Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will evaluate the success of the Environmental Land Management schemes based on the size of uptake.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The success of Environmental Land Management Schemes will be evaluated using a range of indicators and metrics. Area of land under management is just one of the indicators that we will be using to evaluate the success of the schemes. We have specifically set out a number of size-based goals that we will be monitoring, further details are available in the policy paper Environmental land management schemes: outcomes published on 6 January 2022 (GOV.UK), including the aim that by 2028, at least 70% of farmers, covering at least 70% of farmland, will take up Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements. We have also committed to deliver at least 10 Landscape Recovery projects covering over 20,000 ha between now and 2024.
We have recently seen a greater interest in our Countryside Stewardship schemes with a 40% increase in scheme applications in 2021 compared to 2020. Alongside the new Environmental Land Management schemes these increases should help to contribute to many of our most important key targets and ambitions.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to provide land managers engaged in Environmental Land Management schemes with access to affordable, accredited advice to deliver the changes necessary in management practice.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We want the Environmental Land Management schemes to be user friendly, and easy to access and engage with, so that advice can focus on where it will really add value.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) is a simple, menu-based scheme which is largely self-service, supported by high quality, very accessible technical guidance – freely available to all farmers and land managers whether in schemes or not. This is being tested during pilot and early rollout and we are responding quickly to the feedback.
The Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery schemes are expected to need a greater level of advisory support than SFI. We are exploring through our tests, trials and ongoing detailed policy design work the need for advice in these schemes, how best it could be delivered, and who is best placed to provide it.
We have also been clear that we intend to support collaboration in these schemes. We found in our tests and trials that local facilitators can really help people work together effectively. We plan to work with farmers and other experts to set up a new facilitation offer that builds on the successes and lessons to be learned from the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund, which remains open to anyone eligible for agri-environment schemes.
In addition, through our Landscape Recovery pilots we will test how we can best support groups of land managers to deliver large-scale land use change projects, including through our funded project development phase.
The Future Farming Resilience Fund has been developed to provide free business support to farmers and land managers during the agricultural transition. ALB advisers will also provide targeted support to encourage good engagement and ensure high quality agreements.
We are working with existing providers to support development of environmental skills and accreditation in the commercial advice sector. The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management have developed a competency framework for environmental advisers and BASIS have set up an Environmental Adviser Register which requires a qualification to entry or demonstration of knowledge and experience, coupled with an ongoing continuous professional development requirement.
These various advice and information pathways should result in land managers taking better account for the environment in their business, leading to innovation and improvements in land use and management practices.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of future environmental land management schemes on (1) agriculture, (2) biodiversity, and (3) wellbeing; and what will be the (a) advantages, and (b) disadvantages.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have produced early assessments of the potential impact of all land management actions being considered by the ELM schemes on environmental outcomes (including biodiversity), how these are relevant to our environmental priorities and outcomes (as published in Environmental Land Management: Outcomes, January 2022), as well as what the potential impact on food production may be.
We have a legal duty as per the Agriculture Act 2020 to consider the impact of our schemes on our ability to produce food in a sustainable way. We embed that duty into all elements of our scheme development. In addition, as the design and content of the schemes mature, we will draw upon modelling to refine our understanding and quantify the full impact of the schemes. This modelling will bring together an ongoing commissioned project to understand the environmental, and associated societal, impacts of land management actions across England over space and time with a project exploring the structure of the farming population and agricultural sector.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the release of sewage at beaches in south-east England by Southern Water on 2 and 3 October; and what steps they will take to reduce the incidence of such releases in future.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
On 5 October 2021, a sewage discharge was made from Broadstairs Waste Water Treatment Works operated by Southern Water Services through the Short Sea Outfall to the sea at Joss Bay, Broadstairs. The Environment Agency investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The Environment Agency has been working closely with partners including Thanet District Council and Southern Water Services to mitigate the effects from the discharge. Thanet District Council, in consultation with the Environment Agency, issued advice against bathing at ten designated bathing waters and other non-designated bathing waters on the North Kent coast. Southern Water and Thanet District Council have undertaken daily inspections of the Thanet beaches since the spill, and advice against bathing has now been lifted on all bathing water beaches.
It is the responsibility of Southern Water Services to ensure that such releases do not occur and that in the event of any technical failure that they have resilient back up plans in place.
Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are clear that incidents of this kind are unacceptable. The Government is working across a range of measures to crack down on water pollution, including through implementing and enforcing regulation, working closely with Storm Overflows Taskforce - chaired by Defra - and a new package of commitments in the Environment Bill.
We have made it crystal clear to water companies that they must significantly reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows as a priority. The draft Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat sets out our expectation that companies work to significantly reduce storm overflows for the first time and we expect funding to be approved for water companies to be able to do so. We have announced that we will put that instruction on a statutory footing with a new duty on water companies to progressively reduce impacts of sewage discharges.
The Government has also committed to publish a plan by September 2022 to address the harm caused by sewage discharges from storm overflows and reduce their impact on the environment.
The Environment Agency will work closely with Southern Water Services to both support and regulate their activity and to monitor improvement works to the waste water infrastructure around the North Kent coast. Failure to make improvements or comply with environmental permits in line with Environment Agency procedures may result in enforcement action.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise the minimum age for puppies being imported to the UK to six months in order to deter the trade in underage puppies; and whether they will ban payments in cash for puppies imported to the UK.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The end of the transition period has opened up new opportunities for managing our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. We are actively listening to the concerns of stakeholders and the Government is considering options to strengthen our efforts to tackle puppy smuggling and prevent the low-welfare importation and movement of these animals, including looking at the minimum age of dogs entering Great Britain (GB).
