Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - 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 Bycatch Mitigation Initiative’s ability to meet the ecosystem objective in the Fisheries Act 2020, to ensure that sensitive species bycatch is (1) minimised, and (2) eliminated.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. Defra officials are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to finalise the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI).
The BMI will identify policy objectives and potential actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species. The actions include improving our understanding of where and how much bycatch occurs and implementing effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch.
This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to publish an action plan with (1) timebound targets to minimise fish species bycatch, and (2) guidance on mitigation measures to avoid species bycatch; and whether resources will be made available to execute such an action plan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The objectives in the Fisheries Act 2020 underline the UK's commitment to addressing the root cause of discarding. In particular, the bycatch objective looks to avoid or reduce the catching of fish that are below the minimum conservation reference size and other bycatch. The Government is committed to ending the wasteful practice of discards and to increasing the level of accountability for fishing activities at sea, while building the confidence we have in our seafood products. We are currently consulting on the Joint Fisheries Statement which sets out further detail about this and we will be considering this further in the development of fisheries management plans.
In addition to this, the landing obligation forms part of retained EU law and continues to be in force in the UK. However, there are challenges to implementing this. That is why Defra is developing a domestic catching policy for England which is tailored to our marine environment and industry needs. We are engaging with industry and other stakeholders about this.
We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. Defra officials are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to finalise the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI).
The BMI will identify policy objectives and potential actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catch of sensitive marine species. This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish a new life cycle assessment of nappies to replace the 2008 Life Cycle Assessment.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Defra-funded environmental assessment of washable and disposable nappies is nearing completion. Peer review is expected to commence shortly and we aim to publish the research in the spring.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will announce the budget for the Office for Environmental Protection; and whether this will be ring-fenced within the relevant spending review.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is committed to establishing the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) with sufficient funding to fulfil its statutory functions. The OEP will be given a five-year indicative budget, which will be ring-fenced by Defra within the spending review period. The OEP’s budget for financial year 22/23 and an indicative five-year budget will be announced before it comes into effect at the start of the next financial year.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their Environmental Principles Policy Statement; what is their timetable for it coming into effect; and what interim arrangements they have made for the intervening period.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We will publish the environmental principles draft policy statement as soon as possible, following the consultation we carried out last year.
The policy statement will then undergo parliamentary scrutiny and a final version will be published. There will be an implementation period to allow Government departments to prepare for the new duty. Defra has already been working with departments by providing training and ensuring the new duty is clearly captured by existing Government policy guidance documents, such as HM Treasury’s Green Book.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect DEFRA and the Office of Environmental Protection will (1) agree, and (2) publish, a Framework Document; and whether this will be in draft form.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are committed to working collaboratively with the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to finalise the Defra-OEP Framework Document as soon as possible. The Framework Document will be published in due course, once a final version has been agreed between Defra and the OEP.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the need to introduce legislation to ban the importation of F1 and F2 hybrid cats.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Pet dogs, cats and ferrets are strictly defined within the pet travel legislation as Canis lupis familiaris (domestic dog), Felis silvestris catus (domestic cat) and Mustela putorius furo (ferret). Movements of these pet animals must be accompanied by documentation verifying identification, valid rabies vaccinations, a rabies blood test (if required) and, if relevant, treatment against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis.
Under the current legislation, documentation can only be issued to domestic dogs, cats and ferrets. Other species are not permitted to travel under the pet travel or commercial import rules. We consider that the legislation governing these movements is fit for purpose.
Animals other than domestic animals must be entered into a zoo-approved quarantine premises and an import licence is required.