Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 support the agricultural sector after the UK leaves the EU; and whether he plans to introduce a distinct and internationally recognised UK standard for agricultural goods based on a high level of animal health and welfare.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s plans for agriculture and for supporting the sector as the UK leaves the European Union are underpinned by the Agriculture Bill. The Bill is a central part of the Government’s programme of legislation to deliver as smooth a departure as possible and achieve a green Brexit. At the heart of our new policy in England will be a system that pays public money for public goods. Our future agriculture policy will help farmers continue to provide a supply of healthy, home-grown produce made to high environmental and animal welfare standards.
We are committed to putting in place a Gold Standard of metrics which will provide a framework of sustainability metrics, establishing a common vocabulary for environmental and animal welfare measurements in food and farming that can be used across public and private sectors.
We already have some of the highest welfare standards in the world, as well as a number of voluntary labelling schemes which provide assurances as to the welfare of the animals, both of which ensure consumers are not misled by the labelling of products that contain meat or dairy products. Once we leave the EU, we will review food labelling to ensure that we have a framework that meets the needs of UK consumers and producers. Labelling for welfare outcomes is one area that the review will cover.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 will take to tackle the problem of illegal landing of undersized bass; and for what reason the Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority might face a legal challenge if they prohibited gill net meshes from 89 mm to 109 mm in order to stop this practice.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
There are clear rules in place requiring that undersized catches of species not yet subject to the landing obligation, such as bass, are not retained on board, trans-shipped, landed, transported, stored, sold, displayed or offered for sale, but shall be returned immediately to the sea. This is a long standing principle which will continue to be enforced accordingly.
Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are independent statutory authorities and have direct responsibility for the protection of sea fisheries resources in their districts, and for the sustainable management of their exploitation. When an activity is occurring, or may occur, that is likely to impact the marine environment, the IFCA, as regulator, is expected to consider the significance of this within its district. Cornwall IFCA recently considered using its powers under Section 157(2) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to introduce an emergency byelaw to address bass netting issues. However, this was judged to not fully meet the qualifying criteria for an emergency byelaw as stated in the Act and could potentially be challenged on those grounds.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
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 effect of the dry weather in summer 2018 on farm productivity levels.
Answered by George Eustice
The dry weather conditions last summer created challenges for many of our farmers, in terms of lower yields in the arable sector and a shortage of fodder for livestock farmers. The government took steps at the time to introduce a number of flexibilities under the Common Agricultural Policy’s Ecological Focus Areas, as well as Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship and woodland grant schemes to assist farmers and foresters struggling with the impacts of the dry weather.
Met Office data shows that November and December 2018 were notably milder than the long-term average allowing livestock farmers to be able to consider keeping their animals turned out to graze for longer. However, we are continuing to monitor the situation closely. The first results for the UK’s Total Factor Productivity in agriculture during 2018 will be published in May. Total Factor Productivity statistics are published on gov.uk and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/total-factor-productivity-of-the-agricultural-industry.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria his Department uses to determine the allocation of fishing opportunities.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK allocates quota annually to ensure that fishing opportunities are allocated for the benefit of the whole of the UK, taking into account the needs of those within existing Producer Organisations (POs) and the needs of the under 10m fleet. The methodology for this allocation is set out in the Quota Management Rules, published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410774/UK_2015_Quota_management_rules.pdf.
The UK has long championed sustainable fisheries and we continue to place scientific-based management at the heart of policy. The UK’s coastal fishing communities are immensely valuable and supporting them, along with the inshore fleet, is a central tenet of our work.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to apply to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas for a quota for recreational catch and release game fishing of bluefin tuna after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Eustice
The UK continues to support efforts by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to recover Atlantic Bluefin tuna stocks from historical overfishing. At this time, our priority remains ensuring their recovery to facilitate a fully sustainable fishery in future. However, after the UK has left the EU we will consider all the available evidence that may support the UK requesting access to the stock.