These options will take into consideration the results from our latest disease risk assessments for GB, recommendations of stakeholders such as the British Veterinary Association and Dogs Trust, and recent Parliamentary work from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to prevent heavily pregnant bitches from being transported to the UK illegally for the purpose of selling puppies to UK customers; and whether they will ban payments in cash for puppies bought in the UK.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The end of the transition period has opened up new opportunities for managing our own pet travel and commercial importation rules. We are actively listening to the concerns of stakeholders and the Government is considering options to strengthen our efforts to tackle puppy smuggling and prevent the low-welfare importation and movement of these animals, including looking at the movement of heavily pregnant dogs (bitches) entering Great Britain (GB).
These options will take into consideration the results from our latest disease risk assessments for GB, recommendations of stakeholders such as the British Veterinary Association and Dogs Trust, and recent Parliamentary work from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to set a target for the creation of new native woodland; and what steps they are taking (1) to avoid reliance on imported trees, and (2) to manage and increase native woodland while ensuring that such woodland remains in good ecological condition.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are committed to increasing woodland establishment across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025. To achieve this, we announced a £640m Nature for Climate Fund which will encourage woodland creation of all kinds to achieve this.
To decrease reliance on imported saplings we are boosting domestic tree nursery capacity, including through a joint £2m investment alongside the Scottish and Welsh governments. We will also set out further plans to support domestic nurseries in due course.
To improve biodiversity and resilience, we will increase woodland management. This ensures diversity of trees' ages and species, maximising resilience to climate change, pests and diseases.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure long-term sustainability of the British dairy sector; and whether service contracts have been checked to ensure that all public services source milk from UK dairy farmers.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government is working closely with our agriculture sectors to manage the impact of COVID-19 and is determined that our dairy sector will emerge from the current COVID-19 crisis with a sustainable future. While the vast majority of Britain’s dairy farmers continue to supply their contracts at the usual price, between 5 and 10 per cent of total milk production goes to the service trade, and these farmers have been impacted by the significantly reduced demand following the closure of the food service sector.
To support the sector we have temporarily eased 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 ensure as much product as possible can be processed into high quality dairy products. This approach will allow the market for milk to adjust to the change in demand for milk while allowing production to be restored when shops, restaurants and pubs are able to open again. Exempted activities have been developed in conjunction with the dairy industry.
Moreover, in recognition of the unprecedented challenges facing this sector on 7 May we announced a new fund to support those dairy farmers who have seen decreased demand due to the loss of the food service sector. Eligible dairy farmers in England who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May due to coronavirus disruptions will be eligible for funding of up to £10,000 each, to cover 70% of their lost income during this qualifying period. This will enable these producers to continue to operate and sustain production capacity without impacts on animal welfare.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board together with Dairy UK have launched a new £1 million campaign running over 12 weeks to drive an increase in the consumption of milk. Defra and the devolved administrations are jointly contributing towards the financing of this campaign.
The dairy industry can also access various Government backed loan schemes. The COVID-19 Business Interruption Loans scheme is available to farmers, milk buyers and milk processors. In addition, the new Bounce Back Loan scheme, which will apply to businesses including those operating in agriculture, will ensure that the smallest businesses can access up to £50,000 loans.
In the longer term the Government is keen to see greater levels of collaboration between producers and we will continue to support farmers who want to harness the benefits of working together. Our Agriculture Bill includes powers to introduce a new domestic system for recognising producer organisations, which will be better tailored to the requirements of UK producers.
The Bill also includes powers to introduce and enforce statutory codes of practice to address unfair trading practices which can occur between milk producers and purchasers. We will carry out a full consultation on dairy contracts to take account of the range of stakeholder views and anticipate launching the consultation later this year.
British food and drink are renowned around the world for its quality and integrity and we want consumers, including public service organisations, to be able to benefit from our nutritious dairy and other agricultural products. Respecting our World Trade Organization commitments on public procurement, central Government and its executive agencies in England are mandated to source produce that meets UK minimum production standards, as outlined in the "Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering”.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new system for regulating chemicals which requires technical information to be submitted by businesses to the Health and Safety Executive within two years of the end of the implementation period will be used to improve environmental standards.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
After the transition period, we will maintain an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals which safeguards human health and the environment and can respond to emerging risks. One of the chemicals regulation regimes, UK REACH, will require submission of information by industry within two years to demonstrate their understanding of the risks and safe management of a given substance.
This information is required to operate an effective regulatory regime, to understand the hazards and risks of chemicals markets and to ensure their safe use. It will inform the assessment of the risks specific substances pose to human health and the environment and therefore any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate these risks such as identifying Substances of Very High Concern.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what scrutiny they are undertaking of planning applications affecting ancient woodland and veteran trees.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2018 the Government strengthened the protection for ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees in the revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which states that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats (such as ancient woodland and ancient or veteran trees) should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists (para 175c). This wording was retained in the 2019 NPPF update. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/15-conserving-and-enhancing-the-natural-environment
Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) determine planning applications affecting ancient woodland and veteran trees. Natural England (NE) are statutory consultees where an application might affect ancient woodland designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or where development requires an Environmental Impact Assessment. 23% of ancient woodlands are SSSIs. The Forestry Commission (FC) are non-statutory consultees on planning applications affecting ancient woodland, responding if asked to by the LPA.
NE and the FC have prepared joint Standing Advice to assist local planning authorities making decisions on planning applications that may impact on ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees. This advice is available on GOV.UK. There is no requirement for NE or the FC to be consulted on planning applications involving ancient and veteran trees, unless they are designated as a SSSI.
Ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees may also be impacted by Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, for which NE and FC are statutory consultees. NE and the FC are also providing advice to HS2 Ltd on avoiding, mitigating and partially compensating for the impact of HS2 on ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees.