Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
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 support the UK beet sugar industry in (a) Bury St Edmunds, (b) the East of England and c) the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
Leaving the EU and the Common Agricultural Policy gives us an opportunity to transform our agricultural policy into a fairer system that will help farm businesses across all sectors thrive. We are committed to delivering value for money to the taxpayer while supporting British agriculture and the environment. We will publish for consultation a command paper setting out our proposals later this Spring.
The Government’s manifesto commit to provide the same cash total in funding for farm support until the end of this parliament, expected in 2022. This offers a greater level of security and certainty for the UK farming sector than anywhere else in the EU, where funding is only guaranteed until 2020.
We are also committed to improving and simplifying our existing farm support systems. We have recently announced four new Countryside Stewardship offers, including an offer specifically for the arable sector, along with a simplified application process for 2018.
The Secretary of State recently met representatives of the sugar beet industry to hear the industry’s views. The removal of EU sugar beet quotas, which the government pressed for, allows British growers to move towards competing on a level-playing field with other sugar producers around the world, including by opening up export opportunities for beet sugar production.
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Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many groundwater activity permits have been issued in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (b) Suffolk in each of the last five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency has issued the following number of groundwater activity permits in each of the last five years in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (b) Suffolk:
Year | Bury St Edmunds constituency | Suffolk |
2013 | 1 | 1 |
2014 | 0 | 4 |
2015 | 1 | 8 |
2016 | 0 | 5 |
2017 (year to date) | 1 | 6 |
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
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 public spending on flood prevention in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency and (b) the UK in each of the (i) last and (ii) next five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The table below summarises Government investment (Flood Defence Grant in Aid or FDGiA) to flood and coastal risk management schemes in the Bury St Edmunds constituency and England between April 2012 and March 2021. Budgets for 2021-22 and beyond have not been set.
Year | Bury St Edmunds FDGiA (£k) | England FDGiA (£m) |
2012/13 | 0 | 269 |
2013/14 | 0 | 315 |
2014/15 | 0 | 479 |
2015/16 | 0 | 403 |
2016/17 | 691 | 447 |
2017/18 | 21 | 413 |
2018/19 | 0 | 450 |
2019/20 | 0 | 490 |
2020/21 | 0 | 459 |
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the most recent Forestry Commission production forecast is.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The current Forestry Commission England production forecast for the public forest estate is an average annual volume of 1,263,000 cubic metres of softwood timber and 92,000 cubic metres of hardwood timber between 2017 and 2021.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
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 helping establish a Forest School in Suffolk; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The department recognises the benefits of forest schools for children and young people and the opportunities they provide to develop confidence through hands-on learning in a woodland environment. Proposals for any specific forest school, in Suffolk or elsewhere, would need to be assessed on their merits.
Asked by: Jo Churchill (Conservative - Bury St Edmunds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of her visit to China in November 2015 on opening up new markets to British farmers and producers.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
During my visit to China I concluded deals to open the Chinese market to British barley and pigs trotters, together worth up to £190m over the next five years.
I also presented the Chinese inspection authorities with a forward plan to open market access to UK poultry meat and beef and lamb.