Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 effect of individuals self-isolating on the ability of small family-run farms to continue to operate during that isolation.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We understand the challenges that farmers are facing as a result of the coronavirus crisis and appreciate that many farms are very small and often family-run so there is limited capacity to cover sickness. We have been working with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and others to work out ways how to address this.
The Government's priority has always been to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections by keeping workers safe and protected, and we have been clear that anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus infection, however mild, must self-isolate by staying at home for seven days from when the symptoms started, following public health guidance.
The Government took a number of early steps to help our farmers and to ensure they have the support they need during these challenging times. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers' hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. We have worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
We remain in regular contact with our food and farming sector, and are working closely with the main farming charities, meeting them regularly, to ensure we are doing all we can to support them. A Government-backed package of £370 million has been made available to help small charities and we are encouraging farming charities to apply for funding through this route.
Further information on what support is currently available can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons it was necessary to offer Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship claimants bridging loans for the 2019 claim year.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
On 28 April the Government announced that, in England, in recognition of the disruption to cash flow for rural businesses caused by coronavirus, eligible farmers and land managers would be offered bridging payments (interest-free loans) for 75% of the current estimated value for unpaid 2019 revenue claims on their stewardship agreements.
More than 3,800 bridging payments, worth around £43 million, were made to farmers and land managers by the end of May.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the welfare of (a) animals and (b) domestic pets during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are working closely with a wide range of stakeholders to respond quickly and effectively to emerging issues which may impact animal welfare.
We are having regular meetings with the livestock industry to discuss the specific issues affecting each sector and to consider what interventions might be appropriate. We have provided detailed guidance on how to safely care for farm animals whilst maintaining social distancing. We are encouraging farmers to consider the financial support schemes introduced by the Government, including a specific Dairy Response Fund, which will be open to applications from 18 June and will provide up to £10,000 each to help those dairy farmers most in need of support.
The Government recognises that the zoos sector, including aquariums, faces unique circumstances and we are committed to working with the industry to understand the impacts. We have been engaging closely with the main industry association, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), and with individual zoos about the best way forward, also taking expert advice from Defra's Zoos Expert Committee.
Zoos are eligible to apply for a range of support schemes including the Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral, Business Rates Relief, the Business Interruption Loan schemes, the option to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay and grant funding of up to £25,000. In addition, specifically for zoos in severe financial distress, the Government introduced a £14 million Zoos Support Fund for licensed zoos in England on 4 May.
As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks will be allowed to reopen from 15 June, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place. This includes keeping indoor exhibitions, such as reptile houses and those in aquariums, closed, and ensuring other amenities like cafes offer take-away services only. The move follows close work by the Government with the zoo industry to ensure visitor numbers can be managed and safeguards are put in place. The decision to relax restrictions on these select outdoor attractions is part of the Government’s careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors.
Officials continue to meet weekly with BIAZA and with the CEOs of the largest charitable zoos and aquariums in England providing a valuable forum to monitor concerns and seek insights from key sector representatives on current issues.
We are in regular contact with animal welfare charities to discuss their concerns and to see what actions can be taken so that the welfare of animals can be maintained through these difficult times.
We have also responded to, and continue, to respond to individual enquires from pet owners and pet related businesses.
To assist animal owners in these difficult times, the Government has issued the following guidance for owners and their animals which can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals. Throughout this crisis, veterinarians have been classed as key workers and practices have been permitted to remain open.
The Government has sought the expert advice of the Animal Welfare Committee on the potential impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare and the actions that might be taken to mitigate the risks. Their report, published on 4 June, will help inform our future actions in addressing the wider impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awc-opinion-on-the-animal-welfare-issues-related-to-covid-19
We continue to remain in close contact with the animal welfare sector about the situation facing organisations working with animals and to understand the impacts on the sector and their needs.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether additional support will be provided to farmers and agricultural businesses impacted by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Coronavirus continues to represent a significant challenge to daily life and every part of the economy. The agricultural sector plays a vital role in maintaining the UK’s food security and has done a fantastic job of feeding the nation during this challenging period.
The Government took a number of early emergency steps to support farmers and the wider sector. These included designating employees in the food sector as key workers and temporarily relaxing the normal rules on drivers’ hours, enabling the sector to keep supply chains running, including deliveries from farm gate to processors. The department worked closely with banks to ensure farmers have access to financial support, including the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme. We have also worked closely with the dairy and horticulture sectors to address supply chain and labour issues.
On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand because of the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May.
The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar ongoing campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.
