Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the spread of Asian hornets in England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra and the Welsh Government developed the Asian hornet contingency plan (copy attached) in response to the spread of Asian hornet across Europe and the associated impacts reported on honey bees and pollinators. The Contingency Plan details what actions will be taken when incursions of Asian hornet occur with the aim of preventing this species establishing and spreading in the UK.
We have taken contingency action against all credible sightings of Asian hornet that have been reported in the UK since the first occurrence in 2016. Contingency action is delivered on the ground by the National Bee Unit (NBU) – part of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. As of 12th September 2023, the NBU have located 43 Asian hornet nests this year.
Genetic analyses of hornet and nest samples are done to determine relatedness and assess whether Asian hornets are established in England. Evidence from previous years suggested that all 13 Asian hornet nests found in the UK between 2016 and 2022 were separate incursions and there is nothing to suggest that Asian hornets are established in the UK. We have not seen any evidence which demonstrates that Asian hornets discovered in England this year were produced by queens that overwintered. More detailed analysis will be done over winter to assess this.
Raising awareness is a key aspect of the response. We ask anyone who thinks they may have spotted an Asian hornet to report it through the Asian hornet app or online. By ensuring we are alerted to possible sightings as early as possible, we can take swift and effective action to stamp out the threat posed by Asian hornets.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work of the current members of the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We greatly appreciate the time, energy, and commitment that board members bring, and the important work they do in caring for our National Parks. Other than new national appointments to fill upcoming vacancies, we have no immediate plans to change the membership or operation of Dartmoor National Park Authority. Our 2022 consultation on implementing the Landscapes Review sought views on potential changes to National Park Authority boards. We are carefully considering the consultation results and are working to publish a response shortly.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to change the (1) membership, or (2) operation, of the Dartmoor National Park Authority.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We greatly appreciate the time, energy, and commitment that board members bring, and the important work they do in caring for our National Parks. Other than new national appointments to fill upcoming vacancies, we have no immediate plans to change the membership or operation of Dartmoor National Park Authority. Our 2022 consultation on implementing the Landscapes Review sought views on potential changes to National Park Authority boards. We are carefully considering the consultation results and are working to publish a response shortly.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which honey producers have been prosecuted in each of the past five years for misrepresenting the honey they have sold.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Local Authorities (LAs) are requested to submit details of prosecutions they have made to the Food Standards Agency. In the last five years the Government has not been made aware of any prosecutions of honey producers misrepresenting honey they have sold.
Responsibility for assessing business compliance with the majority of food legislation rests with LAs. They will consider any areas of non-compliance with food law and take appropriate enforcement action in line with a hierarchy, risk-based approach to ensure the business takes the necessary steps to achieve compliance. Each situation will be judged on its own merits by the relevant LA to determine the proportionate course of action.
The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 lay down strict rules that honey must comply with in terms of quality and compositional criteria. Regulation 19 applies, with modifications, section 10 of the Food Safety Act 1990 to enable Improvement Notices to be served on a Food Business Operator where a LA has reasonable grounds for believing that they have not complied with the requirements of the legislation. Improvement notices should provide a roadmap to compliance and would be issued as part of the escalation of enforcement in line with the LA’s hierarchy of enforcement.
Honey fraud is taken very seriously and will always be fully investigated. For example, allegations in the media that a small number of specific blended honeys sold in the UK were fraudulent have been fully investigated by the relevant LAs and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to indicate fraud or non-compliance. The Government is confident the honey regulations and enforcement of those regulations are fit for purpose.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what tests government agencies conduct on imported honey.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Local Authorities (LAs) are responsible for enforcement of the honey regulations, including in relation to honey imported into the UK. Honey is considered a product of animal origin and is also subject to additional checks and testing by Port Health Authorities on entry into the UK.
Honey is a complex natural product, meaning analysis can often be challenging. No single test can definitively determine a honey’s authenticity, but there are a range of different analytical methods and techniques available to help ensure compliance with the Honey (England) Regulations 2015. By law public analysts are responsible for deciding which tests to use but honey importers and packers will also use a range of testing methods themselves to ensure what they are buying is authentic and complies with UK rules. Tests range from simple chemical testing to isotope ratio analysis and pollen analysis to more complex techniques using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy. Wherever possible any method used to determine honey authenticity should be internationally recognised and validated.
In some instances, LAs will use a weight of evidence approach when assessing if honey is compliant with UK rules ensuring a robust opinion that is not simply based on the result of one test but on a toolbox of multiple analytical tools, input data, product traceability and record reviews.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to stop (1) the importation, and (2) the sale, of adulterated honey.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government takes any type of food fraud very seriously, including honey adulteration. Defra works closely with enforcement authorities who are responsible for enforcing our honey laws, the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) National Food Crime Unit, Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) Food Crime and Incidents Unit, local and port health authorities, industry and others on investigating any potential fraud issues raised, to ensure honey sold in the UK is not subject to adulteration, meets our high standards and maintains a level playing field between honey producers. Imported honey is subject to additional checks as a product of animal origin and routine testing is carried out to ensure that honey entering the UK meets the required rules.
The Government has a programme of research dedicated to honey authenticity where it is actively working to provide information and guidance to those carrying out monitoring and enforcement checks on honey, to protect consumers and legitimate businesses. This programme focuses on disseminating information on honey authenticity, supporting work on analytical testing methods, ensuring their fitness for purpose and standardising approaches.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of requiring honey labels to reflect all the countries of origin of the honey.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All honey on sale in England, regardless of where it comes from, must comply with the Honey (England) Regulations 2015. The general requirement in regulation 17 of the Honey (England) Regulations 2015 is that honey cannot be sold in England unless the country of origin where the honey has been harvested is indicated on the label.
However, for reasons of practicality special provisions apply to ‘blended’ honeys where honey producers can opt for alternative wording indicating that the honey is a blend from more than one country. The mix of different honeys in blended honeys may change frequently throughout the year, depending on availability, price, and seasonality of the various types of honey. Requiring producers to change their labels for every alteration would place additional burdens and likely lead to increased prices and packaging waste.
The Government keeps all its laws under constant review as part of its commitment to carry out post implementation reviews. We will consider the need for further labelling measures as part of the next review of the honey regulations which is due by 2025.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how often the Dynamic Food Procurement Board will meet.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Dynamic Food Procurement National Advisory Board (DFPNAB) is not a statutory body. It is an independent grass roots body with participants from member organisations, public procurers and small businesses with a shared interest in promoting the use of the dynamic purchasing model in the food supply chain. While its members are not appointed by the Secretary of State, Defra does take part in meetings.
Trials of the dynamic procurement model have shown it can, in the right circumstances, offer greater access to public sector contracts for small, medium and local producers. The Government is investigating the larger scale use of dynamic purchasing for food procurement and the DFPNAB has freely shared its knowledge and expertise to assist with this work.
The DFPNAB meets approximately every three months. The date of the next meeting has not been agreed, but is expected to take place in January 2020.
The DFPNAB does not publish the minutes of meetings.
The Government does not monitor the effectiveness of independent bodies.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the minutes of Dynamic Food Procurement Board meetings will be published.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Dynamic Food Procurement National Advisory Board (DFPNAB) is not a statutory body. It is an independent grass roots body with participants from member organisations, public procurers and small businesses with a shared interest in promoting the use of the dynamic purchasing model in the food supply chain. While its members are not appointed by the Secretary of State, Defra does take part in meetings.
Trials of the dynamic procurement model have shown it can, in the right circumstances, offer greater access to public sector contracts for small, medium and local producers. The Government is investigating the larger scale use of dynamic purchasing for food procurement and the DFPNAB has freely shared its knowledge and expertise to assist with this work.
The DFPNAB meets approximately every three months. The date of the next meeting has not been agreed, but is expected to take place in January 2020.
The DFPNAB does not publish the minutes of meetings.
The Government does not monitor the effectiveness of independent bodies.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department measures the effectiveness of the national advisory board on dynamic food procurement.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Dynamic Food Procurement National Advisory Board (DFPNAB) is not a statutory body. It is an independent grass roots body with participants from member organisations, public procurers and small businesses with a shared interest in promoting the use of the dynamic purchasing model in the food supply chain. While its members are not appointed by the Secretary of State, Defra does take part in meetings.
Trials of the dynamic procurement model have shown it can, in the right circumstances, offer greater access to public sector contracts for small, medium and local producers. The Government is investigating the larger scale use of dynamic purchasing for food procurement and the DFPNAB has freely shared its knowledge and expertise to assist with this work.
The DFPNAB meets approximately every three months. The date of the next meeting has not been agreed, but is expected to take place in January 2020.
The DFPNAB does not publish the minutes of meetings.
The Government does not monitor the effectiveness of independent bodies.