Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to incorporate a strategy on encouraging (a) public green spaces, (b) front gardens and (c) other private green spaces into the National Pollinator Strategy.
Answered by George Eustice
Protecting our pollinators is a priority for this Government. They are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production.
Our National Pollinator Strategy sets out comprehensive measures to support pollinators and identifies actions for everyone, be they land managers, councils, or window-box gardeners, to do their bit.
The “Bees’ Needs” campaign (www.beesneeds.org.uk) is included in the Strategy and explains what action can be taken to provide food, shelter and nest sites for pollinators. It contains a series of information sheets providing practical advice to local authorities, businesses and gardeners about managing urban or industrial green spaces and gardens for bees and other pollinators.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
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 threat of the small hive beetle and the Asian hornet to the British bee population.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra’s Pest Risk Analysis for the small hive beetle, including an assessment of its potential impact, has been published and can be found at www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=945. The species risk analysis for the Asian hornet is also available online at www.nonnativespecies.org/downloadDocument.cfm?id=643.
With the establishment of the Asian hornet in south-west France and its spread into northern France alongside the Channel, as well as the presence of the small hive beetle in southern Italy, the National Bee Unit has increased the number of risk based exotic pest inspections. It routinely provides advice and training to beekeepers to raise awareness of the threat and the need for vigilance.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of tree disease on (a) existing woodland and (b) the restoration of planted ancient woodland.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and our health. Defra is committed to protecting our borders from pests and building the resilience of our trees and plants.
We assess the impacts of pests and disease threats on trees and plants and take a risk-based approach to ensure that our response is directed towards priority pests and diseases and their respective pathways. We have produced a prioritised plant health risk register which is used to identify risks and agree priorities for action.
The Forestry Commission has a comprehensive monitoring and surveillance programme in place for tree pests and diseases in woodlands. Maps of the latest confirmed findings are available on its website:
www.forestry.gov.uk/pestsanddiseases
Defra has funded research to ‘Assess and address the impacts of ash dieback on UK woodlands and trees of conservation importance’. The published report includes a series of case studies on sites of ancient woodland and is available at:
http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5273931279761408
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution that fully implementing the Somerset Flood Action Plan will have on (a) road and rail transport resilience and (b) the resilience of the Hinckley Point C nuclear construction project.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Recent computer modelling has been carried out to assess the benefits of some of the works carried out under the Somerset Flood Action Plan. This indicates that, in a repeat of the weather seen in Winter 2013/14, closure of the A361 would be reduced to about three weeks instead of the nine to ten weeks in 2013/14, and the impact on the rail line from Bristol to Taunton across Northmoor would be reduced.
In terms of Hinkley C site development, licensed nuclear site operators are responsible for undertaking flood risk assessments and providing and maintaining control measures to ensure their sites remain safe from faults and damage arising from flooding. In addition Local Authorities must ensure that their off-site plan for a nuclear emergency is resilient to a range of weather conditions (e.g. those leading to, or involving, flooding or heavy snow).
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
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 ancient woodland is located within (a) national parks and (b) areas of outstanding natural beauty; and what proportion of that woodland has site of special scientific interest status.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Natural England estimates that 15% of ancient woodlandis located within national parks and 30% is located within areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs). In national parks, 29%of this woodland has site of special scientific interest (SSSI) status; in AONBs, 13% of this woodland has SSSI status.