Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with representatives of the livestock industry regarding the future of that industry after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We have strong relationships with representatives from the livestock sector. There are monthly meetings between officials and representatives of the livestock sectors in the Brexit Livestock Group. Ministers also have regular dialogue with industry representatives about future agriculture policy including most recently through a programme of meeting at agricultural shows across the country.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the size of the sheep flock in England.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The size of the sheep flock (the total number of sheep and lambs) in England in 2017 was 15.8 million animals.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the size of the dairy herd in England.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The size of the dairy herd in England in 2017 was 1.2 million animals. The dairy herd is defined as dairy cows aged two years and over with offspring.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of the farming industry in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland concerning post-Brexit agricultural policy.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Ministers and officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from all four nations of the UK and discuss a wide range of issues, including future agricultural policy.
Outside of the Common Agricultural Policy we can have an agriculture and land management policy that works for the whole of the United Kingdom. Intrinsic to our approach will be as much flexibility as possible for each devolved administration to design policies to meet their own circumstances, subject to the establishment of common UK frameworks where necessary, consistent with the principles agreed by the Joint Ministerial Committee.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to consult farming unions regarding farmers' continuing entitlement to grants, subsidies and successor grants following Brexit.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra’s consultation document ‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ invited views on proposals for future agriculture policy in England.
The consultation, which closed on 8 May, sought the views of those in the industry – including the farming unions – on our proposals to make sure future policies reflect the reality of life for farmers and food producers. Over 40,000 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, environmental, and food and farming related organisations and the general public. All responses are being analysed and will be used to inform future policy.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual export earnings of British agriculture from EU member states.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The value of UK exports of food, feed and drink was £22 billion in 2017. Of this, 60% (£13 billion) were to countries in the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Jones (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any pastures in upland Wales and England still rendered unsuitable for grazing as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear plant fire.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Food Standards Agency has advised that there are no restrictions remaining on grazing in upland areas of England and Wales as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Between 1986 and 2012 restrictions and routine monitoring of sheep in certain upland areas of the UK were in place to protect food safety. The Board of the FSA agreed the lifting of the last of the restrictions with effect from 1 June 2012, following a review of the evidence and public consultation.