Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 take steps to ensure that Agricultural Land Classifications cannot be amended to facilitate approval of solar farm planning applications.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Agricultural Land Classification system in England and Wales (ALC) was developed to support planning policy and protect high quality agricultural land from loss to development. Land is assessed according to the extent that its physical or chemical characteristics impose long term limitations on agricultural use, using the approved criteria. The assessment does not consider land use.
Instead, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which seeds that are permitted under Article 49(1) of Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 have not been provided authorisation for use from 1 January 2024.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Prior to EU Exit, the legislation quoted allowed seeds treated with a plant protection product (PPP) authorised in at least one Member State to be imported, marketed and used in GB. After Exit, arrangements were put in place to allow the import and use of treated seeds to continue until the end of 2023, following which all seed treatments would need GB authorisation.
I have listened to farmers and recognise the importance of access to treated seeds from the EU, particularly in the feed and horticulture sectors. I am preparing to lay secondary legislation in the autumn, through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL), to ensure measures are in place, before the current scheme for importing treated seeds ends in December.
The aim of this legislation will be to extend transitional arrangements for the import of treated seeds from the EU and EEA and will also include provisions to address the important issue of parallel imports.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 185334 on Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011, when he plans to commence that consultation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has reviewed the case for implementing Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Officials will be taking forward the work to seek to implement Section 42 and to consider supplementary regulations to adopt existing sewerage assets, such as private wastewater pumping stations, constructed since July 2011.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders and plan to develop a public consultation on our implementation approach to help build our evidence base on policy options and our assessment of costs and benefits.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 (a) ensure the preservation of existing hedgerows and (b) encourage the creation of new hedgerows.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Hedgerows are one of the most important ecological building blocks in our farmed landscape. They maintain the distinctive character of our countryside and provide crucial habitats and food for wildlife.
Legal protection for hedgerows in England and Wales is provided by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997.
These regulations prohibit the removal of most countryside hedgerows (or parts of them) without first seeking approval from the local planning authority. It determines whether a hedgerow is ‘important’ because of its wildlife, landscape, historical or archaeological value and should not be removed.
A local authority also has the power to impose enforceable planning conditions on a developer to protect hedges or trees assessed as being worthy of retention, which might otherwise be harmed by construction or the new land-use. Land managers in receipt of Basic Payment Scheme payments are also required to protect hedgerows on their land.
Agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship fund the management and planting of hedgerows to deliver recognised benefits for wildlife, landscape, and the historic environment. Hedgerow management is one of the most popular options within Countryside Stewardship.
Following our exit from the European Union the development of our new environmental land management schemes will continue to recognise the role and fund the management of hedgerows. The hedgerow standard, part of the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, will pay farmers to plant more hedgerows, leave them uncut or raise the cutting height.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 the Answer of 30 July 2019 to Question 280227 on Rodents: Gough Island, what (a) recent steps have been taken since 2019 and (b) are planned as part of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to eradicate non-native mice to protect the Tristan albatross on that island.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government has continued to provide support to RSPB for its programme to eradicate invasive non-native mice from Gough Island, to help save critically endangered seabirds such as the Tristan Albatross from extinction.
I am pleased to report that the RSPB has completed the eradication stage of the programme and will be continuing to monitor its impact.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question UIN 132840, what steps have been taken since the response to that question to seek views on making separate regulations in relation to private waste-water pumps similar to the Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 concerning the adoption of those assets by sewerage companies; and what steps his Department plans to take to ensure publication of that consultation.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since my Answer of 15 January 2021 to PQ 132840, my officials have established the timeline for taking forward the work to seek to implement Section 42 and to consider the question of supplementary regulations to adopt existing sewerage assets, such as private wastewater pumps, constructed since 2 July 2011.
We will be engaging with key stakeholders from May 2021. This will enable us to develop possible policy options with the necessary public consultation on those options and our assessment of costs and benefits for early 2022.
The consultation will be public and will be available on Citizen Space.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106951 on Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011, what (a) plans he has and (b) his timeframe is for completing that review.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Further to my Answer of 29 October 2020 to PQ 106951, I have now reviewed the case for implementing section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Section 42 implementation would cover the automatic adoption by sewerage companies of new, not existing, sewerage assets, constructed from the date of implementation.
This year, my Department will start the work necessary to implement section 42. Part of that work will include a consultation on our implementation approach as well as determining the timing for implementation.
Regarding existing sewerage assets, such as private waste-water pumps referenced in PQ 106951, the consultation will seek views on making separate regulations, similar to the Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011, concerning the adoption of those assets by sewerage companies.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 list the chemicals that have been banned from use in the UK as a result of EU legislation over the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
EU legislation requires that pesticides can only be sold or used if the active substance has been approved by the EU and the product containing it has been authorised nationally. Approval and authorisation depend on scientific assessment of risks to health and the environment. The assessment is based on the information available at the time and, if approval or authorisation is refused, it remains open for a fresh application to be made if new data addresses the safety concerns.
Information on approvals and on active substances that are no longer approved, can be found on the European Commission’s database at https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/public/?event=homepage&language=EN. Information on UK authorisations can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/pesticides/databases/index.htm. This does not include information about authorisations that have been withdrawn.
Companies that see limited sales from a pesticide can of course withdraw an active substance or product at any point. These cases cannot readily be identified from the databases.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 list the chemicals that have been withdrawn by their manufacturers as a result of investigation by the (a) EU and (b) Chemicals Regulation Division.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
EU legislation requires that pesticides can only be sold or used if the active substance has been approved by the EU and the product containing it has been authorised nationally. Approval and authorisation depend on scientific assessment of risks to health and the environment. The assessment is based on the information available at the time and, if approval or authorisation is refused, it remains open for a fresh application to be made if new data addresses the safety concerns.
Information on approvals and on active substances that are no longer approved, can be found on the European Commission’s database at https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/public/?event=homepage&language=EN. Information on UK authorisations can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website at https://www.hse.gov.uk/pesticides/databases/index.htm. This does not include information about authorisations that have been withdrawn.
Companies that see limited sales from a pesticide can of course withdraw an active substance or product at any point. These cases cannot readily be identified from the databases.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
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 effect of chemical bans by the (a) EU and (b) Chemicals Regulation Division in the last five years on (i) crop yields, (ii) costs of alternative chemicals, (iii) prices to consumers and (iv) farm profitability in the UK since the implementation of those bans.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The removal of banned pesticides from sale can adversely affect crop yields if alternative crop protection products or techniques are less effective. Alternative pesticides can sometimes be more expensive. Often these problems may reduce over time as new products become available or farmers find and adopt new approaches. The impact on consumer prices will depend on the degree to which overall market supply is affected. The impact on farm profitability will depend upon a number of factors including yield changes, farm gate price changes and input costs.
The Government’s review of the National Action Plan for the Sustainable use of Pesticides will take a holistic approach centred on Integrated Pest Management which can reduce dependence on chemical pesticides and help farmers to combat pest resistance and support agricultural productivity. The Plan aims to support measures to minimise pesticide use and to reduce risks to human health and the environment. We will consult on the updated Plan later in the year.