We remain in regular contact with representatives of our food and farming sector and will continue to monitor the situation to assess and respond to emerging issues as they arise.
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 adequacy of Government support for the dairy industry during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government has continued to engage closely with representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain throughout this difficult period to assess the challenges facing the industry and to ensure that appropriate financial support is provided. The vast majority of Britain’s dairy farmers continue to supply their contracts at or around the usual price. Approximately 5% of total milk production, however, goes to the service trade. A small proportion of farmers supplying milk to processors that sell into the food service sector have seen a reduction in demand with the closure of food service. A small proportion of suppliers have therefore seen a reduction in demand. We have provided a range of support to help these affected farmers.
At the outset of the pandemic, the Government announced a number of emergency measures to support farmers, processors and retailers. These include designating the food sector as critical to the response, with people working in the production, processing, sale, distribution or delivery of food categorised as key workers, and granting derogations on drivers’ hours limitations.
In addition, to support milk producers, the Government announced on 17 April a temporary easing of some elements of competition law to make it easier for the dairy industry to come together to maximise production, processing and storage efficiency and to ensure that as much product as possible can be processed into high quality dairy products. This Statutory Instrument was laid on 1 May and applies retrospectively from 1 April.
On 6 May we announced a new scheme specifically to provide support to eligible dairy farmers in England who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions. This will provide farmers with funding of up to £10,000 each to cover 70% of their lost income during the qualifying period, enabling them to continue to operate and to sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare.
Defra and the devolved administrations are also jointly contributing towards financing the new £1 million campaign by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Dairy UK to drive an increase in the consumption of milk. Running over 12 weeks, the campaign is highlighting the role that milk plays in supporting moments of personal connection during times of crisis.
Our Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme is available to farmers, milk buyers and processors. Responding to industry feedback on this scheme, Defra held urgent discussions with the major banks to ensure they understand that farmers, milk buyers and milk processors are eligible. In addition, the new Bounce Back Loan scheme, which applies to businesses operating in agriculture, ensures that the smallest businesses can access loans up to £50,000. To give lenders the confidence they need, we have provided them with a 100% guarantee on each loan and will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees.
Public intervention for skimmed milk powder (SMP) and butter continues to be available in the UK. Alongside this we have also ensured the availability to UK dairy processors of private storage aid for cheese, butter and SMP. These measures will help to underpin prices, providing a floor in the market by reducing the volume of product coming on to the market.
We will continue to engage with the dairy industry throughout this period of disruption to monitor the impact of the range of financial and other measures we have implemented, ensuring that the sector continues to have the support that it needs.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment will be made of the adequacy of their financial package of support for the dairy industry during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government has continued to engage closely with representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain throughout this difficult period to assess the challenges facing the industry and to ensure that appropriate financial support is provided. The vast majority of Britain’s dairy farmers continue to supply their contracts at or around the usual price. Approximately 5% of total milk production, however, goes to the service trade. A small proportion of farmers supplying milk to processors that sell into the food service sector have seen a reduction in demand with the closure of food service. A small proportion of suppliers have therefore seen a reduction in demand. We have provided a range of support to help these affected farmers.
At the outset of the pandemic, the Government announced a number of emergency measures to support farmers, processors and retailers. These include designating the food sector as critical to the response, with people working in the production, processing, sale, distribution or delivery of food categorised as key workers and granting derogations on drivers’ hours limitations.
In addition, to support milk producers, the Government announced on 17 April a temporary easing of some elements of competition law to make it easier for the dairy industry to come together to maximise production, processing and storage efficiency and to ensure that as much product as possible can be processed into high quality dairy products. This Statutory Instrument was laid on 1 May and applies retrospectively from 1 April.
On 6 May we announced a new scheme specifically to provide support to eligible dairy farmers in England who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions. This will provide farmers with funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover 70% of their lost income during the qualifying period, enabling them to continue to operate and to sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare.
Defra and the devolved administrations are also jointly contributing towards financing the new £1 million campaign by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Dairy UK to drive an increase in the consumption of milk. Running over 12 weeks, the campaign is highlighting the role that milk plays in supporting moments of personal connection during times of crisis.
Our Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme is available to farmers, milk buyers and processors. Responding to industry feedback on this scheme, Defra held urgent discussions with the major banks to ensure they understand that farmers, milk buyers and milk processors are eligible. In addition, the new Bounce Back Loan scheme, which applies to businesses operating in agriculture, ensures that the smallest businesses can access loans up to £50,000. To give lenders the confidence they need, we have provided them with a 100% guarantee on each loan and will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees.
