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Written Question
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Publications
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what independent reports have been commissioned by her Department since December 2019.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.


Written Question
Desalination: Finance
Wednesday 21st September 2022

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to increase investment in desalination plants.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The Government recognises the need for new water resources infrastructure, including reservoirs and water transfers, alongside reducing leakage and conserving water to provide a secure supply of water for future generations and to protect our environment.

The National Framework for Water Resources (launched in March 2020) brings together industry, regulators and Government to transform the way we use and look after our water supplies, including the need to reduce demand, halve leakage and develop new supplies.

The water industry is now working in regional groups to deliver the action needed to meet the challenge set out in the Framework to make sure water supplies remain secure. This includes looking at how they will accommodate new buildings and investigating what new infrastructure projects are required, such as desalination.

As part of the current price review round (PR19), Ofwat has allocated a £469 million fund for water companies to expedite and progress the development of new water infrastructure. Additionally, the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) has been formed to help accelerate the development of new water infrastructure and design future regulatory frameworks to enable this development.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Tuesday 22nd March 2022

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys of 6 December 2021 and 31 January 2022 regarding a constituent and feline microchipping.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 17 March 2022.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Thursday 10th February 2022

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the letter of 30 November from the hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys on behalf of his constituent regarding e-collars.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The hon. Member’s letter of 30 November was answered on 8 February 2022.


Written Question
Forestry: Finance
Tuesday 26th October 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department has paid the Woodland Trust for delivering tree-planting and forestry projects in each of the last five years.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has paid the Woodland Trust £5.5 million in total, over the last five years, since 2016/17. This has funded a wide range of activities including research, surveying and assurance, as well as tree planting schemes. Of the total, £3.8 million has been spent on tree planting in the Northern Forest.


Written Question
Imports: EU Countries
Friday 18th June 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what products imported from the EU requiring sanitary and phytosanitary inspections have had the fees for those inspections waived until 2022.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Plant health controls of goods imported into GB from the EU are being introduced in phases, aligned to the risks posed by different regulated commodities. Those goods which present the greatest potential biosecurity risk, ‘high-priority plants’, have been subject to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls since 1 January 2021. The selection of consignments for physical checks is risk-based, so that lower risk goods receive a lower frequency of checks. As such, fees need to be adapted to ensure there is no over-recovery of costs.

All other regulated goods are not subject to plant health controls until 2022, as such no fees are currently associated with these EU imports. Similarly, for other SPS goods, fees are only being charged at the point checks are being introduced, in line with the published timetable for the phased introduction of checks.


Written Question
Plants: EU Countries
Friday 18th June 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

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 undertaking a review of the plant and tree import inspection fees regime that has been applicable from 1 June 2021 for imports from the EU.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Defra took the decision to delay the introduction of fees for import checks of high-priority plants and plant products for 5 months to give businesses more time to prepare and adjust to the new charging arrangements. The methodology used to calculate fees for plant health services was agreed with trade following a fees review and consultation in 2017. During this time Defra has communicated extensively with industry and stakeholder groups to ensure they are prepared for the new fees coming in.

It has long been UK Government policy to charge for many publicly provided goods and services. The standard approach is to set fees to recover the full costs of service delivery. This relieves the general taxpayer of costs, so that they are properly borne by users who benefit from a service. This allows for a more equitable distribution of public resources and enables lower public expenditure and borrowing. Defra plant health services operate in line with that principle and have done for many years.

Plant health fees are reviewed regularly and adjusted to ensure no under, or over, recovery of costs and amended as necessary. For instance, prior to the public consultation on the methodology for calculating plant health fees in 2017, costs for export certification services were being significantly under-recovered, and subsequently new fees were introduced in 2018 to eliminate the shortfall.

We do not anticipate the introduction of fees for high-priority plants and plant products from the EU to have a significant impact on the overall volume of imports of these goods. Businesses will, as they already have in some cases, adapt their operating model to minimise the fees they pay, e.g. through greater consolidation of consignments.

Demand for high-priority plants (largely ornamental garden plants) is especially high as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers choosing to spend more time and therefore money on their homes and gardens. Whilst this will prompt greater domestic production of these plants, which Defra supports, EU countries such as the Netherlands, will remain a key source due to their prominence in the global market and their geographical proximity.


