Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to continue to make subsidies for sustainable farming practices available to farms of all sizes; and at what rate.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have moved away from the EU’s approach to subsidies to a ‘public money for public goods’ system.
We currently have a record 50,000 farm businesses and half of all farmed land now managed under our schemes – with more money being spent through these schemes than at any point.
Going forward we’ve committed an average of £2.3 billion a year to directly benefit tens of thousands of farmers, including small farmers, supporting farm profitability through investment in research and technology and sustainable food production, at the same time as improving the quality of the water in our rivers, the air we breathe and our spaces for wildlife.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are considering to protect hares and their young during the breeding season; and what assessment they have made of the introduction of a close season for the killing of hares.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra Ministers support the ambition to introduce a close season for hares in England. The hare is a much-loved species, and we fail to give it the protection we should. England and Wales stand out as being among the few European countries not to have a close season for their hares. A close season should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, which runs from February to October, meaning that fewer leverets (infant hares) are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation. A close season is also consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (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 levels of phosphates and nitrates in England's waterways; and whether they intend to extend safety protections to people involved in water sports on those waterways.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The level of water pollution is unacceptable. That is why cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the government. Working with farmers and the wider industry is key to delivering against this priority.
Under the Environment Act 2021, a legally binding target was set to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment from agriculture entering the water environment by 40% by 2038. A suite of proportionate and effective regulations, advice and incentives are in place to support delivery of this target and reduce pollution. We are focused on working with farmers to improve compliance to meet their obligations and make improvements to their businesses.
UK Health Security Agency and the Environment Agency offer advice in their ‘Swim Healthy’ guidance on swimming in open waters: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet/swim-healthy.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support farmers to implement crate-free farrowing for pigs.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports farmers to improve their animals’ health and welfare through funded vet visits as well as targeted grants. We continue to work with the industry on how the Pathway can encourage improvements in indoor pigs’ welfare.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (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 level of male chick culling in the UK egg industry; and what steps they are taking to support producers to reduce that practice.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals at the time of killing, including male chicks from the egg production sector.
Permitted killing methods for chicks, such as gas stunning and maceration, are based on scientific research and assessment to ensure birds are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering. All laying hen hatcheries in the UK use argon gas mixtures as their stunning method.
We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in the development of technologies that allow chicks to be sexed in-ovo (within the egg). We welcome the UK egg industry’s interest in the development of day zero sexing technology.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they will give to flooding, drought, healthy soil, and clean water in their 25-year farming roadmap.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The food and farming sector is operating in an increasingly complex environment. Climate change is causing weather variability leading to more floods, droughts and other extreme events. These challenges are contributing to declining biodiversity, soil degradation, water quality pressures and increasing risks to land productivity.
The Farming Roadmap will be a long-term strategy setting out this Government’s vision for a thriving sector that delivers for the economy, nature, food security and the environment. It will provide a vision for our farming sector and set the direction for how we get there, with a focus on delivering our food security and environmental objectives, whilst supporting farms to be resilient and profitable. The roadmap will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (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 impact of mandatory animal welfare labelling on consumer purchasing decisions.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken last year by the previous Government. The consultation sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling and was accompanied by an impact assessment which assessed the potential costs and benefits. Research was also commissioned to explore animal welfare considerations in consumer purchasing decisions, which will be published in due course.
We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will respond to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the key performance indicators of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and how these have been met.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is monitoring the Sustainable Farming Incentive and tracking contributions to outcomes. We recently published statistics on the area within agri-environment schemes, which showed that 64% of England’s farmed area is in a scheme. 3.3 million hectares are in SFI 2023 and over 380,000 hectares are in the SFI expanded offer.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the National Farmers Union on 25 February, when the requirements to favour high-welfare products in government catering contracts will come into effect, and what sectors other than hospitals and schools are being targeted.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As announced at the National Farmers Union Conference, the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS), which sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for public procurement, came into effect alongside the Procurement Act on 24 February. The NPPS underscores the Government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, including catering contracts. Defra officials are currently exploring the options for any future changes to public sector food and catering policy.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement on 25 February that they will invest £208 million in a new national biosecurity centre, whether those funds were previously committed to go directly to farmers as payments for 'public goods'.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The National Biosecurity Centre is the new name for the facility delivered at APHA Weybridge, previously known as the Science Capability in Animal Health programme. This funding has not been previously committed to other purposes.