Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Government provides to (a) English and (b) Welsh wine producers.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has championed the success of English and Welsh wine producers for many years and the sector continues to be a fast-growing magnet for domestic and foreign investment. I am delighted to hear from wine producers that vineyards anticipate a record-breaking 2023 harvest in size and quality.
The Government is committed to supporting our booming wine sector. Defra recently published plans to reform the outdated and overly restrictive wine laws inherited from the EU. The primary purpose of the reforms is to remove barriers to growth, foster innovation in the sector and have a simplified rulebook that supports rather than hinders our producers. The plans include giving producers access to the latest winemaking practices and processes, changing labelling rules to support the marketing of innovative products and measures to reduce packaging waste and associated costs.
The reforms, developed in partnership with the sector, will maintain the UK's high food and drink standards. At the same time, the reforms offer our wine producers clearer rules, offering new opportunities for the sector to grow and innovate in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to provide bins for food waste disposal for residents.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
New section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act (as amended by the Environment Act 2021) will require all local authorities in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. This must always be collected separately from residual waste and dry recyclable materials so that it can be recycled.
This policy will make recycling food waste easier and ensure there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This change, alongside the wider impact of the government’s Simpler Recycling reforms, will reduce confusion with recycling to improve recycling rates, ensuring there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and the UK recycling industry grows.
Our second consultation on Simpler Recycling In 2021 sought views on the materials in scope of collection, exemptions and statutory guidance.
We are working to assess net additional costs of food waste collections to local authorities. Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine and the net reasonable cost covered by the government.
As announced in our Net Zero Strategy 2021, we are disbursing funding which will allow local authorities in England to deliver free weekly separate food waste collections from all households.
Further details will be provided in the response to our second consultation, which we aim to publish shortly.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of using electronic shock collars on (a) dogs with hearing impairments and (b) other dogs.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The ban on e-collars under the Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations will only apply to collars controlled by hand-held devices that deliver an electric shock to cats or dogs. The ban will not extend to collars which emit a vibration, spray or other non-shock stimulus.
There is concern that e-collars can cause harm and redirect aggression or generate anxiety-based behaviour in pets. This risks making underlying behavioural problems, such as aggression towards other pets, worse. We would advise all owners who are concerned about controlling their dog’s behaviour to take advice from their vet or a suitably qualified dog behaviourist or trainer.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what evidential basis her Department decided to ban the XL Bully breed of dog.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
From our assessment of publicly available data, it appears that the American XL Bully type dog has been disproportionately involved in fatal dog attacks in the past 12 months. This is why the Government is taking urgent action to bring forward a ban on XL Bully dog types before the end of this year.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the number of XL Bully dogs in the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
We are actively working with data analysts and stakeholders to ascertain the current size of the XL Bully population in the UK. The American XL Bully type dog has been disproportionately involved in fatal dog attacks in the past 12 months. This is why the Government is taking urgent action to bring forward a ban on XL Bully dog types under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where her Department plans to keep seized XL Bully dogs.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
While fur cannot be farmed in this country, and some fur from particular species is prohibited from import and sale, it is still possible to import and sell other types of fur from abroad. It is also possible to re-export fur and fur products that have been imported.
We have committed to explore potential action in relation to animal fur, as set out in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, and have since conducted a Call for Evidence on the fur sector. We are continuing to build our evidence base on the fur sector, which will be used to inform any future action on the fur trade. However, currently we are not seeking to restrict fur imports based on avian influenza.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to (a) change and (b) eliminate the Horse Passport System.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra carried out a 12-week public consultation last year on Improvements to Equine Identification and Traceability in England. Subsequently Defra published the summary of results and Government response In November 2022. This report sets out Government plans to improve rather than to eliminate the current horse passport system. Notably this will include increased digitisation to make the system more efficient, accurate and easier to use for horse owners. This will better support equine traceability for disease control, equine welfare, trade and public health.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce a national education programme into equine welfare.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
My Department currently has no plans to introduce a government programme in this area. The governments statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids provides owners and keepers with welfare information concerning equines. The Code of Practice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids
In addition, the equine welfare sector promotes good welfare practice through their respective websites and via social media. Advice from the British Horse Society is available at https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/tethering/.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce legislation to increase transparency in (a) investigations, (b) police reports and (c) prosecutions into cases of equine welfare.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amends the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to provide one of the toughest sanctions in Europe and strengthens the UK's position as a global leader on animal welfare. The 2006 Act’s maximum sentence of five years and/or an unlimited fine applies to the most serious animal cruelty offences, including causing unnecessary suffering, and is a significant step forward in improving animal welfare.
The 2006 Act is backed up by the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids which provides owners with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their equines, as required by the 2006 Act. The Code of Practice can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the preservation of green spaces within (a) Romford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Havering.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space.
The Government is delivering a number of policies to protect access to green spaces including in urban areas. Examples of these include:
Three Sites of Special Scientific Interest are situated within the London Borough of Havering supporting some of the largest areas of wetland across greater London. Two of the three sites are managed under agri-environment schemes with Natural England working closely with landowners in managing these sites with another eight agri-environment schemes protecting important grassland, wetland and woodland edge habitat across the borough.