Asked by: Lord Teverson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish an Access to Nature White Paper and whether they will engage with stakeholders representing public access and recreation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and we are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors.
We are considering our approach to improving access to nature and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we develop this thinking. We will provide a further update in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to invite officials in the Department for Transport to sit on, and become members of, the Flood Resilience Task Force.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and developing policy. It brings together a range of partners in national, regional and local Government, including the Environment Agency, Devolved Administrations, selected Regional Mayors and Lead Local Flood Authorities. Membership of the Taskforce from national, regional and local partners is flexed to meet the specific agenda and priorities but the Taskforce will also work with a wider range of flood risk partners as needed.
The Floods Resilience Taskforce spoke to the Department for Transport (DfT) before the first meeting and received information on the Transport Sectors’ readiness for flooding. This builds on Defra’s existing close work with the Department for Transport. DfT will be invited to attend future Taskforce meetings when the agenda requires and the Taskforce will work with DfT as needed.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any proposals to license the increased culling of cormorants and other predatory native and non-native birds in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides licensing functions to permit the control of piscivorous birds, most often cormorants, to protect fisheries where it can be shown that non-lethal measures are failing to manage predation.
Licences are issued by Natural England, which has responsibility for setting a prudent upper limit on cormorant control to ensure that licensed removal does not irreversibly affect their conservation status. Licensing returns are monitored to ensure this limit is not breached. The Government is not currently proposing to license an increased culling of cormorants or other predatory species of birds.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to conduct a review of whether Area and Regional Directors of the Environment Agency have any conflicts of interest with their role as regulators of the water industry, and if so, whether they intend to make any such conflicts public.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An annual assessment of declarations of interest takes place across the Environment Agency (EA). The EA has a Code of Conduct that applies equally to all employees including Area Directors and Directors of Operations (Regional Directors). All employees are required to make an annual declaration of interest even if it's to confirm that there are no interests to declare, as well as at any time, should a potential conflict arise. They must make a declaration when an actual or potential conflict arises, including the existence of any private interest which might influence or be reasonably thought by others to influence their impartiality or the performance of their duties under the contract of employment. In these situations, the EA assess the declaration and take steps to mitigate or avoid the risk of conflict. A serious failure to declare an interest could lead to disciplinary action resulting in dismissal on the grounds of gross misconduct.
The question of publication of Area and Regional Directors’ financial declarations has recently been the subject of a ruling from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) which examined the balance of data protection and the public interest, given the current focus on water industry regulation. The ICO found that the Agency should publish relevant financial disclosures for those at Director level, and not for those at the Deputy Director grade, which includes Area Directors. The Agency intends to comply with this ruling.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to negotiate an increased share of quota for UK-landed blue fin tuna in the ongoing negotiations with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK continues to fully engage in the ongoing negotiations at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) on the allocation of bluefin tuna quota, with a view to securing a fairer share of the quota when the next ‘Total Allowable Catch’ is negotiated in 2025, to take effect in 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Gale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) assess case for the phasing-out of cages for layer hens, and (2) launch a consultation on phasing out such cages.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.
The use of enriched ‘colony’ cages for laying hens is an issue we will want to fully consider in due course.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 (a) reintroduce the Kept Animals Bill and (b) introduce a ban on snares.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for South Devon on 11 October 2024, PQ 7135.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will be participating in the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State for Defra, The Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Nature), Mary Creagh CBE MP, will be taking part in the official High-Level Segment of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) in Colombia. Minister Creagh is also scheduled to remain in Colombia after the conclusion of this segment to support the final negotiations. The UK will also be represented at CBD COP16 by a team of negotiators from Defra and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 17 September (HL801), whether the compensation of existing shareholders is a pre-condition for the transfer of ownership of a water company in the Special Administrative Regime to a new owner.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, there is no precondition to compensate shareholders in the case of transferring of company to new owner after a Special Administration Regime (SAR). The Procedure for a transfer scheme in a SAR is set out in Schedule 2 to the Water Industry Act 1991.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect consumers where water companies are facing financial difficulties.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat independently monitors the financial position of water companies and acts when companies need to strengthen their long-term financial resilience. Ofwat expect water companies to maintain a level of financial headroom to manage short term volatility and shocks to their financial structures and meet their obligations and commitments.
We are clear consumers must be protected. Ofwat has strengthened its powers to improve financial resilience, including stopping water companies paying dividends where financial resilience is at risk.
Our Water (Special Measures) Bill will put water companies under tough special measures, by strengthening regulation as a first legislative step towards improving the sector.