Written Question
Plants: EU Countries
Friday 18th June 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation the Government undertook with representatives of the ornamental horticulture industry on the introduction of fees for the inspection of plant and tree imports applicable from 1 June 2021 for plants and trees imported from the EU.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Defra took the decision to delay the introduction of fees for import checks of high-priority plants and plant products for 5 months to give businesses more time to prepare and adjust to the new charging arrangements. The methodology used to calculate fees for plant health services was agreed with trade following a fees review and consultation in 2017. During this time Defra has communicated extensively with industry and stakeholder groups to ensure they are prepared for the new fees coming in.

It has long been UK Government policy to charge for many publicly provided goods and services. The standard approach is to set fees to recover the full costs of service delivery. This relieves the general taxpayer of costs, so that they are properly borne by users who benefit from a service. This allows for a more equitable distribution of public resources and enables lower public expenditure and borrowing. Defra plant health services operate in line with that principle and have done for many years.

Plant health fees are reviewed regularly and adjusted to ensure no under, or over, recovery of costs and amended as necessary. For instance, prior to the public consultation on the methodology for calculating plant health fees in 2017, costs for export certification services were being significantly under-recovered, and subsequently new fees were introduced in 2018 to eliminate the shortfall.

We do not anticipate the introduction of fees for high-priority plants and plant products from the EU to have a significant impact on the overall volume of imports of these goods. Businesses will, as they already have in some cases, adapt their operating model to minimise the fees they pay, e.g. through greater consolidation of consignments.

Demand for high-priority plants (largely ornamental garden plants) is especially high as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers choosing to spend more time and therefore money on their homes and gardens. Whilst this will prompt greater domestic production of these plants, which Defra supports, EU countries such as the Netherlands, will remain a key source due to their prominence in the global market and their geographical proximity.


Written Question
Plants: EU Countries
Friday 18th June 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial impact assessment he has made of the effect on the ornamental horticulture sector of the introduction of fees for plant health import inspections applicable from 1 June 2021 for plants imported from the EU.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Defra took the decision to delay the introduction of fees for import checks of high-priority plants and plant products for 5 months to give businesses more time to prepare and adjust to the new charging arrangements. The methodology used to calculate fees for plant health services was agreed with trade following a fees review and consultation in 2017. During this time Defra has communicated extensively with industry and stakeholder groups to ensure they are prepared for the new fees coming in.

It has long been UK Government policy to charge for many publicly provided goods and services. The standard approach is to set fees to recover the full costs of service delivery. This relieves the general taxpayer of costs, so that they are properly borne by users who benefit from a service. This allows for a more equitable distribution of public resources and enables lower public expenditure and borrowing. Defra plant health services operate in line with that principle and have done for many years.

Plant health fees are reviewed regularly and adjusted to ensure no under, or over, recovery of costs and amended as necessary. For instance, prior to the public consultation on the methodology for calculating plant health fees in 2017, costs for export certification services were being significantly under-recovered, and subsequently new fees were introduced in 2018 to eliminate the shortfall.

We do not anticipate the introduction of fees for high-priority plants and plant products from the EU to have a significant impact on the overall volume of imports of these goods. Businesses will, as they already have in some cases, adapt their operating model to minimise the fees they pay, e.g. through greater consolidation of consignments.

Demand for high-priority plants (largely ornamental garden plants) is especially high as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers choosing to spend more time and therefore money on their homes and gardens. Whilst this will prompt greater domestic production of these plants, which Defra supports, EU countries such as the Netherlands, will remain a key source due to their prominence in the global market and their geographical proximity.


Written Question
Plants: EU Countries
Friday 18th June 2021

Asked by: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to develop a trusted trader inspection regime for the ornamental horticulture sector for plants imported from the EU.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

GB’s plant health regime is risk-based, and the history of compliance of specific trades (where the trade is the combination of a specific commodity from a specific origin), is a significant factor in determining biosecurity risk. Consequently, trades with a proven track record of compliance and meeting prescribed eligibility criteria may be subject to a reduced frequency or intensity of checks.

Whilst the biosecurity risk of imported goods is largely trade based, there are areas where trader considerations may also play a role. For example, as the phased introduction of EU-GB plant health import controls is completed in early 2022, Defra are exploring possible options for performing plant health controls away from the border on a longer-term basis, such as increased uptake in the use of designated plant health Control Points. Eligibility criteria to be designated as a Control Point may include elements consistent with a trusted trader model.