Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to include deer farmers in the rollout of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway rollout will initially focus on the most commonly farmed species: dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 19 June to Question 189224 on Dairy Products, who is conducting the research on food information to consumers; who will be consulted as part of the research; what other issues are part of the research and what are the research objectives; for what reason the research was commissioned; and when she expects the research be (a) completed and (b) published.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Following a competitive tender process, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) are conducting the research on behalf of Defra, with a consortium of academics and partner agencies.
Defra has set up a steering group made up of representatives from within Defra and other relevant Government departments. Consumers and business will be inputting into this research, along with existing literature.
The research will build on previous research (Defra (2014), Baseline evaluation of EU Food Information to Consumers - FA0132, Science Search (defra.gov.uk) and Defra (2019), Follow Up Study of EU Food Information to Consumers - FA0169, Science Search (defra.gov.uk)) and investigate to what extent the objectives of the Food Information to Consumers regulations have been achieved, and how key indicators have changed from the baseline and follow up studies. The research will also explore the impacts of recent legislative, societal, and technological changes to food labelling on consumers and industry.
The research is due to be completed by the end of March 2024 and published summer 2024.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of tuberculosis testing on milk yields in dairy herds.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bovine TB is the most significant and costly animal health problem facing our cattle keepers, it has a devasting impact on affected rural businesses. Routine and targeted bTB testing of cattle herds, using effective and validated tests, is a key part of our bTB eradication strategy.
No specific assessment of the potential impact of tuberculosis testing on milk yields in dairy herds has been commissioned by Defra.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 has conducted research into consumer understanding of the labelling of plant-based alternatives to dairy products.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is well aware of the importance for consumers in information that is not misleading and enables them to make fully informed decisions. Defra officials have recently commissioned new research on food information to consumers. Among a range of other things, it will explore consumer understanding of terms used to describe foods marketed as plant based alternatives to dairy products.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 has made a recent assessment of the viability of the dairy industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise that the dairy industry has recently faced a range of challenges including the impact of Covid-19 and the increase in input costs arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, we have a resilient and dynamic dairy sector and have acted to support it in a number of ways. This includes the introduction of advance Basic Payment Scheme payments and support for an industry approach on the use of urea fertilisers. We have also recently announced a £1m bespoke export support fund for the dairy sector, with a particular focus on support for SMEs. Following the supply chain fairness review we will shortly be laying regulations on contractual regulation in the dairy sector.
We continue to monitor the dairy market and to work closely with key sector stakeholders.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
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 food producers from (a) Essex and (b) the UK to increase exports of produce.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are delivering our commitment to boost UK exports, as part of the Government’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ export strategy, a 12-point plan to help UK businesses hit £1 trillion in exports. We want people at home and abroad to be lining up to buy British.
We have an ambitious programme of negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) which is delivering results. On 31 May the UK’s first new FTAs with Australia and New Zealand came into force, opening up markets for UK producers across all products. On 31 March the Government substantially concluded negotiations on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an FTA including 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. This trade deal will see new export opportunities for food producers including for exporters of dairy products, including cheese and butter, having greater access to lower tariffs in Canada, Japan, and Mexico, and exporters of chocolate will benefit from zero tariffs on exports to Mexico and Malaysia.
The Prime Minister recently announced a food and drink export package to boost export capability and deliver on growing demand for our high-quality UK produce across the world. This includes a further expansion of our global agrifood and drink counsellor network who negotiate removal of trade barriers in growing global markets. The package also includes investments of £2 million in global trade shows and missions, promotion through the £1.6 million GREAT food and drink campaign, and bespoke support for seafood (£1 million) and dairy exports (£1 million).
To further support food producers export, we have held a range of national and regional food summits with dedicated SME workshops to highlight export opportunities and how to access support.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put greater emphasis on farmers' interests in future trade deals.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
British farming is at the heart of British trade. The Prime Minister recently set out in an open letter to farmers, six principles that clearly outline our ambitions for farming and trade. These include protecting sensitive sectors, prioritising new export opportunities, tackling barriers to UK exports, and upholding UK standards.
Underlining the Government’s commitment to supporting FTA export opportunities for producers, we recently announced an additional £2 million investment to strengthen our presence at major trade shows, an increase in the number of UK agriculture attachés, and a new £1 million programme to support our dairy sector to export.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of stopping the importation of forage maize seed treated with bird repellent and fungicide on domestic production of forage maize for (a) the livestock industry, (b) the dairy industry and (c) the anaerobic digestion industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 1 January 2024, treated seeds can only be used if they are treated with Plant Protection Products authorised in GB. After we left the EU, transitional arrangements were put in place so that seeds treated with products authorised for use in the EU but not GB could continue to be imported, marketed and used. These arrangements come to an end on 31 December 2023. Industry has had the opportunity over the last 3 years to apply for the relevant GB authorisations, HSE has highlighted the actions that they need to take.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 it her policy to increase the level of financial support available to dairy farmers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We recognise the challenges facing the dairy sector. The Prime Minister set out new support for farmers to strengthen food security and grow the economy at the Farm to Fork Food Summit on 16 May 2023. This includes the creation of a £1 million programme to help dairy businesses, particularly SMEs, to seize export opportunities.
In addition, the Government has acted to support the agricultural sector, including dairy farmers, in a number of ways.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Exeter (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage dairy farmers to undertake a Greenhouse Gas Protocol audit.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the Net Zero Growth Plan, we have committed to developing a harmonised approach to measuring carbon on farms and will set out how we will support farmers to undertake carbon audits by 2024.