Agency for the development of a fertility control method for grey squirrels. This research continues to show promise as one potentially effective and humane method to control grey squirrel numbers in the longer term.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the strategy to deal with invasive Japanese knotweed in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) Northumberland and (c) the North East.
Answered by George Eustice
There has been no formal assessment of this nature. Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), which makes it an offence to allow the plant to escape, or cause it to grow in the wild. Local councils and police have the power to issue Community Protection Notices against individuals or businesses who persistently or continually act in a way that has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.
A number of authorities are taking action to control Japanese Knotweed. This includes the Tees River Trust which is involved in managing release sites for the biocontrol of Japanese knotweed.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
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 (a) protect red squirrels in Northumberland and (b) tackle the damaging effect of the invasive grey squirrel species.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government is taking to tackle Ash dieback.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the strategy to deal with invasive Japanese knotweed in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) Northumberland and (c) the North East.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle invasive crayfish species in UK rivers.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Transport on reducing emissions on UK roads.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) was established in April 2016 to develop and implement plans for delivering compliance with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limits.
JAQU is a Defra/ Department for Transport unit recognising the shared nature of this challenge, so there is regular ongoing dialogue between the two departments at all levels. This includes Ministerial meetings to discuss specific issues, monthly programme boards, and daily discussions at official level.