Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department are taking to support research on gene edited plants; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring researchers to have a license before conducting gene editing on animals.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has passed into law The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act that unlocks growth and innovation in the bioscience sector. Precision breeding technology such as gene editing, taking place in the UK’s leading research institutes has the potential to tackle some of the major challenges of our time.
Relevant licences under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 continue to be required for any scientific research involving gene-editing in animals.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will commit to setting future catch limits for cod in line with scientific advice to allow stocks to recover and rebuild.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The UK advocates an approach towards setting Total Allowable Catches for cod stocks and other species that is founded on the best available scientific advice, which seeks to maintain or rebuild sustainable fish stocks and fisheries in the long term. For many whitefish stocks, such as cod, a further key consideration when setting the Total Allowable Catch is their interaction with other stocks caught in the same mixed fishery.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that (a) bottom-towed fishing gear and (b) other destructive fishing activities are banned from offshore Marine Protected Areas.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
We have designated over 100 Marine Protected Areas since 2010, so that now 40% of English waters are within the protected area network. We have already committed that the next step is to ensure all of our MPAs are properly protected, supported by our proposed legally binding target under the Environment Act which we are consulting on at present. We have already introduced byelaws in the first four sites which ban bottom towed gear over sensitive habitats and published a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites. We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Areas in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of food consumed in the UK was produced in the UK in (a) 2021 and (b) 1987.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The ratio of food we produce in the UK compared to our food supply need remains high against historical levels. This ratio temporarily increased after World War 2 as production subsidies and intervention schemes drove over-production, and it stood at 74% in 1987. In addition to the end of such schemes, other things have happened since including changing consumer choices which has increased demand for a wider range of food, some of which we cannot produce in the UK for all or part of the year. For example, UK consumers currently consume significantly more rice than they did in 1987, all of which must be imported.
The most recent figures for 2020 (published in 2021) show we produced 60% of our food supply need but 74% of food that we can produce for all or part of the year. These figures have remained steady throughout this century. We are almost 100% self-sufficient in poultry, carrots and swedes. Sectors like soft fruit have seen a trend towards greater self-sufficiency with an extended UK season displacing imports.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason nearshore clam dredging and trawling is permitted; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those activities on basic marine systems.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Fisheries management is devolved.
In England, inshore clam dredging, and trawling fisheries are managed and monitored by the Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). IFCA byelaws include a variety of measures including permitting schemes to control fishing effort. Byelaws are accompanied by an Impact Assessment which sets out the anticipated costs and benefits of the proposed measure, including the environmental, social, and economic impacts. The Fisheries Act includes a commitment to develop domestic Fisheries Management Plans which will be a key mechanism to delivering sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 re-establishing the three mile limit.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Fisheries management is largely devolved. In England, Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities manage fisheries in the 0-6 nautical mile zone. In future, fisheries management will increasingly be delivered through Fisheries Management Plans.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 potential merits of (a) allocating a share of publicly-owned fishery to recreational sea anglers and (b) setting aside an area within 0 to 3 miles from commercial exploitation for those anglers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Regarding (a) in England, recreational sea angling is unlicensed and therefore anglers are not subject to quota allocations.
The value of recreational sea angling is recognised in England via the inclusion of ‘recreational sea fishing’ in the Fisheries Act 2020. The Act contains a requirement to develop fisheries management plans, ensuring the integration of recreational sea angling into wider fisheries management.
Regarding (b) there is no proposal to set aside specific areas for recreational sea angling. However, consultation on a number of potential Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English waters is planned for this spring. As part of this work, we will continue to work with recreational fishers to explore opportunities for recreational or low impact zones around HPMAs.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total agricultural subsidy in each year of the next seven years; and what his timetable is for reviewing that level of spending.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We have committed to maintain the farming budget for the duration of this parliament. On 1 January 2021 the agricultural transition period in England commenced. Between 2021 and 2027 the Government will seize the opportunity of EU exit to increase the sustainability, productivity and resilience of the agriculture sectors by:
Figure 1 of the Agricultural Transition Plan, published in November 2020, sets out our high-level spending plans across the rest of the parliament.
This is the first four years of the agricultural transition period and is covered by the Government's commitment to maintain current levels of spending in England, based on 2019 funding levels when the manifesto commitment was made. This amounts to an average of £2.4 billion a year over that period.
In 2021/22, the period covered by the Government Spending Review, total spend is expected to be £2,415 million. Of that we intend to spend £1,644 million on Direct Payments, £562 million on new and existing schemes for environmental outcomes and £210 million on schemes supporting prosperity in the sector in addition to contributing to environmental and animal health welfare outcomes.
We will quantify spending plans for meeting the manifesto commitment in future years as part of future Spending Reviews and subject to final policy designs.
As we move through the transition, we need to be able to adjust our funding allocations in-year as we see what works, and what schemes and support farmers are interested in.
We will keep adjustments to a minimum, to provide as much certainty as possible, and we will make any changes in an open and transparent way. We intend to continue to make gradual reductions in Direct Payments across the rest of the transition until the last year of Direct Payments in 2027.
We continually review our spending plans as we learn more about farmer uptake in our schemes, iterate policy development and roll out new schemes.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 potential effect of the removal of the basic payments scheme and transfer to a Countryside Stewardship grant on food production in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Basic Payment Scheme is not about food production. Decoupling of payments from food production took place some 15 years ago. Our evidence suggests that the removal of Direct Payments in England would only have a very marginal effect, if any, on overall production.
Direct Payments appear to stimulate a small (0-5%) increase in production only in the sheep, cattle, and dairy sectors, although the payments do not add to the economic value of these sectors. The overall profitability of those sectors is unlikely to be affected by a decrease in production.
Phasing out Direct Payments will free up money so we can reward farmers for delivering public goods, including environmental outcomes. Farmers will also be able to access grants to help boost their productivity through the Farming Investment Fund.
We recently reviewed Countryside Stewardship revenue payment rates and the new rates will apply to all agreements from 1 January 2022. Compared to 2013 rates, there is an average increase of around 30% but the changes vary for different options.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of illegal puppy farms have been closed down in the last five years, by jurisdiction.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the licence requirements for animal related activities such as pet selling or dog breeding. They therefore hold details of the enforcement activity being undertaken in their area, including information on action they have taken in relation to illegal breeding activity.
This Government takes the issue of the low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 require anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licencees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.
To support local authorities’ enforcement activity, my department maintains a national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting to where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online. More information can be found here: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk/
Additionally, the Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling and one of our key reforms in the Action Plan on Animal Welfare is to end this abhorrent, cruel practice and low-welfare pet imports. Through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill currently before Parliament, we will introduce new powers to tackle the unethical trade of puppy smuggling by reducing the number of pets (dogs, cats and ferrets) that can travel under pet travel rules. The Bill will also include powers for the Government to bring in further restrictions on the movement of pets on welfare grounds, for example by increasing the minimum age of imported puppies and restricting the import of pregnant dogs and dogs with mutilations such as cropped ears and tails.
We continue to maintain a close working relationship with the animal welfare sector, enforcement agencies and Governments across the four nations regarding the regulation of dog breeding and pet sales. This will allow us to explore a more consistent approach to addressing any cross-border issues associated with illegal or low-welfare supply.