Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all consumers have access to a balanced, healthy and affordable diet given the increases in the price of fruit and vegetables.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government Food Strategy sets out a plan to transform our food system to ensure it is fit for the future.
We want to see a sustainable food system, from farm to fork and catch to plate, seizing on the opportunities before us, levelling up every part of the country and ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious and healthier food.
A healthy diet is a key component of good health and the Government advises people to follow the Eatwell Guide. Encouraging more people to follow the Eatwell Guide will have a substantial benefit on health as well as the environment.
To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor recently announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills.
For 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment.
The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. More than 8 million families on means-tested benefits received a payment of up to £650 in 2022, made in two lump sums. This includes all families entitled to a payment of: Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - 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 reasons for the rise in the price of basic foodstuffs reported in the Which? monthly food inflation tracker.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Food price inflation is being driven by a combination of inflationary factors across the food chain – these include increased farmgate prices influenced by global commodity prices and farm input costs such as fertilisers and animal feed. For manufacturers production costs have increased because of a combination of factors including a tight labour market increasing wages, energy price increases, fuel and packaging materials.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) when they intend to publish a response to their consultation on the fur market in Great Britain, and (2) what discussions they have had with the fashion industry on alternatives to fur.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are carefully reviewing the evidence gathered both from our Call for Evidence and from wider engagement with the fur trade and stakeholders, and a summary of responses will be published in due course. We have not been holding discussions with the fashion industry about their use of alternatives to fur.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for the review of the role of the Grocery Code adjudicator; and how Parliament will be notified of the outcome.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently considering responses to the public consultation and other evidence to inform the third statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. A report on the findings of the statutory review will be published and laid before Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - 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 role that (1) sea kelp, and (2) sea grasses, can play in capturing carbon and meeting the UK's net zero targets; and what steps they are taking to identify and preserve these marine sites for the future.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Net Zero Strategy recognised that protecting, restoring, and sustainably managing blue carbon habitats like saltmarsh and seagrass can provide benefits for biodiversity and climate adaptation, as well as for carbon sequestration. However, the potential contribution of coastal blue carbon habitats to total annual UK emissions reductions is modest due to their relatively small area.
The marine arm of the Government’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme is supporting the UK’s commitments towards net zero through monitoring and mapping carbon storage and cycling capacity across England’s coastal and marine ecosystems, such as saltmarshes, kelp forests and the seabed. This will inform better management of our natural carbon sources and sinks, including the protection of key habitats for carbon storage. Furthermore, through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, alongside other UK Administrations, to address key research questions relating to blue carbon.
We are also working to protect these habitats, including through the Marine Protected Areas network, which already contains the majority of saltmarsh and seagrass habitats in the UK. A number of estuarine and coastal habitat restoration initiatives are also underway including the Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative, which aims to reverse centuries of coastal habitat decline by restoring seagrass meadows and saltmarsh.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement the requirements of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to record all rights of way on a definitive map; and what proportion of applications for new public rights of way are outstanding.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Local Authorities are responsible for implementing the requirements of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the recording of rights of ways on the definitive map and statement for the area they are responsible for. The Government is committed to taking forward a number of reforms which will streamline the process for the recording of all rights of way. Details on outstanding applications are not held centrally.
In addition, the Government has tabled an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to amend the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to undertake a review of open access land mapping before 1 January 2031 so that as many people as possible can enjoy more of England’s mountains, moor, heath, down and registered common land.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards increasing the availability of pet-friendly housing for people renting their homes.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has committed to giving tenants the right to request a pet that the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. We will amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 so that landlords can require insurance to cover damage to their property caused by pets. We will legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their A Fairer Private Rented Sector white paper, published on 16 June 2022, whether they intend to introduce legislation to allow more people to be able to own a pet in their rented home; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government has committed to giving tenants the right to request a pet that the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. We will amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 so that landlords can require insurance to cover damage to their property caused by pets. We will legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Benyon on 18 January (HL Deb col 1816), when they will publish their response to the Landscapes review (National Parks and AONBs): implementing the review consultation, which ran from 15 January 2022 to 9 April 2022; and what measures in that review have already been implemented.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will publish a response to our public consultation shortly, ensuring that the proposals fit with the upcoming Environmental Improvement Plan. Our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is a key part of implementing our response to the Landscapes Review and provides funding to deliver projects on the key themes raised by the review including climate, nature, people, and place.
We are helping to create a new partnership to enable National Parks, AONBs and National Trails to achieve closer collaboration on national priorities. Natural England is progressing the landmark designation programme which includes the consideration of two new AONBs and two extensions. This is expected to be completed by 2025 and will play a key role in meeting the government’s commitment to protect and improve 30% of UK land by 2030. Further measures and additional details will be set out in the consultation response.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken (1) to progress plans to introduce mandatory recycling labelling on packaging, and (2) to ensure businesses are able to implement these reforms effectively and at reasonable costs.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We confirmed our intention to require recycling labelling on packaging in March 2022 in the Government’s Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility consultation response. We continue to engage with stakeholders as we develop these requirements, the approach to assessing recyclability and the regulations to introduce mandatory labelling.
Labelling will be required by 31 March 2026 for all packaging except plastic films and flexibles which will be required to be labelled by 31 March 2027. This should provide sufficient time for business to adopt labelling as part of typical business cycles and to avoid unnecessary costs. It will also allow time for collection services to develop such that all local authorities collect the same packaging materials for recycling.