Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 potential merits of introducing a ban on the preventative use of antibiotics on healthy farm animals to help (a) stop antimicrobial resistance and (b) safeguard the effectiveness of lifesaving antibiotics used to treat human illnesses.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding their welfare. Changes to the law on veterinary medicines represent one tool that can be used to help effect reductions in antibiotic prescribing in animals. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 are currently under review, and the feedback from the recently closed public consultation will be analysed and considered.
The publicly available consultation documents for the revision of the Veterinary Medicines Legislation set out the rationale for the Government’s proposed approach to the use of antibiotics to prevent disease in animals (prophylaxis). In summary, the proposed new legal restrictions on antibiotic prophylaxis prohibit this type of use in all but exceptional circumstances in order to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, protect animal welfare and allow changes to prescribing practices to be made sustainably.
To date in the UK, collaborative working between the Government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors to focus on these issues has already resulted in our national sales of veterinary antibiotics reducing by 55% since 2014, and in 2021 we recorded the lowest antibiotic use yet.
The Government takes a ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the UK National Action Plan on AMR. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate meet regularly to consider appropriate actions to address AMR across the human and animal health sectors. This has included discussion on the preventative use of antibiotics in healthy farm animals.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 he has made of the level of risk to human health of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs polluting rivers from nearby factory farms.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Edmonton on 6 December 2022, PQ 99926.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 press release entitled Sale of horticultural peat to be banned in move to protect England’s precious peatlands, published on 27 August 2022, what assessment he has made of (a) the time that will be required for the horticultural industry to complete its transition to peat-free products and (b) whether any exemptions will be required within the sector.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Ministers are aware that the horticulture industry has already made significant progress in terms of developing peat free alternatives and sourcing suitable material but recognise that certain sectors face particular technical obstacles and will need longer to make the transition to peat free.
The proposed ban will be framed in such a way as to provide time limited exemptions for the professional horticulture sector, in order to allow time to overcome these barriers. Officials are currently consulting with horticultural industry representatives to inform our detailed proposals.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 (a) adequacy and (b) ease of access to peat-free mixes for (i) ornamental growers and (ii) retailers, in the context of the health and growth needs of many floral species.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Ministers are aware that the horticulture industry has already made significant progress in terms of developing peat free alternatives and sourcing suitable material but recognise that certain sectors face particular technical obstacles and will need longer to make the transition to peat free.
The proposed ban will be framed in such a way as to provide time limited exemptions for the professional horticulture sector, in order to allow time to overcome these barriers. Officials are currently consulting with horticultural industry representatives to inform our detailed proposals.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria will he use to assess the effectiveness of the Deposit Return Scheme proposals in delivering maximum environmental benefit.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) objectives include boosting recycling levels, offering greater opportunities to collect higher quality, uncontaminated materials in greater quantities thus promoting a circular economy and reducing littering. Last year's consultation proposed that a key feature of the policy would be an ambitious 90% collection target for in-scope material which could be phased in, to ensure the ongoing high performance of the DRS.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 has taken during its establishment of the Deposit Return Scheme to ensure that it is fairly and equitably implemented to avoid adverse effects for the markets.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
HM Government has consulted twice on the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Final details and the next steps for the DRS will be presented in HM Government's response to last year's consultation. We are working towards publication in late 2022. We will continue to work with industry and the Devolved Administrations to ensure that the scheme is delivered efficiently and effectively, and that it aligns with upcoming packaging reforms.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 help ensure that local tree and plant growers are utilised in outdoor public projects in urban areas to help improve air quality.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We know that trees outside woodlands, including trees in urban areas, parks, and along roads and footpaths can provide many environmental benefits for people.
There is strong evidence that healthy, well-chosen and well placed urban trees can provide a large range of benefits valuable to the economy and to people. This includes a relatively small but beneficial impact on urban air quality. However, current evidence suggests that trees would not be enough to solve the air quality problems at a city scale.
Through the Nature for Climate Fund we are boosting the numbers of trees near to where people live, investing millions of pounds in tree planting and in the skills to incorporate trees in the right places to generate maximum benefits.
Additional funding is being provided to support tree growers and seed suppliers across England, to help meet the growing demand for trees. We have developed capital and innovation grants for the sector that will encourage the adoption of mechanisation and automation, and help enhance the quantity, quality, diversity and biosecurity of domestic tree production.
Alongside this, Defra has been working closely with the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group who have published an action plan 'Unlocking green growth: A plan from the ornamental horticulture & landscaping industry'. This sets out the industry's potential contributions to tackling some of the environmental challenges facing the UK, including through the use of a greater proportion of British-produced plants and trees in public sector projects, and the incorporation of more community green spaces within the urban planning process. Where Government can help, we will work with the sector to help it take advantage of the opportunities outlined in the action plan.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 the independent report entitled Automation in Horticultural Review, published in July 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's recommendation on establishing a long-term seasonal workers' scheme to stabilise workforce pressures in the sector, help growers evaluate their labour needs, and incentivise long-term capital investments in automation technology.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of a reliable source of seasonal labour for horticulture and the poultry sector and the role of automation in the food supply chain.
The Government’s forthcoming response to the review of automation in horticulture will therefore outline actions to complement the immediate need for seasonal workers and help attract more residents of the United Kingdom into agricultural work – the overall aim of both being to, over time, reduce the sector’s dependency on seasonal migrant labour.
Following an announcement in the Government Food Strategy, an extra 10,000 visas have been released for the Seasonal Worker visa route - bringing the total for this year to 40,000 visas.
Under current agreement with the Home Office a similar number will be rolled forward for 2023. Defra are discussing with them precisely what the number will be, using evidence from the NFU and other stakeholders provided in 2022 and having regard to the Prime Minister’s stated support for a short term expansion of the visa route.
As announced in the Government Food Strategy in June, the Government has now commissioned an independent labour review which will consider how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages in the food supply chain.
The review will focus on farming, processing, and food and non-alcoholic drink manufacturing as sectors which are critical for food production and food security. The review is being chaired by John Shropshire, an industry veteran who stepped down from his role as CEO of major horticulture producer G’s Group last year. He will be supported by an expert panel drawing in expertise from across the sectors covered by the review.
Defra continues to speak regularly with the agriculture sector and other government departments to understand labour supply and demand, including for both permanent and seasonal workforce requirements, and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the farming workforce. Defra is also working closely with the Home Office to ensure that the requirements for these sectors are understood across Government.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 support the production of nitrite-free (a) bacon and (b) ham in the UK.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nitrites are an approved food additive for use in bacon and ham products. The HM Government considers that existing levels of nitrites and nitrates in food products are sufficiently protective of consumers. Where individual companies decide to use authorised alternatives to nitrites, this is ultimately a commercial decision as to what products they bring to market.
Existing requirements on the control of additives in food production ensure that food is produced safely and is labelled to enable consumers to make informed choices on the food they buy and consume. The HM Government is always looking for ways to support innovation in the food industry but takes the position that intervention should be restricted only to areas where there are food safety or health concerns based on available evidence.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 has assessed the potential merits of introducing amendments to fishing licenses to prohibit all types of destructive fishing in Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Marine conservation is a devolved competence and the following information on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) therefore relates to England only.
The Fisheries Act 2020 requires that all vessels fishing commercially in UK waters must have a licence to do so. All licences have a set of conditions which specify the area in which fishing is authorised, the time period permitted for fishing, the quantities and description of which species may be caught and the permitted fishing method. These conditions are subject to periodic review and are based on scientific evidence.
98 MPAs in English inshore waters already have byelaws in place to protect sensitive features from damaging fishing activities and the first four offshore byelaws have now been established. The Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and Marine Management Organisation continue to assess and implement measures to manage damaging fishing within MPAs. We are aiming to have all MPAs in English waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.