Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 implement the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Internationally, Defra is one of the largest donors to and supporters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), providing funding to enable voluntary market adoption and to address knowledge, capacity-building and data needs of market participants.
Domestically, Defra is funding the TNFD’s UK National Consultation Group – convened by the Green Finance Institute - to support UK companies and financial institutions in building awareness and capacity on nature and the TNFD, building the case internally for TNFD-aligned reporting and collecting feedback on the recommendations.
HMG has backed the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop standards that provide globally comparable and decision-useful information for investors regarding sustainability-related financial disclosures. Following ISSB’s consultation on future priorities, we welcomed and look forward to the results of their work to research disclosures on risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services – drawing on the work of the TNFD. I met recently with the Director of Sustainable Finance for the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) assessments and (b) controls are in place to ensure the (i) integrity and (ii) effectiveness of measures implemented to achieve biodiversity net gains in development projects.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a mandatory requirement in the planning process, and developments (unless exempt) need to submit information to the relevant local planning authority to demonstrate how they intend to deliver a 10% ‘net gain’ calculated using the statutory BNG metric. This could be through measures taken on-site, off-site or by purchasing government issued credits as a last resort. Any significant on-site (and any off-site) gains must include a legal agreement (covering at least 30 years) and a habitat management and monitoring plan as part of their application.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 prevent the euthanasia of healthy animals without their owners' prior consent.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) provides guidance on obtaining consent before euthanasia. The person presenting the animal is required to sign a consent form attesting to the fact they are the owner or are authorised by the owner.
Defra has worked closely with the veterinary profession to provide greater assurance that alternatives to euthanasia are explored before a healthy dog or cat is put down. Following these discussions, the RVCS agreed to incorporate the principle of microchip scanning before euthanasia into the guidance that underpins their Code of Professional Conduct.