Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the discovery of a case of atypical BSE in a cow in Scotland on UK agriculture.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
BSE is not a contagious disease. There is no risk to animal and human health or food safety as a result of this isolated case.
Unlike classical BSE, which occurs through the consumption of contaminated feed, atypical BSE is believed to occur spontaneously at a very low level in all cattle populations. There have been just 3 cases in the UK since 2014.
The animal was tested under our surveillance system, demonstrating its effectiveness.
British beef remains safe to eat and can continue to be exported to trading partners.
Atypical BSE is not a notifiable disease for the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This case does not affect our WOAH ‘controlled’ risk status for BSE, nor the application submitted in August this year to have it further reduced to ‘negligible’.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 level of the UK's disease response capability in relation to foot and mouth disease.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To reduce the risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the UK, in collaboration with our National Reference Laboratory and international partners, Defra monitors the threat presented by different trade routes and works. The risk of incursion is currently considered to be low. This risk evaluation informs our preparedness activities from targeting of measures at the border, domestic disease surveillance, to the strains procured for our vaccine bank and any communications to raise the awareness among livestock keepers.
Specific measures in place to reduce the risk of FMD incursions include requiring imported meat and dairy products to be accompanied by animal and public health certification confirming that they come from an area that is free from FMD; strict rules for the movement of animals and genetic material, and a ban on certain animal products as livestock feed. We continue to remind livestock keepers of the importance of maintaining strict on-farm biosecurity, compliance with the swill feeding ban, and the reporting of all suspicions of notifiable disease promptly.
Defra’s contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases, the FMD control strategy and associated guidance describe the measures that need to be taken prevent and, in the event of an incursion, control outbreaks of FMD. The plans are reviewed and tested including through national response exercises and routine testing. The next exercise is currently being planned.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 posed by foot and mouth disease to the UK.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To reduce the risk of foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the UK, in collaboration with our National Reference Laboratory and international partners, Defra monitors the threat presented by different trade routes and works. The risk of incursion is currently considered to be low. This risk evaluation informs our preparedness activities from targeting of measures at the border, domestic disease surveillance, to the strains procured for our vaccine bank and any communications to raise the awareness among livestock keepers.
Specific measures in place to reduce the risk of FMD incursions include requiring imported meat and dairy products to be accompanied by animal and public health certification confirming that they come from an area that is free from FMD; strict rules for the movement of animals and genetic material, and a ban on certain animal products as livestock feed. We continue to remind livestock keepers of the importance of maintaining strict on-farm biosecurity, compliance with the swill feeding ban, and the reporting of all suspicions of notifiable disease promptly.
Defra’s contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases, the FMD control strategy and associated guidance describe the measures that need to be taken prevent and, in the event of an incursion, control outbreaks of FMD. The plans are reviewed and tested including through national response exercises and routine testing. The next exercise is currently being planned.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on ensuring transport provision in areas affected by storms.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the UK Government’s Lead Government Department (LGD) model, the responsibility for severe storms and weather in England rests with the following organisations:
Further detail can be found here: The Roles of Lead Government Departments, Devolved Administrations and Other Public Bodies (HTML) - GOV.UK
Designated LGDs are responsible for leading work to identify serious risks and ensuring that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place for their responsibilities. This includes if their sector is designated as a Critical National Infrastructure Sector (CNI), which Transport is.
Since the start of the current UK Storm Season on 1 September 2024, Defra has worked with DfT on the following:
We hold monthly calls with DfT officials to share situational awareness and do these more frequently when the need arises. More detail on specific work undertaken by DfT and the Transport Sector on transport provision in areas affected by storms should be requested directly from DfT.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 his Department collecting information on how many (a) abattoirs and (b) food processing plants in (i) England and (ii) the UK are family-owned businesses.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are 232 approved Food Standards Agency (FSA) abattoirs across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and the FSA records which are sole traders, partnerships, and incorporated companies.
The majority of food processing plants are overseen by local authorities, and while their trading names are published by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland, this does not give an indication of the makeup of ownership.
Defra remains focused on supporting the farming, meat and food processing sectors, and the collection of this level of detail is not required or necessary to facilitate the delivery of any Official Controls.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 publish the speech made by the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at the Vegetarian Society event on 13 November 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Minister Zeichner spoke briefly at this reception. This is something he often does at similar events. Defra does not routinely publish transcripts of such remarks and there are no plans to deviate from convention.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of dredging on flood mitigation.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Dredging and clearing channels are an important option for watercourse maintenance, where it is technically and cost effective, does not significantly increase flood risk for others downstream, and does not damage the environment and wildlife. Its effectiveness varies substantially for each stretch of watercourse, it is unlikely to be effective in isolation and is usually part of a wider approach. In many cases the silt will quickly build up again.
Where watercourse maintenance is the responsibility of the Environment Agency it focuses its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest benefit in terms of protecting people and property from flooding. This includes dredging, which the Environment Agency will undertake an assessment of, working in close consultation with local communities.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 extending the Flood Re scheme to businesses.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re is a joint government and industry flood reinsurance scheme established specifically to help UK households at high risk of flooding to access affordable insurance. As such, it is funded via a levy on UK household insurers.
Business insurance operates differently to household insurance. It is often bespoke, based on the individual nature of the business. It is important to note that there is no evidence of a systemic problem for businesses being able to access flood insurance.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the potential merits of using the Armed Forces during extreme weather events.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has longstanding arrangements with the Ministry of Defence to secure military support for flood response when this is required.
There are well practiced procedures for requesting Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) at national and local levels.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
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 paragraph 4.105 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, if he will maintain spending on flood resilience over the next five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We will invest £2.4 billion across 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.