Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the report of the Tree Council Protecting trees of high social, cultural and environmental value published in April, and in developing an action plan for and improving the legal protection of important trees.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are carefully considering expert recommendations laid out in the Tree Council and Forest Research report. It will be important to balance our approach with existing priorities and our statutory obligations.
We recognise the value of our most important trees and consider all ancient and veteran trees to be irreplaceable habitats. The Sycamore Gap sentencing demonstrates that our judicial system takes illegal tree felling seriously.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish a land use framework for England, what land uses this will cover, and whether it will be subject to formal consultation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The way we use and manage our land is already changing in response to pressures like climate change. It is time that government works openly with stakeholders and experts to understand and support the changes needed to keep nature and food production in England resilient.
The Government will do this by taking a collaborative approach to publishing a Land Use Framework for England. The Framework will consider issues such as food security and how we can expand nature-rich habitats such as wetlands, peat bogs and forests.
Spatial planning will play an important role in the delivery of the Government’s growth and clean energy missions, and the land use framework will work hand in hand with the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. The Government will also explore the opportunities for spatial planning to support the delivery of other types of infrastructure.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will, in line with previous commitments, publish a land use framework for England in 2023.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
The Land Use Framework will be published in due course. The Framework will build on the insight from the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee’s inquiry and support delivery of the full range of Government commitments through multifunctional, resilient and productive landscapes.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that those veterinary medicines at risk of being discontinued in Northern Ireland will continue to be available after the end of the 'grace period' for implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland; and what discussions they are holding with the EU in relation to (1) short term, and (2) long term, solutions to the challenges of availability of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
On 19 December 2022, the European Commission issued an announcement which provides for a three-year extension to the grace period for veterinary medicines until 31 December 2025. These arrangements will mean that the current processes for moving veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland will continue to be administered as they have been up to this point.
We welcome this extension to the veterinary medicine grace period from the Commission and are looking forward to further discussions on veterinary medicines in the New Year. We will continue to work for a long-term, sustainable solution to the supply of veterinary medicines.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist on 15 September 2020 (HL Deb, col 1187), when they plan to open the “intensive consultation” on a new regulatory framework for farming.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Our future regulatory system will be developed with a focus on the environment and animal health and welfare, on developing trust between industry and government. We want to deliver an effective transition from the existing regulatory model, mostly delivered through cross compliance, to the new approach based on established good practice and developed in partnership with the sector. We are committed to working with industry to design a system that supports a more resilient sector producing high quality food in a more sustainable way.
Co-designing and establishing a new regulatory model for the long term, will take time and we want to work with the sector and others impacted by regulation to get it right. We will always ensure that we have a robust system of inspection and enforcement in place to maintain regulatory protections.
Involving users (e.g. farmers, land managers, users of the environment) through co-design is key to developing a modern regulatory approach that works, both for users and regulators. These participatory approaches are intended to work alongside and compliment more traditional engagement with citizens and industry, such as consultation. Consultation is still an important engagement method and we will, of course, consult widely on future proposals at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use public funding in the new Environmental Land Management scheme for England to fund measures required by the cross-compliance rules for claiming rural payments.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Cross compliance and the rules they enforce are still in place and will continue to operate for the time being. Whilst farmers continue to receive a basic payment scheme payment or are part of most agri-environment schemes they will be subject to the cross-compliance rules.
The rules within cross compliance are mostly in domestic legislation and will continue to apply as we move away from CAP schemes.
We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under our new schemes that will pay farmers to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare, and reduce carbon emissions. The Agricultural Transition Plan set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes. We have also recently published more details on the first phase of piloting the Sustainable Farming Incentive, including the actions we will pay farmers to take to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the requirements of (1) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 1: Establishment of buffer strips along watercourses, (2) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 4: Providing minimum soil cover, and (3) Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 5: Minimising soil erosion, as set out in The guide to cross compliance in England 2021, published on 18 December 2020, as legal requirements for all farmers and land managers (a) during, and (b) following the end of, their proposed plans set out in The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024, published on 30 November 2020.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We currently have regulations which protect water courses under the farming rules for water. Farming rules for water require land managers to leave unfertilised zones adjacent to watercourses and boreholes and to assess the pollution risk of fertilisers and manures they apply.
The farming rules for water require land managers to take action to prevent soil loss caused by agricultural or horticultural activity. This does not require land managers to take the same specific action as in cross compliance but provide a generalised provision that has the same policy aim as GAECs 4 and 5. Additionally, the farming rules for water require farmers to manage livestock so as to prevent pollution.
We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to maintain the requirements of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 7a: Boundaries, as set out in The guide to cross compliance in England 2021, published on 18 December 2020, as a legal requirement for all farmers and land managers (1) during, and (2) after the end of, their proposed plans set out in the The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024, published on 30 November 2020.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Hedgerows and field boundaries are the very essence of our British countryside. They provide vital resources for mammals, birds and inspect species. As well as being an important habitat in their own right, they act as wildlife corridors allowing dispersal between isolated habitats. Many are also important historical and cultural landscape features.
We are committed to maintaining standards and have domestic legislation which protects the environment, animal health and welfare, and plant health. We will continue to review this as necessary. We will look to use the most effective mechanism to deliver against environmental goals. It may be that another, non-regulatory mechanism is the most effective means to ensure that standards currently in cross compliance are maintained.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the results of the Darwin Plus projects whose initial applications were submitted between May and July 2019 will be announced; and whether the allocation of the funds to projects will be in line with the results of the consultation on ‘Safeguarding the environment in British Overseas Territories’ which concluded on 26 July 2019.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The successful projects for the recent round of Darwin Plus will be announced shortly.
I was encouraged that we received a strong response to the Call for Evidence on ‘Safeguarding the environment in British Overseas Territories', with 51 responses received from the Overseas Territories, NGOs and other interested parties. This was an important evidence gathering-exercise designed to inform the Government’s preparations for the next spending review. The summary of responses was published on 31 March 2020, after the application and assessment of Darwin Plus applications was completed. The findings of the Call for Evidence will be used to inform future funding for environmental support in the Overseas Territories.
Asked by: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether either the proposed (1) Nature for Climate Fund or (2) Blue Planet Fund will be open to UK Overseas Territories.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is committed to supporting the unique biodiversity of the Overseas Territories, which contain over 90% of the UK family’s total endemic species.
A summary of responses to 2019’s call for evidence on safeguarding the environment in the British Overseas Territories will be published shortly. This will be used to inform decisions on future public funding and support, which to date has supported important conservation work in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments in the Territories. In addition, last year the UK announced an extension to the Blue Belt Programme (BBP) until 2021, with a further £7 million to provide ongoing support for protection of the diverse marine ecosystems present around the Overseas Territories.
The ocean supports the livelihoods of one in every ten people, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable worldwide. Recognising the link between ocean health and its effect on the development prospects of the most disadvantaged communities, this Government will establish a £500 million Blue Planet Fund (BPF).
Financed from the Official Development Assistance Budget, the BPF will help ODA-eligible countries. The fund seeks to protect their marine resources from key human-generated stressors including plastic pollution, overfishing and habitat loss. This new financing will build on the success of the BBP, embracing the wider ocean’s role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
The scope of the Nature for Climate Fund is under development, but as set out in our manifesto, the Fund will help to drive a step change in tree planting, peatland restoration and nature recovery in England.