Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they have monitored peat burning on the South Pennine Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (1) this year, and (2) in the previous three years; and what assessment they have made of the effects of this peat burning.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Natural England monitors and reports on the condition of notified features on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) through its programme of site condition monitoring. This will include site visits and desk assessment. Those features are affected by a range of factors including land management burning and wildfire. In addition to this routine programme of monitoring, Natural England made an assessment of part of the South Pennine Moors SSSI following a wildfire incident in 2020. This assessment has not yet concluded, but when complete the condition will be logged on Natural England’s designated Sites database, which is publicly available.
Additionally, Natural England has been working with land managers on the South Pennine Moors SSSI to advise them on the condition of SSSI features on their land, through a contract under its Discretionary Advice Service.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Prime Minister on 6 October where he referenced the “new wild belts” that will “mark the landscape” by 2030, (1) how much of the area of (a) England, (b) Scotland, and (c) Wales they expect that the wild belts will cover; (2) what processes will be used to create them; (3) to what extent will they be in (a) urban areas, and (b) rural areas; and (4) what designations will the wild belts be allocated.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Prime Minister recently set out his vision for a greener and transformed Britain, with millions of trees, wilder landscapes for people to enjoy and a commitment to protect 30% of land for biodiversity by 2030. We want to strengthen our existing network of protected areas and explore ways of driving up the biodiversity value of these areas.
Implementation of domestic biodiversity is a devolved matter in the UK. In England the Government is introducing a range of new incentives to restore ecosystems and create wilder landscapes including the Nature for Climate Fund, Nature Recovery Fund and the recently launched Green Recovery Challenge Fund.
Our Environment Bill will introduce Local Nature Recovery Strategies, which will provide a spatial planning tool for nature, allowing local government and communities to identify priorities and opportunities for nature recovery across our protected areas, green belts and wider farming landscape. Local authorities and public bodies more generally will be required to have regard to Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
The term ‘wild belt’ has been used to refer generally to wilder areas around towns and cities but adopted most recently in campaigns by the Wildlife Trusts to set a new designation within a reformed planning system.
Just as we want to see more and better access to nature around our towns and cities, the role of planning in further protecting any areas that are being restored should be considered alongside our ambitious planning reforms. The public consultation for the Planning for the Future white paper is due to close on 29 October. The Government will be carefully analysing all responses before publishing our response.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have given, if any, to the owners and managers of grouse moors in relation to the current burning season; and whether they are monitoring the effects of such burning on (1) moorland peat, (2) CO2 emissions, (3) wildlife, (4) potential run-off, and (5) other relevant matters.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out rotational burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats, and we are looking at options, including how legislation could achieve this. Real progress is being made in promoting sustainable alternatives. We have urged landowners to adopt these and continue to work with them constructively. We will be publishing the England Peat Strategy later this year which will detail further how we intend to protect, restore and reduce damage to our peatlands.
Natural England continues to engage with landowners and managers on best practice and sustainable management with respect to managed burning, working with them to understand the impacts of their chosen land management techniques.
Natural England monitors the condition of SSSIs, which may be affected by burning, through its programme of SSSI condition monitoring. The monitoring of specific impacts (including CO2 emissions) from burning is not done on a granular scale, however the Environment Agency and Natural England does monitor the overall condition of our rivers and moorlands.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for an extension of the 2026 cut-off date for registration of historic rights of way in view of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way. They are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) to plan improvements to the rights of way network in their area, which are usually available on the authority’s website. This must include an assessment of the local rights of way including the condition of the network.
Deferring the 2026 cut-off date for registration of historic rights of way is a possibility, which would create more time for the reforms to rights of way legislation to be implemented effectively. We must weigh this against the desire for certainty around where rights of way exist, which implementing the cut-off date will bring. Officials intend to meet the rights of way reform Stakeholder Working Group soon and will discuss this issue with them and others before we come to a decision.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 20 July (HL6513), whether (1) the funding allocated for shovel-ready schemes will include the planned work at Earby and the phase 3 scheme at Wentcliffe Beck, and (2) the planned stakeholder roundtable on flood defence schemes will include representatives from Earby.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The work at Earby (phase 2) will be going ahead subject to full business case approval which the Environment Agency hopes to submit by the end of the year. Additional funding allocated for shovel ready schemes was not required for Earby (phase 2) as it does not have any funding gaps based upon current costs estimates, identified partner contributions and the Government’s updated partnership funding rules.
Wentcliffe Beck (phase 3) was not allocated funding as it will not be ready to start construction by the required deadline. However the Environment Agency continues to progress the development of the scheme.
We are continuing to work on preparations for a Yorkshire roundtable to discuss the response to the November 2019 flooding. The invitation list will depend on the size of event we are able to arrange. Officials were working to identify a date for this before the Covid-19 restrictions came into effect. In the event that we are not able to hold an in-person meeting, we will make alternative arrangements as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Environmental Land Management tests and trials have included access provisions or schemes.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
To support the development of Environmental Land Management (ELM), the Government is undertaking a number of tests and trials, working with farmers and land managers to co-design the new schemes. These tests and trials will help us to assess how the scheme could work in a real life environment. Three of our tests and trials look at issues concerning access.
1. The Trails Trust, How to incentivise green infrastructure access and biodiversity creation
The Trails Trust will work with 50 farmers and land managers in the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to explore the barriers and potential solutions to creating, upgrading and maintaining infrastructure networks. The test will look at the willingness of farmers and land managers to create, enhance and maintain access across different acreages and land uses. The test will also explore the valuation of incentives that landowners would require to implement access rights along specified routes. The test is due to conclude at the end of June 2021.
2. Kent Downs AONB, Enhancing access opportunities, as part of the NAAONBs (National Association of AONBs) submission
This proposal was submitted by the NAAONB on behalf of 12 individual AONBs, one of which included the Kent Downs AONB. The Kent Downs AONB’s test is working with two farmers/land manager groups to identify the barriers to access to landscapes and nature and co-develop a template of practical ways through which ELM can support better and more diverse access. Local trusted experts will work with farmers and land managers and their representative organisations to explore existing best practice; experts in access health and wellbeing will be involved to assess benefits and barriers. The test is due to complete by March 2021.
3. South Downs National Park Authority, South Downs and the Land App
South Downs National Park Authority is working with the Land App, a GIS mapping system developed for farmers, to collate maps and data about their holding in one user-friendly place. The proposal will work with farmers from the South Downs farm clusters and use the Land App and the data it holds to evaluate and plan the delivery of public goods at a landscape (cluster or part cluster) scale. This includes working with the Winchester Downs Cluster group who will focus on public access issues and opportunities. The test is due to complete by mid-July 2020.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce measures to control the use of barbecues outside private property and, in particular, the use of mobile and disposable barbecues in open countryside and moorlands.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Current byelaw legislation allows for local authorities to restrict and enforce the use of disposable barbecues in parks and public spaces. Defra is working with stakeholders to promote a series of guidance videos to educate users about accessing the countryside safely. This includes an updated Countryside Code which advises not to have barbecues or fires. This guidance is available at the following links:
Green space access: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-on-accessing-green-spaces-safely
The Countryside Code: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-countryside-code/the-countryside-code
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy and detailed programme on badger culling and other means of controlling tuberculosis in badgers over the next five years.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government remains committed to the goal of achieving Officially Free bovine TB status for the whole of England by 2038.
On 5 March 2020, the Government published its response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray's 2018 review of England's bovine TB eradication strategy, setting out the priorities for the next phase of the strategy around three key priorities.
We will provide funding to accelerate the research and trial work necessary to authorise the BCG vaccine for use in cattle alongside a test that can differentiate between vaccinated cattle and those with the disease. Our aim is to have a deployable cattle vaccine within the next five years. Vaccination will never provide full protection but could significantly reduce the spread of the disease both between cattle and between cattle herds and wildlife. The UK can harness its world-leading science in developing solutions such as vaccination that would also be valuable to other countries.
Secondly, we will also begin an exit strategy from intensive badger culling, while ensuring that wildlife control remains an option where the epidemiological evidence supports it (i.e. areas where badgers pose a significant source of TB infection). We intend to pilot government-funded badger vaccination in at least one area where the four-year cull cycle has concluded, with simultaneous surveillance of disease. We envisage that any remaining areas would join the current cull programme in the next few years and that the badger cull phase of the strategy would then wind down by the mid to late 2020s.
We will continue to support badger vaccination projects in areas where the prevalence of disease is low. We will also investigate the potential for projects where adjacent vaccination and culling could complement each other in controlling disease. Changes to our guidance to Natural England on licensing badger control will be subject to consultation.
Thirdly, we will invest in the deployment of better, more frequent, and more diverse cattle testing, so that we are able to detect the presence of the disease earlier and remove it from cattle herds faster. The frequency of mandatory surveillance testing in two high risk area counties – Shropshire and Staffordshire – will increase from annual to six-monthly as soon as the COVID-19 situation allows. We expect this to be extended across the high risk area from 2021.
There is no single answer to tackling the scourge of bovine TB but by deploying a range of policy interventions, we can turn the tide on this terrible disease and achieve our long-term objective of eradicating it by 2038.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the future prospects for (1) Chester Zoo, (2) other major zoos and (3) small zoos; and what plans they have to secure the future of zoos and their animals.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We recognise that zoos are working tirelessly during this challenging time to ensure the health and welfare needs of animal collections in their care continue to be met. We have been engaging regularly with zoos, including Chester Zoo, to gather information and supporting evidence to understand the impacts of coronavirus on the sector.
The £14 million Zoos Support Fund was opened on 4 May to help those zoos, safari parks, aquariums and eligible farm visitor attractions in severe financial distress due to the disruption caused by coronavirus. This Fund remains open for applications until 19 July 2020.
As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks are now allowed to reopen, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place. Allowing zoos to reopen is an integral step towards supporting an early financial recovery.
Consideration of proposals for any longer-term support that might be needed for the sector is ongoing. With the help and support of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) we are working diligently to find the best way forward.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the current (1) numbers, and (2) distribution, of lapwings in the United Kingdom, and what plans they have to support an increase in their numbers.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The latest estimates of lapwing are 6,500 pairs and 620,000 individuals in Britain (Frost et al. 2020).
The latest national bird survey, ‘Bird Atlas 2007-11’, published results on the distribution of lapwing during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. In Britain, during the breeding season, lapwing were present in 2,241 ten-kilometre squares, which is 74% of the total. Except for southwest England, lapwing breed almost throughout rural England. During the non-breeding season, lapwing were present in 2,309 ten-kilometre squares, which is 80% of the total.
The lapwing is a species of conservation concern and is closely associated with the farmed and managed landscape therefore agri-environment schemes have an important role to play in its recovery.
The current Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme includes tailored options designed to meet the requirements of breeding lapwings on grassland and arable farmland, including the management of grassland to provide the right structure for nesting and to supply food for chicks. On arable farmland CS fallow plots have been created and designed to suit lapwing that breed in that particular habitat. This year, new CS options are also available which will benefit lapwings.