Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the names of the members of his Department’s expert committee that is responsible for reviewing Natural England’s advice regarding licencing applications to release non-native gamebirds.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2023, Defra established an expert panel to advise on individual licence applications to release common pheasant or red legged partridge on or within 500m of Special Protection Areas for birds. The panel consisted of experts in exotic disease control and epidemiological risk from Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
Asked by: Lord Banner (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what record they have of the annual financial cost of the badger culls in England over the past five years, and when a written value for money analysis of that cost was last undertaken.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The cost of undertaking badger culling is paid for by industry. The Government pays for the licensing operation and monitoring, as well as the cost of policing culls.
Information on the Government badger control costs for 2022 and previous years is available at GOV.UK. The Government badger control costs for 2023 will be published in due course.
The most recent value for money analysis of the badger control policy was published on 28 October 2022. This can be found attached to this answer.
Asked by: Lord Trees (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will specify the relevant activities which will be proscribed under legislation to enable compliance with, and enforcement of, the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.
Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.
This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish any reports from their newly launched environmental science network focusing on deep-sea mining, DSM Environmental Network.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19 February, we opened the new UK Deep-Sea Mining (DSM) Environmental Science Network to applications. The aims of the network are to recognise and promote the extensive and world-renowned UK expertise in environmental and natural science related to DSM. The Network will not be responsible for developing policy or providing advice or recommendations to the Government or Ministers. Rather, it will help fill the current evidence gaps on the environmental impact of DSM, coordinate research effectively and strategically, make sure UK research is included in the global environmental evidence base for DSM, and encourage conversations between the Government and the scientific community to raise awareness and coordination between DSM science and policy environmental issues.
Asked by: Samantha Dixon (Labour - City of Chester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of flooding on food production in the last four months.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise that the recent period of wet weather has impacted UK agriculture. While the current market assessment is that this will impact the domestic production of certain foods, it is too early to predict the impact on overall consumer supply at this stage. However, the UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which allows us to use international trade to supplement any fluctuations in domestic food supply and maintain overall food security.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using the waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for detecting, investigating and managing outbreaks of infectious diseases including those linked to water sports. They have not made a specific assessment about the impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024.
However, the Government takes the health of users of our waterways very seriously and is clear that the current volume of sewage being discharged to our waters is unacceptable. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all storm overflows by 2050. It also requires all storm overflows discharging to designated bathing waters to be improved by 2035.
Where a waterway is a designated bathing site, information about the quality of the water is displayed by local authorities on signage and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to answer Question 21855, tabled by the hon. Member for Ealing North on 15 April 2024.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The answer to Question 21855 was published on 2 May 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of measures to reduce the need to seize dogs which are likely to be exempted from Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Dogs that are prohibited under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and which do not have a valid certificate of exemption could be seized by the Police.
In these cases, there is an interim exemption scheme which allows suspected prohibited dogs to remain with their owners in advance of a court hearing. It is for the Police to determine whether to make use of this scheme on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the potential impact of the level of phosphates in the River Avon on housing developments in Christchurch.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to my letter issued on 7 May 2024.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the Avon Valley footpath between Burton and Christchurch.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following our recent meeting on the Avon Valley footpath, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.