Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the regulation, or other oversight, of the sale of plant biostimulants, including consideration of their efficacy, safety and ecological impacts.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The existing UK regulatory regime for the manufacture and placing of fertilisers on the market in the UK is fragmented and in need of modernisation. There are currently no specific requirements for plant biostimulants in domestic fertilisers legislation. However, Defra intends to improve on this by consolidating and streamlining the statute book and putting in place a conformity assessment framework for fertilisers. The framework will smooth the route to market for new and innovative products which are less polluting to the environment or are less resource intensive in their creation.
To support reform of fertilisers legislation Defra has funded a review of the evidence for the safe and effective use of plant biostimulants and a review of methods for evaluating methods for verifying the efficacy of plant biostimulants.
The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of HSE’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides. In our regulatory programmes we do not assess the impacts of chemicals specifically on human and animal microbiomes and are not currently considering the introduction of such measures.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 case for incorporating into pharmaceutical, pesticide and other chemical regulation consideration of impacts on human, animal, plant and soil microbiomes.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operates a robust programme of regulating and monitoring medicines to ensure patients have access to safe and effective medicines. While the microbiome is still an evolving field, the MHRA is working to further our understanding on the impact of pharmaceuticals on the microbiome. Experts in MHRA are leading on international efforts to improve understanding of this area, for example through the development of World Health Organisation reference reagents for the microbiome.
The potential impact of a chemical on plant health, including soil microbiomes is already considered, as appropriate, as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s robust risk assessment process for pesticides and for biocides.
The legislation around veterinary medicines makes it clear that when considering the authorisation of antimicrobial substances for use in animals, there should be consideration of the impacts on the human, target animal, and environmental microbiomes, including plants and soils.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 findings of the SHOT-SWITCH research project, published in Conservation Evidence, about the voluntary transition from hunting with lead to non-lead ammunition in Great Britain; and what plans they have to ban the use of lead shot in hunting in England.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The use of lead shot in England and Wales is already prohibited in specific circumstances by existing legislation – including on all foreshores, and in or over specified sites of special scientific interest, predominantly wetlands.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently preparing recommendations on further action to restrict the use of lead in ammunition. This work has included looking at information submitted to them with regard to possible options to control the use of lead ammunition. The previous SHOT-SWITCH study has been considered and is referenced in the background document of evidence (attached to this answer) which was put out with the public consultation last year.
HSE expects to issue its final restriction opinions later this year. The decision to apply any UK REACH restrictions as a further regulatory measure, or not to do so, will subsequently be made by the Defra Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish and Welsh Ministers.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what processes the Environment Agency follows in identifying and nominating chemical substances to the Prioritisation and Early Warning System (PEWS) for chemicals of emerging concern; and whether there are routes for individuals or other organisations to raise chemical substances of concern to PEWS.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency has developed a nomination process that integrates horizon scanning, environmental monitoring, and international collaboration. Nominations are received from internal and external stakeholders, collected from systematic reviews of published research, and watchlists developed by international environmental agency counterparts.
Individuals and organisations are able to feed into the nomination process by raising chemical substances of concern to any contact within DEFRA or the Environment Agency via PEWS@environment-agency.gov.uk who can nominate the substance following the instructions provided on the internal intranet page for PEWS.
The Environment Agency has adopted recommendations made by the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee on stakeholder engagement, from their 2021 review of PEWS.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in developing indicator E7 on healthy soils as part of the Outcome Indicator Framework for monitoring progress of the 25 Year Environment Plan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) published a concept model for a soil health indicator in June 2023 (please see attached) and we intend to develop a more comprehensive model by 2025. A progress report on the development of the indicator will be published by June 2024.
Improving soil health and monitoring changes over time is a priority for government. The E7 indicator for soil health in England will use comprehensive data on soil characteristics (physical, chemical, and biological) and land use to show how different soils are contributing to different ecosystem services as a measure of soil health. Towards the end of financial year 2022/2023, we began national soil monitoring under the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme. The data will inform ambitious, proactive, and sustainable policy decisions to support the government's goal to improve the state of the environment within a generation.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have provided public funds towards Aquacultured Seafood Limited for its on-land fish farm in Grimsby; and, if so, how much.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Having reviewed our records, we can confirm that Aquacultured Seafood Limited has not received public funding from Defra-managed fisheries funding schemes. Fisheries funding schemes comprise the UK Seafood Fund, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 impact of the products of the Norwegian fish farming industry imported into the UK on global health insecurity and food shortage as a result of the industry's use of feed and fish oil from Mauritania.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Addressing the ongoing global food security crisis and delivering sustainable food security for countries struggling with hunger and malnutrition is a priority for His Majesty’s Government. In 2022 the UK was one of the top 6 countries donors to the World Food Programme (over $400 million). Between 2016 and 2021, the UK spent £2.6 billion on longer-term food and agriculture programmes.
