Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Leader of the House on scheduling Parliamentary time for the report stage of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Leader of the House about our legislative programme and other matters. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill contains a number of manifesto commitments, including a ban on live exports and curbs on puppy smuggling, which we are committed to progressing when Parliamentary time allows. The Leader of the House will continue to announce business in the usual way.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the impact of existing legislation on the import of (a) foie gras and (b) real fur on animal welfare.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Action Plan for Animal Welfare outlined our intention to explore potential action on the import of animal fur. We have since conducted a Call for Evidence on the fur sector along with other forms of engagement with interested parties. We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector. We are also committed to building a clear evidence base to inform any potential future decisions relating to foie gras imports.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the (a) quantity and (b) value of (i) foie gras and (ii) real fur imported into the UK in each year since 2015.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data on the volume and value of fatty livers (which includes foie gras) and imported fur (including skins and articles of clothing, apparel and accessories) is publicly available on the UK Trade Info website - Trade data - UK Trade Info
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support sustainable farming.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Environmentally-sustainable farming is fundamental to our approach to England’s agricultural system. We are introducing new schemes that reward farmers for sustainable farming practices. The first scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, launched this year and pays farmers for managing their land sustainably, beyond regulatory requirements. Actions are grouped into simple packages known as standards, to make it easy for farmers to identify suitable actions. More standards will be introduced in the coming years.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data on Defra’s Official Development Assistance funding is publicly available on the GOV.UK website where the Department for International Development’s document entitled “Dataset underlying SID 2015” is available for download at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-2015
The dataset provides a breakdown of spending by calendar year, recipient country and channel of delivery (in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee guidance). Defra-related information within the dataset can be found as follows:
(i) Darwin Initiative projects –for 2013 funding see rows 27384 – 27496 and 32391 – 32450; for 2014 funding see rows 32458 – 32864, 34206 to 34416, 35856 to 36904, 37230 to 37234 and 40575 to 40628.
(ii) International Climate Fund projects – for 2013 funding see rows 27448 and 27449; for 2014 funding see row 33528.
(iii) Illegal Wildlife Trade - for 2014 funding see rows 33200, 33201, 33879, 33880 and 34845.
Information on 2015 spending will be available when the next updated dataset is published later in the year.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the full terms and conditions of the (a) Countryside Stewardship: higher tier, (b) Countryside Stewardship: mid-tier, (c) Woodland Capital Grants 2015, (d) Facilitation Fund and (e) Water Capital Grants 2015, grant schemes.
Answered by George Eustice
The Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions covering Higher Tier and Mid-Tier were published on 23 July, and an updated version of the guidance covering scheme requirements and procedures was published on 3 September. Guidance on scheme requirements for Woodland Capital Grants 2015: Facilitation Fund and Water Capital Grants 2015 was published on GOV.UK when the schemes opened last March, and terms and conditions accompanied the agreement offers to successful applicants.