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Written Question
Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for the (1) introduction, and (2) implementation, of activity regulations under the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

Future decisions on which specific animal activities will fall in scope of the advertising ban will be evidence-based and subject to Parliamentary scrutiny. Sufficient, compelling evidence will be required to demonstrate why any specific advertising ban is needed.

This Government continues to make animal welfare a priority and we are currently exploring a number of options to ensure progress as soon as is practicable.


Written Question
Biodiversity
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expedite the delivery of the apex goal set out in the Executive Summary of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 to halt the decline in biodiversity and achieve 'thriving plants and wildlife'.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are committed to meeting our ambitious target to halt and then reverse species decline and are accelerating action towards delivery.

In June last year we launched a multi-million-pound Species Survival Fund to provide early progress towards our species abundance targets and support the recovery of declining species. The fund will support projects focussed on the creation and restoration of wildlife-rich habitats, including on protected sites.

Through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme, launched April 2023, we have also provided £14.5M of funding for 63 projects delivered in partnership with 74 different organisations to take action to halt and reverse the decline of 150 rare species, including the critically endangered European eel and the Greater Mouse-eared bat.

In November we announced the 34 projects selected for the £25 million second round of our Landscape Recovery scheme. These projects will collectively restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, sustainably manage more than 20,000 hectares of woodland, including some temperate rainforest, create over 7,000 hectares of new woodland and benefit more than 160 protected sites (SSSIs). This builds on the success of the first 22 Landscape Recovery projects which are already underway, aiming to restore more than 600 km of rivers and targeting the conservation of more than 260 flagship species. This is alongside increased incentives, announced in January, for farmers to deliver environmental outcomes which will support habitats and species through our Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship schemes.

We are also rolling out Nature Recovery Projects across the country to create improved and better-connected habitats for wildlife and improve public access to nature. In July 2023 we launched a further six projects covering over 176,000 ha of land across England. These projects build on the G7 legacy project in Cornwall launched in 2021 and the five other nature recovery projects launched in 2022 which together span around 120,200 hectares.


Written Question
Fisheries: Sustainable Development
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to publish a timebound strategy to meet their legal obligation to aim that fishing occurs at sustainable levels.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As an independent coastal state, the UK now sets catch limits through negotiations with other coastal states, led by the best available science. In line with the sustainability objective in the Fisheries Act 2020, our aim is to achieve environmentally sustainable outcomes as well as socio-economic benefits. The UK Joint Fisheries Statement, published last November, lists 43 Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) to be developed across the UK and sets out a timetable for their publication. The FMPs will set out policies to maintain or increase stocks to sustainable levels (or contribute to doing so). Our FMPs will contain short-, medium- and long-term time bound actions to be delivered over the lifetime of the plan. The actions are to support the sustainable management of fish stocks – they are based on the best available evidence and input from the fishing sector. We plan to publish the first FMPs by the end of this year.


Written Question
Fishing Catches
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in agreeing sustainable fishing catch limits for 2024–26 with the EU, what consideration they have given to advice provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and whether these limits will or will not exceed this advice.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As an independent coastal State, the UK sets total allowable catches (TACs) through negotiations with other coastal States led by the best scientific advice, including advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) on maximum sustainable yield (MSY). For the majority of stocks TACs will be set for 2024, with a small number agreed biennially through to 2025.

Per our obligations under the Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement, we seek to achieve, or contribute to the achievement of the fisheries objectives. In particular, we strive to deliver environmental sustainability, including increasing the total number of stocks fished at MSY, as well as economic benefits. In early 2024, following the conclusion of the annual fisheries negotiations, the Government will publish an independent assessment of the number of TACs set consistent with ICES advice for 2024.


Written Question
Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007
Tuesday 28th February 2023

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and its devolved equivalents constitute EU-derived subordinate legislation in the context of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and if so, what plans they have to ensure that those provisions which go further than EU requirements, such as the banning of sow stalls, are preserved.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Defra is in the process of analysing and assessing its retained EU law stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. This work will determine how we use the powers in the Bill, including in relation to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007. Having said this, there are no plans to remove the ban on sow stalls.


Written Question
Biodiversity
Monday 30th January 2023

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (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 on their ability to halt biodiversity loss arising from the relevant officials being diverted to work on the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

There is no impact. In reviewing retained EU law, Defra’s aim is to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst also ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently.


Written Question
Nature Conservation
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will retain the protections for species afforded by the the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

My department is carefully considering the retained EU law (REUL) caught by the sunset clause in the REUL Bill, which will include the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Habitats Regulations). In reviewing retained EU law, Defra’s aim is to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst also ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. This will ensure the UK regulatory framework is appropriate and tailored to the UK. The Government has been clear that any changes to REUL will not have the effect of reducing the levels of environmental protection.


Written Question
Environment Protection: EU Law
Wednesday 21st December 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to engage with environmental groups before making any decisions regarding the exercise of the powers proposed in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and if so, how.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Defra has routinely met environmental stakeholders since the introduction of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill to sight them on developments as the Bill passes through Parliament. Defra will continue to engage stakeholders as it takes steps to create laws and regulations in the interests of the UK. Defra is committed to engaging with stakeholders to ensure policy decisions are well-informed and result in benefits for both citizens and business.

Defra is in the process of analysing its REUL stock to determine what should be preserved as part of domestic law, and what should be repealed, or amended. In reviewing retained EU law, Defra’s aim is to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst also ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. This will ensure the UK regulatory framework is appropriate and tailored to the UK.


Written Question
Nature Conservation: EU Law
Wednesday 21st December 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (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 potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on (1) legal protections for European protected species, and (2) the population of such protected species in England.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Nature is in need of our help. We have been clear about the importance of environmental protection across the United Kingdom, not least through our world leading Environment Act, which sets a new legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and we are developing an extensive policy programme to deliver that.

In reviewing retained EU law, Defra’s aim is to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose and able to drive improved environmental outcomes, whilst also ensuring regulators can deliver efficiently. This will ensure the UK regulatory framework is appropriate and tailored to the UK. The Government has been clear that any changes to REUL will not have the effect of reducing the levels of environmental protection.


Written Question
Water Companies: Fines
Wednesday 7th December 2022

Asked by: Lord Randall of Uxbridge (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 investing water company fines into improving waterways.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On Wednesday 30th November we announced we will be channelling money from water company fines into schemes to improve the environment. The announcement is available on .gov.uk at the webpage here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/water-company-fines-to-be-channelled-into-environmental-improvements.