Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 merits of a replacement to the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Legislation was introduced in July 2023 that prevents English Producer Organisations submitting new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes that would end on or after 1 January 2026. This effectively closed the scheme in England.
Our approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature, and we are going further to develop a 25-year farming roadmap to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.
Horticulture will also be considered within our new food strategy, to develop a food system that unlocks the food sector’s economic potential, strengthens food security, tackles obesity so we can give our children the best start in life, and protects our planet for future generations.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 (a) support and (b) incentivise the adoption of (i) lower impact and (ii) highly selective fishing methods in UK waters; and whether he plans to reform the gear approval process to reduce barriers to innovation.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We strongly support the use of gear that is more selective and which lowers the environmental impacts. We have been promoting this through a number of routes, including fisheries funding, measures introduced through annual consultations and negotiations with the EU and other coastal states, and through our Fisheries Management Plan programme. The Seafish Industry Authority (“Seafish”) are currently looking at how to overcome barriers to the adoption of new gear. In order to achieve maximum conservation benefits, and to be in line with international best practice, it is crucial that any approval processes are robust and are based on the best available scientific evidence.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new Food Strategy Advisory Board will make assessment of the merits of the association between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and adverse health outcomes.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Strategy Advisory Board will stress test ideas and provide advice to shape the outcomes the food strategy should deliver, including looking at ways of improving health outcomes.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 it his policy to align the UK with EU regulatory protections for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in his revised Environmental Improvement Plan.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The revised EIP, which will be published later this year, will set out action the government is taking to address environment risks from chemicals, including PFAS.
We have reset our relations with our European partners, and we now need to use our strengthened relations to deliver a long-term UK-EU strategic partnership. However, it is too early to comment on the outcome of discussions linked to the UK/EU Summit that takes place on 19 May.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making (a) fipronil and (b) imidacloprid prescription-only.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Parasiticides containing imidacloprid and fipronil play a crucial role in protecting animal and human health against fleas, ticks, and the diseases they spread. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) also acknowledges concerns raised about their presence in the environment.
The VMD is gathering evidence on the environmental impact of flea and tick treatments and has led in establishing the cross-government Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group, which has developed a roadmap to help reduce levels of fipronil and imidacloprid in UK surface waters. The immediate priority is to work with stakeholders to promote appropriate use of topical parasiticides for pets, aiming to reduce environmental impacts. Beyond this, actions focus on building our evidence base to inform future policy activities.
While we continue to assess emerging evidence, we consider it essential that these treatments remain appropriately accessible to all pet owners that may need them, in order to effectively manage parasitic disease, which has implications for animal welfare and human health. Therefore, at this stage, there are no plans to restrict flea and tick treatments to prescription. Any future regulatory decisions will be based on robust scientific evidence to ensure both environmental protection and continued access to essential veterinary medicines for pet owners.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on the number of producers switching from glass to plastic packaging.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have considered feedback from all material sectors, which has included including feedback from the glass sector on the risks of material switching towards plastic and fibre-based composite packaging. We have received limited evidence of decisions to investigate or implement switching. The evidence received indicates expected lead time for major products of at least one to two years to implement any decisions. We continue to engage with the glass sector on reuse which will bring environmental benefits and a reduction in EPR liabilities.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department undertook research on Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in other countries during the design of the proposed weight-related fee structure for his proposed scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has engaged with and sought to learn from a range of schemes in Europe and further afield in the design of our pEPR scheme, both in the development of policy and implementation of the scheme. As a result, our approach limits producers’ costs to those of efficient and effective collection systems and apportions these between materials based on the costs of their management using appropriate weight and volume-based metrics. This is in line with international good practice.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 managed realignment in the shore management plan on coastal (a) businesses and (b) facilities.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.
Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) are developed and owned by the local councils and coastal protection authorities. These provide long-term strategic plans which identify approaches for managing the flood and coastal erosion risks at every stretch of coastline.
SMPs have recently been refreshed with updated action plans. This follows several years of collaborative work between the Environment Agency and coastal groups.
The recently updated National Coastal Erosion Risk Map for England (NCERM) provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England. This is based on a further ten years of coastal monitoring data, the latest climate change evidence and technical input from coastal local authorities. It will support and inform local decision making.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to publish the results of the fairer food labelling consultation.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, Gareth Snell on 23 December 2024, PQ 20692.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 merits of changing the criteria of the proposed EPR fee tariff to a units-based metric.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is not considering the adoption of a units-based metric. In accordance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, Extender Producer Responsibility disposal fees for packaging are calculated in £ per tonne of household packaging placed on the market. Producers report the packaging they supply on a weight basis, and the costs for managing different material types, such as glass, are apportioned according to relevant cost drivers for their collection and management, including the volume of the container in bins and collection vehicles. This ensures the fair apportionment of costs between material types in line with the regulations.