Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 protect the UK's marine environment.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our statutory UK Marine Strategy sets out a vision for UK waters to achieve clean, safe, healthy biologically diverse and productive seas, which are used sustainably. The Strategy provides a legal framework, agreed with the devolved administrations, for assessing and monitoring the status of our seas and to put in place the measures needed to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES). The Strategy covers marine biodiversity, non-indigenous species, commercial fishing, nutrient pollution, contaminants, underwater noise and marine litter. To protect UK seas effectively, we need to work with other countries. The UK plays a leading role in OSPAR (the regional sea convention for the North-East Atlantic). We coordinate our efforts with our neighbours to ensure the best protection for our seas whilst maintaining their sustainable use.
Domestically, we have designated a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and are focused on making sure they are properly protected. In English waters there are 178 sites protecting 40% of our seas. 98 sites in English inshore waters now have management measures in place to protect sensitive features from bottom towed fishing gears. All existing MPAs in English offshore waters will be protected from fishing activities which could prevent them achieving their conservation objectives through a three-year byelaw programme being undertaken by the Marine Management Organisation.
HM Government has also recently finished consulting on five candidate Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 facilitate the import of (a) semen and (b) other products for (i) rare breed sheep and (ii) Icelandic sheep.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Special licences can be sought for the import of semen and other products for rare breed sheep, which are then considered on a case-by-case basis. We remain committed to the diversification of the domestic genetic portfolio in line with the relevant risk assessments in place to maintain our domestic sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Breeding projects in Great Britain over recent years have successfully strengthened domestic flock resistance to the fatal ruminant disease known as scrapie. Introducing genetically susceptible rare breeds into the domestic flock will compromise the excellent work achieved to promote our flock resistance.
There is currently only one breed of sheep in Iceland which, unfortunately, does not possess the gene for resistance to scrapie. We recognise that importers are unable to meet the scrapie requirements for our import certificate.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in England.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In its 2019 manifesto, HM Government committed to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers to incentivise people to recycle more and to reduce littering of in-scope containers. HM Government has consulted twice on the introduction of a DRS. The most recent consultation in 2021 sought views on a range of topics to ensure effective delivery of a scheme. We are analysing responses to this consultation with a view to publishing a Government response in late 2022.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of restricting the use of (a) astro turf and (b) other plastic-based artificial grass products.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has not assessed the potential merits of restricting the use of astro turf or other plastic-based artificial grass products. However, we do recognise that these products, in themselves, have no value for wildlife. Their installation can have negative impacts on soil health, biodiversity and drainage for flood prevention or alleviation if installed in place of natural earth or more positive measures such as planting flowers or trees or providing natural water features.
Improving biodiversity is a key objective for the Government. We prefer to help people and companies make the right choice, rather than banning or taxing items outright. We are seeing more organisations, including the Royal Horticultural Society, helping to communicate the risks and issues surrounding the use of artificial grass in place of natural landscaping. While we have no current plans to ban the sale of artificial grass, in our recent call for evidence on commonly littered and problematic plastic items, we asked the public if there were any further plastic items we should consider for future policy action. We will review the feedback from the call for evidence and publish a response in due course.
In the 25 Year Environment Plan, we committed to introduce stronger new standards for green infrastructure and to support local authorities to assess provision. This new Green Infrastructure Framework will be launched by Natural England in December 2022. This will show what good green infrastructure looks like and help local authorities, developers and communities to improve provision in their area.
The Environment Act 2021 contains an ambitious package of reforms to restore and enhance nature and green spaces. This includes a new mandatory requirement for biodiversity net gain in the planning system, to ensure that new developments enhance biodiversity. In future, developments which involve the laying of artificial grass at the expense of natural landscaping, and are above a de minimis threshold, will be required to enhance biodiversity in other ways, through the biodiversity net gain requirement. This will incentivise more nature positive development.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) mitigate the impact of droughts and (b) improve water security.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Despite the dry summer, water companies have assured us that essential water supplies remain resilient across the country. It is their duty to maintain those supplies. Defra ministers have called for water company action in accordance with their pre-agreed drought plans.
The Environment Agency (EA) has activated its drought incident management plans as part of its role to balance the needs of water companies, other abstractors and the environment. EA has implemented restrictions on 270 spray irrigation abstraction licence holders to restrict abstraction to 50% of their licensed quantity. Over 1000 “hands-off” flow constraints are in place to protect the environment and the most critical abstractions.
The National Drought Group, made up of senior decision-makers from the government, the EA, water companies and key representative groups is meeting regularly to agree the actions required to manage the current impacts of the drought and reduce the risks into next year.