We are aware of recent reports that have suggested that the fishmeal industry based in Mauritania which supplies, among others, the Norwegian aquaculture sector is contributing to loss of livelihoods and malnutrition in West African nations. Assessments on the impact of supply chains to the Norwegian aquaculture sector are the responsibility of the Norwegian government.
The UK works directly to support food security and sustainable Ocean Management in West African countries affected by declining fish stocks. For example, as part of the £500 million Blue Planet Fund, the UK formalised a bilateral Ocean Country Partnership with Senegal in 2023. This partnership aims at reducing marine pollution, preserving marine biodiversity as well as helping fishing to be more sustainable.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - 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 safety of the use of silver in period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, in the light of concerns among the scientific community regarding the safety of the wearer and environmental impacts, particularly on aquatic life.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.
Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.
Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take action to prevent the unnecessary use of additives and antimicrobial substances in period products claiming ‘anti-odour’ or ‘antimicrobial’ properties.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK has a comprehensive regulatory framework in place to ensure products are safe before they are placed on the market. Period products, including period pants and menstrual cups, are regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. This provides a baseline of safety for applicable products, requiring that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, can be placed on the market. The law places obligations on producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors to ensure consumers are provided with safety information, including instructions for safe use. This includes risks that are not immediately obvious to consumers without adequate warnings, such as the use of additives and antimicrobial substances and the presence of silver in these products.
Period products are not classed as biocidal products under the GB Biocidal Products Regulation but are instead articles which contain or are treated with a biocidal product (such as a silver compound). A number of silver active substances are currently waiting to be assessed for safety and efficacy as biocides under the GB review programme of existing active substances. While this is the case they can be legally used in treated articles including period products.
Defra continues to monitor research on chemicals in period products as part of the UK REACH Work Programme, working closely with the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. This ongoing work covers all risks, including those relating to aquatic life. Studies carried out in the EU found that the chemicals identified in these products were present only in low concentrations, with no evidence of significant risks to human health.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the amount of rosewood timber that is exported from West African countries such as Mali, The Gambia and Senegal; what steps they have taken to ban or control within UK markets the sale of products made from West African rosewood; and what steps they have taken to protect endangered wild species, including rosewood in West Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is currently contributing funding towards a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) study on the conservation and trade in rosewood tree species but does yet not have an assessment of rosewood timber exports. We have robust mechanisms in place through the UK Timber Regulations (UKTR), which prohibit the placing of illegally harvested timber and timber products on the GB market and require operators - those first placing timber products on the market - to exercise due diligence. Those who trade in timber and timber products after they have been placed on the market are required to keep records of who they buy timber products from and any traders they sell them to. This enables timber and timber products to be traced.
The primary objective of the UKTR is to tackle illegal logging and to create a demand for legally harvested timber. Implementing the Regulations enables the protection of forests around the world, supporting the Government’s ambition to lead the world in environmental protection, end extreme poverty, and be at the forefront of action against global climate change.
The requirement to exercise due diligence under UKTR does not apply where a valid CITES permit accompanies the timber.
Rosewood species (Dalbergia and Guibourtia spp.) are listed on the CITES Appendices and so most rosewood timber imports into the UK will need a valid permit. Permit applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the UK CITES Management Authority, which will only issue permits if it has been possible to determine that the specimens to be imported were legally acquired and sustainably harvested.
The Government provides grants to a wide range of stakeholders to contribute to the protection of endangered wild species, including tackling illegal wildlife trade in West Africa, through the Biodiversity Challenge Funds. While these do not address rosewood in West Africa specifically, this has included empowering communities to protect their forests by the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, and supporting Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to monitor and halt illegal timber trade through DNA barcoding in Gabon and Congo (Brazzaville).
Further information on these examples and other projects supported by the Biodiversity Challenge Funds can be found at the websites of the Darwin Initiative and the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund.