Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many arms-length management organisations there are in England.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We do not collect this information centrally. However, the National Federation of ALMOs’ latest publicity suggests that there are currently 19 arms-length management organisations in England: https://www.almos.org.uk/about-us/our-members/.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the amount of microplastics in tap water.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published two research projects on microplastics in drinking water – one in January 2019 reviewing the potential risks from nanoparticles and microplastics and another in October 2022 looking at the removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes.
The research by the DWI found that more than 99.99% of microplastic particles were removed through conventional drinking water treatment processes. As a consequence of the removal rates, microplastics were present at very low levels in drinking water. Their contribution to total daily exposure, and presenting a potential risk to human health, was likely to be low or insignificant. The World Health Organization has also recommended that routine monitoring of microplastics in drinking water was not necessary at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of (1) rural bus services in England, and (2) the effectiveness of the Bus Services Act 2017 in improving services.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government's approach to improving bus services in England, including those in rural areas, is set out in the National Bus Strategy. We have announced more than £4.5 billion of funding for buses in England outside of London since 2020,
including:
o The recently announced £1 billion of funding redirected from HS2 to deliver better buses across the North and the Midlands as part of Network North;
o Over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help LTAs deliver their BSIPs;
o £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025;
o Nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024; and
o £2 billion between March 2020 and June 2023 to prevent reductions to bus services following the pandemic.
The Bus Services Act 2017 was accompanied by a suite of regulations to provide Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London with powers to improve local bus services. These included enhanced partnerships (EPs) between bus operators and LTAs, and automatic franchising powers to all Mayoral Combined Authorities. 73 LTAs now have an EP in place and Greater Manchester expect to have a fully franchised bus network by March 2025.
The Bus Services Act 2017 also focused on introducing the Bus Open Data Service (BODS). The BODS was launched in 2020, and requires all bus operators of local services in England to open up high-quality, accurate and up-to-date bus service information including timetables, fares, tickets & vehicle location information.
The Bus Services Act 2017 also amended the Equality Act 2010 to enable the Government to introduce ‘Accessible Information Regulations’ as part of its commitment to creating an inclusive transport system. These regulations were introduced in 2023, which by Autumn 2026 will require the majority of local bus and coach services to incorporate audible and visible announcements as standard.
The Department is conducting a monitoring and evaluation exercise on the impact of the National Bus Strategy. The Bus Transformation Evaluation assesses the delivery and impact of Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) introduced by the 33 LTAs that received Phase 1 BSIP funding from the Department under the National Bus Strategy. A draft interim report is expected by summer 2024. In addition, the Department is also conducting monitoring and evaluation of the Inclusive Transport Strategy 2018, which includes an assessment of the impact of accessibility requirements introduced under the Bus Services Act 2017 to provide audible and visible information on buses. The Inclusive Transport Strategy: Evaluation Baseline Report was published in January 2022 and the final report is expected to be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the reduction of methane in the cattle sector.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Achieving the net zero target is a priority for the Government. The Net Zero Growth Plan and Environmental Improvement Plan set out a range of specific commitments to further reduce emissions from agriculture. To deliver towards these we are developing a range of measures through the Agriculture Act and our farming policy, all with the aim of enabling farmers to optimise sustainable food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Defra considers that Methane Suppressing Feed Products (MSFPs) are an essential tool to decarbonise the agriculture sector. In England, our objective is to establish a mature market for these products, encourage uptake and mandate the use of MSFPs in appropriate cattle systems as soon as feasibly possible and no later than 2030. We are committed to working with farmers and industry to achieve this goal, and in early March will convene the inaugural meeting of a Ministerial-led industry taskforce on MSFPs.
In 2023, Defra launched the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grants in England, offering £74 million to farmers to improve their slurry stores. As a condition of the grant, farmers are required to cover slurry stores with impermeable covers to minimise ammonia and methane emissions. The grant can also be used for projects which aid methane recovery (the grant does not fund the methane recovery element itself).
