Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what impact assessments they undertook before reducing British tariffs on a quota of 1.4bn litres of US ethanol imports.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The 1.4 billion litre duty‑free tariff‑rate quota (TRQ) for US ethanol imports was introduced as part of the negotiation of the General Terms for the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).

Discussions on the EPD are ongoing, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.

Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they reduced British tariffs on a quota of 1.4 billion litres of American ethanol imports.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The 1.4 billion litre duty‑free tariff‑rate quota (TRQ) for US ethanol imports was introduced as part of the negotiation of the General Terms for the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).

Discussions on the EPD are ongoing, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.

Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve monitoring of the Marine Protected Area network.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Working with statutory nature conservation bodies, this Government is processing options to improve monitoring of the English Marine Protected Area (MPA) network including through use of modern technology. Defra secured increased funding in this year’s Spending Review to support expanded ecological surveys, non‑intrusive monitoring methods, and enhanced satellite‑based compliance monitoring. This will support enforcement and evidence to inform future management measures.

Defra and its arm’s‑length bodies are also investing, in innovative approaches such as automation, remote data collection and environmental DNA. This aims to support more cost‑effective and holistic assessment of environmental change and MPA effectiveness. Defra is jointly funding a pilot collaborative survey through the Centre for Seabed Mapping to generate high‑resolution data in priority MPAs, fill evidence gaps, and test scalable models for future UK marine monitoring and innovation.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of reopening the Ensus bioethanol plant.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The costs associated with this intervention have been independently verified and are commercially sensitive. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts will record the expenditure incurred with Ensus and disclosures surrounding the expenditure incurred will reflect the materiality of the arrangement to the Department’s accounts, as is required by International Financial Reporting Standards.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend the Ensus bioethanol plant to operate for longer than three months.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The plant is being restarted on a temporary basis for three months as a pre-emptive measure. Government will continue to monitor market conditions closely to determine whether the continued production of CO2 at Ensus is required.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether compensatory funds raised through Offshore Regulations will be ringfenced to mitigate the impacts of the offshore wind.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to protect British-owned and British-manned vessels from orca attacks off the coast of Spain and Portugal.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a challenging situation which requires consideration of the safety of mariners as well as the conservation needs of this critically endangered population of Iberian orca. This issue has been ongoing since 2020 and has been discussed in the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) Scientific Committee since 2021.

A workshop in 2024 which included the UK-backed Vice-Chair of the IWC’s Scientific Committee, members of the Scientific Committee and orca experts assessed the behaviour and developed mitigation measures with a view to safeguarding lives at sea. Recommendations included moving away from the area and using measures that produce noise if appropriate authorisations are in place and highlighted the need for further research to better understand the issue.

This topic is due to be discussed at this year’s International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee meeting which begins next week, running 27 April to 8 May. The UK will Chair this year’s meeting, and Defra officials and experts from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee will also be in attendance.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce bottom trawling by EU vessels in UK waters.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Bottom trawling is restricted for both UK and EU vessels where it damages sensitive habitats such as in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Around 60% of the 181 MPAs in England restrict damaging fishing activities such as bottom trawling already and last year we consulted on proposals to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 MPAs. Results are currently being analysed.