Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 1 December 2023 and (b) 8 January 2024 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, case reference JD39615.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A reply to the hon. Member is being prepared and will be issued in due course. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review her Department's policy that pets travelling by air into the United Kingdom should be treated as cargo.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We regularly review our pet travel guidance with stakeholders.
We have no immediate plans to change the process by which pet cats, dogs and ferrets may enter GB by air.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with airlines on the transport of (a) dogs and (b) other animals by air.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We regularly review our pet travel guidance with stakeholders.
We have no immediate plans to change the process by which pet cats, dogs and ferrets may enter GB by air.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 respond to the correspondence of 15 December 2022 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, case reference JD31665.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
This correspondence was transferred to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 30 March 2023.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 local authorities tackle litter created as a result of the recreational use of nitrous oxide.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Littering is a criminal offence and in recent years we have bolstered councils’ enforcement powers, such as by almost doubling the maximum fixed penalty for littering from £80 to £150. We have also published guidance for local authorities on the design and placement of bins. Alongside this guidance, we provided nearly £1 million across 44 councils to help them purchase new bins to keep litter off the streets.
Councils also have powers to issue Public Spaces Protection Orders. These are a wide-ranging tool which councils can use to prohibit specified activity in a public place where it has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, such as the recreational use of nitrous oxide.
Where nitrous oxide is supplied either knowingly or recklessly for its psychoactive effect, the maximum offence under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 is seven years’ imprisonment.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 demand for additional support for the zoo and aquarium sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 12 April zoos have been able to welcome back visitors, reopening their outdoor areas as part of step two in the roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions. Our assessment was that zoos would need further support, which is why we extended the Zoo Animals Fund. We have extended the application deadline from 26 February 2021 to 28 May 2021 to give zoos more time to apply and have extended the support provided from the end of March 2021 to the end of June 2021. The fund has been a lifeline for many zoos and small, medium and large zoos have been able to secure funding to help them through this difficult time. Fund recipients have reached out to express how funding has supported their animals and what a difference it has made to them to receive this help.
Under both zoo support schemes we have so far awarded over £10 million to 56 zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums to care for their animals and we are currently processing further applications. This money has provided for animal care costs and essential maintenance costs for those zoos experiencing severe financial difficulties due to covid-19. Under the Zoo Animals Fund only two applications have been rejected on the basis that the businesses in question were ineligible as they did not have the necessary licence or exemption. We encourage zoos in need to apply to the Fund and we will continue to work closely with the sector on reopening guidance to ensure that zoos and aquariums are able to welcome visitors safely.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to (a) encourage supermarkets to prioritise shielding customers and (b) discourage increases in costs of at-home deliveries.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
(a) Defra is continuing to work closely with supermarkets to provide clinically extremely vulnerable individuals in England with priority access to supermarket delivery slots. When the tiered system was in operation, any clinically extremely vulnerable person living in a Tier Three or Tier Four local area who did not already have priority access to delivery slots was still able to register for this support through the GOV.UK website: www.gov.uk/coronavirus-shielding-support.
During the third lockdown, all clinically extremely vulnerable people are able to register for priority access to delivery slots with seven supermarkets: Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose. All clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who have registered through GOV.UK will retain their priority access to delivery slots until at least March 2021.
(b) Defra is continuing to hold regular conversations with each of the seven supermarkets participating in the priority access to online deliveries offer: Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. The department uses these meetings as an opportunity to convey any concerns raised by charities or local authorities around topics such as delivery charges. Although Defra cannot legally dictate the delivery costs charged by supermarkets, our regular conversations ensure that supermarkets understand the impact that delivery charges can have in preventing a clinically extremely vulnerable person from being able to access food.
Alongside encouraging supermarkets to consider the impact delivery charges can have on vulnerable people, the department also monitors delivery charges and circulates this information to local authorities to allow them to advise their residents accordingly.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department expects to publish the findings of the review of food safety and labelling laws.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are considering at pace all the evidence, including new cases as they arise, to help inform the action needed to strengthen rules on allergen labelling. Longer term, we have an opportunity to review all of food labelling when the UK has left the EU so that consumers have the information they need to have full confidence in the food they buy, and we are committed to doing that.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether charities and health organisations will be consulted during the review of food safety and labelling laws.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The relevant stakeholders will be consulted during the review of the allergen labelling legislative framework.