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Written Question
Special Protection Areas: Northern Ireland
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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 17 May 2023 to Question 185629 on Marine Protected Areas: Northern Ireland, what her Department's planned timetable is, in partnership with the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland, to establish marine Special Protection Areas in East Coast and Carlingford Lough.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland is currently working through some remaining issues with these sites, so there is currently no planned timetable for their classification.


Written Question
Special Protection Areas: Northern Ireland
Monday 22nd May 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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 17 April 2023 to Question 177891 on Marine Protected Areas: Northern Ireland, if she will outline what specific steps her Department is taking with relevant authorities in Northern Ireland to accelerate the establishment of two marine Special Protection Areas in East Coast and Carlingford Lough.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

My officials are working with the authorities in Northern Ireland to ensure all the necessary steps required by the relevant legislation have been carried out. The Secretary of State will then consider the merits of classifying these two sites as Special Protection Areas.


Written Question
Marine Protected Areas: Northern Ireland
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps with relevant authorities in Northern Ireland to help enable the establishment of two marine Special Protection Areas in East Coast and Carlingford Lough.

Answered by Trudy Harrison

Yes, officials are working with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on these two sites.


Written Question
Nature Conservation
Monday 4th April 2022

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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 findings of the RSPB report, A Lost Decade for Nature, that the UK has missed 17 of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets set in 2010 by the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, how he plans to (a) deliver the outcomes contained in the Leaders’ Pledge for Nature, signed by the Prime Minister on 28 September 2020, and (b) restore the damage to nature in the UK by 2030, against a baseline of 2020, as proposed by the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.

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

UK progress against the existing Aichi Targets was most recently set out in the UK's 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity, submitted in March 2019. The report can be found at: https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/united-kingdom-s-6th-national-report-to-the-convention-on-biological-diversity/

The UK is committed to playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework, to be adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity later this year, to deliver the ambition committed to in the Leaders Pledge for Nature. The UK will be advocating for ambitious global targets to bend the curve of biodiversity loss by 2030, including targets to ensure at least 30% of the land and of the ocean is protected, ecosystems are restored, species population sizes are recovering, and extinctions are halted by 2050.

We have taken a significant number of actions to deliver these commitments domestically and restore nature, including the passing of the landmark Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Acts and publishing the England Tree and Peat Action Plans. We are currently consulting on new long-term, legally binding environmental targets, including to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and then reverse that decline. We also set out proposals in the Nature Recovery Green Paper to improve our system of site and species protections to help restore nature and deliver our commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The Environmental Land Management schemes (Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery) will be a major tool in delivering our environmental targets.

The UK has committed to spend at least £3 billion of our International Climate Finance on climate change solutions that protect and restore nature and biodiversity over five years from 2021 to 2026. Domestically, our Nature for Climate Fund is providing more than £750 million over the course of this Parliament and will support a significant increase in afforestation across England and help to restore 35,000ha of peatland by 2025. We are also extending protections on land and sea, placing the UK at the forefront of marine protection with 372 Marine Protected Areas covering 38% of UK waters.

We will be publishing a refreshed 25 Year Environment Plan in January 2023, which is also an Environmental Improvement Plan under the Environment Act, setting out the further steps we will take to deliver our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.


Written Question
Veterinary Medicine: Drugs
Friday 22nd October 2021

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the indefinite extension of the grace period in respect of medicines announced on 6 September 2021 covers veterinary medicines.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate can confirm that the announcement regarding the extension to the grace period for medicines, does include veterinary medicines.


Written Question
Bees: Imports
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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 tackle the risks to the existing honey bee population in Great Britain from the importation of honey bees from the EU via Northern Ireland.

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

The Government recognises that some beekeepers are concerned about the new trading arrangements and the risks of exotic pests entering Great Britain, in particular Small hive beetle.

Small hive beetle would present a serious threat to our honey bees if it were to arrive in the UK. This invasive pest has only been detected in one part of Europe, namely southern Italy, and exports of bees from the affected region into either Great Britain or Northern Ireland are not permitted.

Imports of honey bees into any part of the UK are only accepted from approved countries, and are subject to rules relating to notification and health certification to ensure that imports are free of key pests and diseases.

Movements of honey bee queens, packages and colonies from Northern Ireland to Great Britain remain permitted. There is, and will remain, unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods including honey bees to the rest of the UK market.

We continue to work with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations as part of our monitoring of the new trading arrangements.


Written Question
Forests: Environment Protection
Monday 15th February 2021

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a timetable for implementing legislative proposals on the use of forest risk commodities in commercial activity.

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

We recently introduced legislation to the Environment Bill to help to ensure that key forest risk commodities used in the UK are not contributing to illegal deforestation or habitat conversion. This initiative is in line with the recommendations of the Global Resource Initiative taskforce, widely supportive feedback to our public consultation on the proposal, as well as our international objectives at the upcoming Glasgow United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

We are the first country to introduce such legislation. We intend to move swiftly to lay the necessary secondary legislation. Subject to the passage of the Environment Bill and consultation, our aim is to do so shortly after the November COP26 Climate conference where we will be convening a global dialogue on trade in forest and agricultural commodities that we will draw on as we finalise our approach.


Written Question
Assistance Animals: Republic of Ireland
Tuesday 9th February 2021

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions are taking place with the Irish Government and the European Commission to enable pet and guide/assistance dog movements between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The health and documentary requirements for pet travel to the EU are set out under the EU Pet Travel Regulations. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU rules also apply to the non-commercial movements of pets into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. There are no derogations for assistance dogs under the legal framework of the EU Pet Travel Regulations.

We will continue to press the European Commission in relation to securing Part 1 listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for pet owners and assistance dog users travelling to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are clear that we meet all the animal health requirements for this, and we have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity.

The Government is engaging with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to explore means to streamline pet travel between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland, recognising the high standards of animal health that the Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland share. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has also written to the European Vice-President seeking to ensure that an agreement can be made to address the barriers imposed on pet travel between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Current guidance on pet travel to Northern Ireland is available on DAERA’s NIDirect website, and to Ireland on DAFMs website.

In the meantime, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland have recently published guidance on a pragmatic enforcement approach to pets entering from Great Britain. NI-based pets/assistance dogs returning to Northern Ireland from Great Britain can continue to use an NI-issued EU Pet Passport to re-enter Northern Ireland and will not need an animal health certificate.

We are proactively engaging with the assistance dog community and relevant stakeholders on the impacts on dog movements from Great Britain to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We will continue to work closely with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members on pet travel requirements.


Written Question
Borders: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 15th July 2020

Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the UK Government did not meet the 30 June deadline for the submission of proposals for the designation of Border Control Posts in Northern Ireland to the European Commission.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The UK submitted applications to the European Commission on 30 June for approval of facilities to conduct checks on agrifood goods at points of entry to Northern Ireland. These are for the purposes of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures at Larne and Foyle ports, and for existing SPS inspection posts to be expanded at Belfast and Warrenpoint ports. These applications fulfil our obligations under the Northern Ireland Protocol.