Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's policy is on creating a register of carbon offset schemes in the UK to monitor the purchase of viable agricultural land used for this purpose.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The UK Land Carbon Registry is operated on behalf of the UK and Devolved Governments. It contains information about projects registered under the UK Woodland Carbon Code and the UK Peatland Code, the location of registered projects, and the quantity of carbon units issued to date and expected to be issued in future subject to verification of the carbon savings delivered ( https://www.woodlandcarboncode.org.uk/uk-land-carbon-registry).
Agricultural and planning policies are devolved matters. In England Her Majesty's Land Registry publishes information on all companies (UK and overseas) which own property in England and Wales ( https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry).
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has deprioritised any Statutory Instruments in relation to the UK leaving the EU; and if he will publish the criteria his Department uses to deprioritise those Instruments.
Answered by David Rutley
Our objective has always been to have a functioning statute book in place by Exit Day and to ensure that the most critical secondary legislation was made by this point.
Defra requires 125 SIs to be in force for Exit day of which 122 have been laid and the other 3 SIs will be laid before Exit.
Each SI that is planned to be laid after 12 April has been carefully considered to ensure that this would not have legal or other consequences that cannot be addressed by temporary non legislative arrangements. In most cases the SIs would apply only very minor technical corrections to current legislation which would not impact operability or transfer functions from the EU which would not be required in the immediate period after Exit. We have also consulted the Devolved Administrations in reaching these conclusions.
As a consequence of this due diligence, Defra will have laid all critical secondary legislation immediately required for EU Exit. The laying of EU Exit SIs allows Parliament to fulfil its essential scrutiny role. The exact nature of this scrutiny, and the steps required before an SI completes its passage, is dependent on the type of SI and determined under the relevant primary powers.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce her decision on the designation of the 23 marine conservation zones proposed in tranche 2.
Answered by George Eustice
Decisions on the marine conservation zones being designated in the second tranche will be announced by the end of January 2016.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many buildings her Department sold in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
We have interpreted ‘buildings’ to mean ‘sites’. A site can be made up of several of buildings.
The table below shows the number of sites sold by core Defra by financial year.
Financial year | 10/11 | 11/12 | 12/13 | 13/14 | 14/15 to date. |
Number of sites sold | 16 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timetable is in place for the phase-out of her Department's telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Core Defra operates a dual numbering system for all 0845 prefix telephone lines with the prefix 03 used as the primary number. 0845 prefix numbers have been retained to allow callers a choice based on their call package arrangements. There is no timetable to phase out the 0845 prefixed numbers but a review of the dual numbering policy will conclude in November.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under what timetable her Department plans to phase-out use of telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, 0844 and 0843 in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidance on customer service lines published in December 2013 and (b) 03 and 08, where 03 is the primary number under a dual numbering system.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Core Defra operates three telephone lines under a dual numbering system with the prefix 0345 as the primary number. In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, the 0845 prefix numbers have been retained for these lines to allow callers a choice based on their call package arrangements. There are no plans to phase out either the 0845 or 0345 prefixed numbers.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Core Defra provides three telephones lines with the prefix 0845 operated under contract by an external provider. Alternative numbers charged at BT local rates, using the prefix 0345, are available for all three lines and are the primary numbers. 0845 prefix numbers have been retained in order to minimise disruption to users during the transition to 0345 prefixed lines.
Information on the number of calls each number has received in the last 12 months will be placed in the Library of the House.