The National Framework for Water Resources, published in March 2020, sets out the strategic water needs for England to 2050 and beyond. The Framework sets out how we will reduce demand, halve leakage rates, develop new water supply infrastructure, move water to where it’s needed, increase drought resilience of water supplies and reduce the need for drought measures that can harm the environment.
Water companies are also using the £469 million made available by Ofwat in the current Price Review period (2019-2024) to improve the resilience of England’s water supplies. In the Autumn 2022, water companies will publish their statutory draft Water Resources Management Plans for consultation, which set out how they will secure water supplies in the long term.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 increase UK food production.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The recently published Government Food Strategy puts food security at the heart of our vision for the food sector. Our aim is to broadly maintain the current level of food that we produce domestically and boost production in sectors where there are the biggest opportunities – such as horticulture and seafood.
Our farming reforms are designed to support farmers to produce food sustainably and productively, alongside delivering environmental improvements which we all benefit from.
Alongside this, we are investing over £270 million in innovation by 2029 to support agricultural productivity. Our £48 million Farming Investment Fund is supporting more than 43,000 farmers this year, providing grants towards the cost of equipment and technology, as well as large capital items, to improve productivity.
We have also awarded grants, through the Future Farming Resilience Fund, to organisations who help farmers and land managers adapt to the agricultural transition.
The Government has committed to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. We published the first UK Food Security Report in December 2021, which will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 support the development of value-added operations within the diary sector.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Dairy is the largest agricultural sector playing a vital role in the British economy and we want to see it produce, sell, and export more of our great British dairy products. The sector is world renowned with a strong reputation for quality, built on high animal welfare standards, strong environmental protection, traceability, and sustainability. This is a strong basis on which to sell more of our produce at home and abroad, increasing overall value in the sector.
Our new £27 million Farming Investment Fund also opened on 16 November. This will provide grants to farmers so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and further enhancing the environment. The Fund will help them to focus on more efficient production methods, to reduce resource costs, to improve yields, and to provide a better return. We intend future rollout of the Fund will support producers who want to process and add value to their products, to create new products, or to sell their produce directly to consumers.
More information on the Fund is available at the following link.
The Farming Investment Fund launches today - Future Farming (blog.gov.uk)
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
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 promote (a) UK-sourced food and (b) food produced in the counties, regions and nations of the UK through Government procurement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As a Government, we have a manifesto commitment that we want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British. We welcome efforts from all parts of the food chain to promote and source British products, and we work closely with industry and trade associations to engage with and support initiatives that highlight the qualities of British products. We will always champion our farmers and producers, supporting them to grow more of our great British food, and to provide a reliable and sustainable food supply to the British public.
We are further committed in the manifesto to encourage the public sector to buy British. As part of achieving this commitment, we will be consulting on proposals to strengthen the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services early in 2022. Alongside ensuring our policy reflects best practice, the consultation will examine ways to promote greater take-up of local produce and make public procurement more accessible to SMEs. The update will promote this by focusing on the UK’s strengths such as high production and welfare standards and innovative, sustainable farming practices.
We are also working across Government to identify and trial innovative approaches to public food procurement. This includes a pilot in the South West, in collaboration with Crown Commercial Services, to simplify the route into the public sector, encouraging more local and sustainable SME businesses to join public sector food contracts. Following a successful pilot, the trial will undergo a national rollout, supporting food producers from all regions and nations of the UK.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement measures are available to local authority officers to tackle vehicle idling in (a) Air Quality Management Areas and (b) non-Air Quality Management Areas; and whether the Government has plans to review those enforcement powers.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002, local authorities already have powers to enforce anti-idling laws and issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to drivers leaving engines running unnecessarily.
The enforcement powers available to tackle vehicle idling are available to all local authorities, regardless of whether or not they have an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). It is vital that these powers are used to help deal with local air quality issues where necessary and there are no plans to review these powers.
Within AQMAs, designated local authorities also have powers to carry out roadside testing of vehicle emissions to reduce pollution from road traffic. They can do this where any part of the area is designated as an AQMA in accordance with the legislation. The local authority must apply to the Secretary of State for Transport to be a designated local authority.
Since these powers became available, vehicle technology has moved on significantly. Newer technologies can play a part in addressing idling emissions, such as stop-start technology and low- or -zero-emission vehicles.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to ban the import of peat.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting and restoring our vulnerable peatlands in England. As part of this focus, we are committed to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture in England. By reducing demand for peat in horticulture, this not only protects peat bogs in England, but recognises that two thirds of the peat sold in the UK is imported from the rest of Europe. We plan to set out proposals to further reduce the use of peat in horticulture in the forthcoming England Peat Strategy.