The Environment Agency has published a corresponding regulatory position statement (RPS 259, copy attached), which sets out a clear regulatory framework to allow methane capture from slurry under suitable circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of working conditions in the UK fishing fleet.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government maintains a strong interest in the living and working conditions within the fishing industry. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188) was implemented into UK law in 2018. The Government continues to monitor living and working conditions in the fishing industry through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) survey and inspection programme for fishing vessels. The Government chairs a twice-yearly tripartite working group comprising of Government, fishing vessel owner representatives and fishers’ representatives to monitor living and working conditions and the implementation of ILO 188 in the UK.
It is now just over five years since the legislation to implement the standards of the ILO 188 Convention was made. The Government conducted a statutory review of the legislation in 2023 and the post implementation report will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support pig breeders in the UK.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The British pig sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high quality pork meat. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain.
Defra continues to support the pig sector through a range of measures. Outdoor pig breeders may now apply to the Sustainable Farming Incentive and may access free business planning advice from independent advisers through the Farming Resilience Fund which is open until March 2025. They are also eligible to apply for our productivity and innovation grants via the Farming Investment Fund. This includes the £200 million that is available to support livestock farmers to manage slurry through the Slurry Infrastructure grant and the Farm Equipment & Technology Fund. Following feedback from the pig sector, we increased the storage capacity that pig farmers can apply for in Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant from six to eight months’ covered storage capacity.
Pig breeders are also eligible to apply for support through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. This includes access to bespoke health and welfare advice through a fully funded vet visit and, as announced at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference earlier this month, imminent access to a second round of grants toward the cost of 59 equipment and technology items supporting improvement in the health and welfare of pigs.
At the NFU conference, the Prime Minister confirmed we will introduce a regulatory framework for contracts with producers in the pig sector later this year, following the supply chain fairness review of the UK pig supply chain that was undertaken in 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK farmers to increase the production of wheat, barley, oats, and other cereals.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy.
It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation, but we will continue to support farmers, so they can make the right decisions for them and the productivity of their land.
At the NFU conference, the Government announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the farming sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, the Water Management grant, the adding Value grant. Lastly the Farming Equipment and Technology fund can fund productivity items from a specified list of equipment, including eligible drills, fertiliser applicators, and grain dryers, which is due to open in the coming weeks.
Defra’s Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) on Wheat, Oilseed Rape and Pulses crops aim to improve the main UK crops by identifying genetic traits to improve their productivity, sustainability and resilience. Across the GINs we have already successfully identified genetic traits that have improved resilience to climate change and common pests and diseases, and we are working with breeders to incorporate these traits into elite UK crop varieties.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their latest assessment of the agriculture industry’s ability to attract skilled staff.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to domestic workers in the United Kingdom through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology. Defra is working closely with industry and across the Government to make sure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce.
In 2022, the Government commissioned an independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain. It considered how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages, following a survey of businesses across the food chain and a series of round-table meetings. The report was published on 30 June 2023. The government is considering the 10 recommendations from the report and will respond shortly.
Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food and farming industry which invests in its people and skills to drive growth is a key priority for the Government. Attracting bright new talent into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming. By raising awareness of agriculture as an exciting and attractive career path, people will understand the opportunities available to them in the farming and land management industry.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many users of plant protection products have registered under the Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To date we have 21,682 users registered under the Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.
The number is increasing in response to recent communication. We are considering how we can further increase uptake through engagement with industry assurance schemes.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government in which countries the UK does not have a permanent diplomatic presence.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has a network of 281 officially designated overseas Posts. It does not currently have a permanent diplomatic presence in the countries listed below. However, the list includes countries in which we have officially designated Posts which are temporarily suspended in country and our mission to that country operates elsewhere for political or operational reasons (Afghanistan, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Yemen) or have diplomatic staff who are not in permanent residence (Haiti, Burundi, Gabon). Locations defined as UK territories are excluded. Information about the FCDO overseas network is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-foreign-office-posts.
Key:
(1) Temporarily suspended
(2) Diplomats not in permanent residence