Public intervention for skimmed milk powder (SMP) and butter continues to be available in the UK. Alongside this we have also ensured the availability to UK dairy processors of private storage aid for cheese, butter and SMP. These measures will help to underpin prices, providing a floor in the market by reducing the volume of product coming on to the market.
We will continue to engage with the dairy industry throughout this period of disruption to monitor the impact of the range of financial and other measures we have implemented, ensuring that the sector continues to have the support that it needs.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many current seasonal farm workers are (1) Eastern European, and (2) UK recruits through the Pick for Britain scheme.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra does not hold details of the number of seasonal farm workers from eastern Europe versus those recruited through the Pick for Britain (PfB) scheme, but we understand that this year’s workforce is likely to be more diverse than in previous years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Industry tells us that demand for seasonal workers in May is currently being met, but we know that demand will rise from June onwards. A number of workers from within and outside of the UK have already been recruited and trained and will continue to work on our farms throughout the season.
There are already brilliant recruitment efforts underway by industry and there has been a strong response with thousands of British people expressing their interest in agricultural work in the upcoming months.
The PfB website acts as a central hub to signpost people to recruiters of seasonal agricultural workers and jobs will continue to be added to the website by these recruiters as more workers are needed. We will be working with industry to promote the PfB website throughout the summer.
We will continue to work closely with industry to ensure our food supply chain remains resilient and to help our world-leading farmers and growers access the labour they will need over the busy harvest months.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
We are working closely alongside the agricultural industry to ensure that we understand and manage the impacts to the industry.
Defra has been in close discussion with banks to ensure the farming sector has access to financial support to ease cashflow problems during this period, including through the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan scheme, which was announced on 27 April and is the latest step in a package of support measures announced by the Chancellor. The Government will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee on each loan, to give lenders the confidence they need to support small businesses. These loans will be from £2,000 up to £50,000, capped at 25% of firms’ turnover, and the Government will cover the first 12 months of interest payments and fees charged to the business by the lender. Almost all UK businesses will be eligible to apply for a loan under the scheme.
In March, Defra worked with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to introduce new measures to support businesses in the food sector to keep food supply flowing on to shelves and into homes. These included a temporary relaxation of competition rules to allow supermarkets to work together. The legislation to bring in this change was introduced on 27 March and has a retrospective effect from 1 March.
In April, we temporarily relaxed further elements of competition law to support the dairy sector during this period. Legislation was laid before Parliament on 1 May to enable collaboration between dairy farmers and producers, supporting them to adapt to changes in the supply chain including decreased demand from the hospitality sector. The legislation will apply retrospectively from 1 April 2020.
On 6 May, Defra announced a new fund to support English dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand because of the loss of the food service sector. Dairy farmers access this funding for those qualifying months, with no cap set on the number of farmers who can receive this support or on the total funding available. Eligible dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May because of coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover around 70% of their lost income during the qualifying months to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare. The Welsh Government announced the opening of a similar scheme on 12 May.
The availability of this funding followed the launch on 5 May of a joint Government and Devolved Administrations backed £1 million campaign aiming to boost milk consumption and help producers use their surplus stock. This 12-week campaign is being led by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Dairy UK. This follows a similar ongoing campaign led by AHDB and retailers to promote the consumption of beef products.
Asked by: Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
What steps he is taking to support farmers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra took early steps to support farmers, by designating them as key workers and temporarily relaxing drivers’ hours rules. We have worked with banks to help farmers access financial support measures outline by the Chancellor, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
We have supported dairy farmers by announcing a fund in England to help those affected by the loss of the food service sector. We have also temporarily relaxed competition law rules. We are working with AHDB and Diary UK, who have launched a new £1 million campaign to drive consumption of milk. A similar campaign is promoting beef. We are also ensuring that farmers and growers are able to recruit the workers that they require as we approach the busy harvest months.
Asked by: Lord Carrington (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow dairy farmers affected by the collapse of the service trade during the COVID-19 pandemic to access the Retail Grant Hospitality Scheme or apply for bounce back loans in response to such farmers reported difficulty in accessing the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has announced a package of measures designed to support businesses facing difficulties in this period of uncertainty, including the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF), and the Bounce Back Loans Scheme.
Businesses in England that would have been in receipt of the Expanded Retail Discount (which covers retail, hospitality and leisure) on 11 March with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will be eligible for the following cash grants per property via the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund:
Guidance on the types of businesses covered by the Expanded Retail Discount can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Any enquiries on eligibility for, or provision of the RHLGF should be directed to the relevant local authority.