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Written Question
Water Charges: Social Tariffs
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the (a) discount levels and (b) eligibility criteria that water companies must apply to social tariff schemes.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All water companies currently have social tariffs in place to support customers who struggle to pay their bill. Existing schemes provided more than £206 million of support to 1,363,839 vulnerable customers across England and Wales in 2022-23. This ensured bill reductions of £151 on average and up to £313 for those struggling the most.

The Government does not set the eligibility criteria, nor the level of support provided in these schemes. Statutory guidance requires companies to balance their support for low-income households against the interests of other customers who largely fund social tariffs via cross-subsidies. Therefore, companies must demonstrate that their customer base supports the level of cross-subsidy they apply to fund their social tariff schemes.

To ensure the best support to customers, the Government continues to work with the industry to explore options to improve the present social tariff arrangements and welcomes the planned household charging trials in 2024-25 and during the 2025-30 Price Review period.


Written Question
White Fish: Quotas
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the annually-negotiated cod quota tonnage was for UK fishing vessels in Norwegian waters for each year since 2016; and what proportion of that quota was allocated to Scottish-registered vessels.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The cod quotas available to UK fishing vessels in Norwegian waters fall in two categories: first, quotas in the North Sea (or ICES Areas 4), and second, quotas in the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone & the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard (relevant waters of ICES Areas 1, 2a and 2b). It is important to note that cod quotas can vary significantly from one year to the next, depending on fluctuations in the biological health of the stock.

Table 1 sets out the total North Sea cod quota available to the UK since 2016. In practice, the UK has been able to fish up to 100% of that quota in Norwegian waters, with the exception of 2021, when the UK had no access to Norwegian waters to fish that stock.

Table 1:

Year

Tonnes

2016

13,107

2017

15,275

2018

16,808

2019

11,464

2020

5,732

2021

5,824

2022

5,934

2023

9,882

2024

11,613

Table 2 sets out the total cod quota available to the UK in the Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone & the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard since 2016. By definition, all of that quota must be fished in Norwegian waters.

Table 2:

Year

Tonnes

2016

12,523

2017

15,158

2018

14,437

2019

13,280

2020

13,373

2021

5,500

2022

7,050

2023

5,964

2024

4,844

Scottish Producer Organisations hold approximately 65% of the Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units for the quota in Table 1, and no FQA units for the quota in Table 2.


Written Question
Plants: Imports
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain (2023 to 2028), published on 9 January 2023, what progress his Department has made on exploring new biosecurity measures for high-risk tree imports.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Plant health import controls already include a ban on the highest risk trees (over 30 species are prohibited for import from outside Europe including many native species), and the phytosanitary certification of trees which are permitted for import.

In 2022 Defra concluded a consultation seeking views on additional biosecurity measures for high-risk trees. An analysis of responses indicates broad support from stakeholders for further action in this area.

We are currently exploring opportunities to strengthen controls through further prohibitions and enforced holding in isolation for prescribed periods of time post import, while continuing to take a risk-based approach. This work includes examining the effectiveness, practicality and operational costs to industry and government of a variety of measures, to identify those which provide suitable biosecurity benefits. More rigorous consultation with industry will be undertaken prior to the implementation of any measures.


Written Question
Dogs: Imports
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported under the Balai Directive in each month of (a) 2022 and (b) 2023; and from which country did these dogs originate.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The information requested is provided in the attachment to this answer.

It is a true reflection of the information that we have access to at this time. This information is drawn from external systems not directly controlled by the department.


Written Question
Pet Travel Scheme: Dogs
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs travelled to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme via (a) sea, (b) tunnel and (c) air in each year between 2013 and 2022.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The total number of dogs that travelled under the pet travel scheme is as follows:

Year

Air

Sea

Tunnel

Total

2018

17,783

118,043

177,170

312,996

2019

19,302

114,706

174,396

308,404

2020

16,353

38,813

131,463

186,629

2021

17,389

39,578

108,904

165,871

2022

17,885

95,493

169,531

282,909

This is a summary of dogs entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme via an approved route. It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland (as these movements do not need to follow an approved route).

The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.

Please note that we do not hold any data prior to 2018.


Written Question
Pet Travel Scheme: Cats
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cats travelled to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme via (a) sea, (b) tunnel and (c) air in each year between 2013 and 2022.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The total number of cats that travelled under the pet travel scheme is as follows:

Year

Air

Sea

Tunnel

Total

2018

8,530

8,449

12,591

29,570

2019

9,776

9,764

12,767

32,307

2020

9,354

5,235

12,545

27,134

2021

11,445

5,928

11,768

29,141

2022

9,819

15,500

14,238

39,557

This is a summary of cats entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme via an approved route. It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland (as these movements do not need to follow an approved route).

The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals.

We do not hold any data prior to 2018.


Written Question
Fisheries: Migrant Workers
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of migrant labourers working in the pelagic fleet.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Department does not hold information on the number of migrant labourers working on pelagic vessels. The Seafish Industry Authority regularly conducts employment surveys of the fishing sector and these reports can be found on their website. Of the pelagic vessels that responded to the most recent survey, none reported migrant workers on their vessels.


Written Question
Animals: Imports
Friday 14th July 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to consult on changes to the non-commercial importation of live animals.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

There are no policy changes to the imports of non-commercial live animals. Importers from EU member States and EFTA countries currently benefit from a transitional period. At the end of the transitional period, we will be operating a global model for goods from the European Union and the rest of the world based on risk.

The Draft Target Operating Model (TOM) published by the Government on 5th of April does not apply to non-commercial movements of pet animals defined by Regulation 576/2013. Later in 2024, we will expect these pet animals to be checked at designated points of entry while commercial movements of animals will be subject to veterinary checks at Border Control Posts.


Written Question
Pet Travel Scheme: Dogs
Wednesday 12th July 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs have been imported under the Pet Travel Scheme in each month in 2023.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Month

Total number of dogs

January

18840

February

14838

March

15790

April

24722

May

20738

Data is still being collated from pet carriers for June 2023 therefore this data is not currently available.

This is a summary of animal entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel scheme via an approved route. It does not include pet animals that enter other parts of the UK (such as Northern Ireland or the Channel Islands) or pet animals that enter Great Britain from other parts of the UK. It does not include any animals that enter Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme from the Republic of Ireland (as these movements do not need to follow an approved route).

The data regarding the Pet Travel Scheme covers pets entering Great Britain and is based on information provided by checkers employed by approved carriers of pet animals. This data can be subject to change as often data from carriers can be received late.


Written Question
Packaging: Recycling
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

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 she has made of the adequacy of the information provided to businesses on preparing for the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

To help businesses prepare, guidance and an obligation checker have been published on gov.uk. We are also running regular Business and Local Authority Readiness Forums to relay key information and answer key questions.

We are committed to continuing to work with businesses closely to ensure the quality of the guidance and information we provide. We will continue to review and update this information taking into account feedback provided to us.